How to prove snow removal was done

If you pay for snow clearing, or you sell it, you will be asked how to prove snow removal was done. The question often comes long after the snow has melted, and the site looks nothing like it did that morning. You need a record made at the time, on the site.

What snow removal records should show

Each visit needs the same five facts:

• Who came, by name.
• When they came, with the date and the time.
• Which site, and which part of it.
• Whether the work was finished, and why not if it was not.
• A note about anything you would want to know later, such as ice that came back or a blocked entrance.

A paper log can hold these facts. The trouble is that someone can fill it in later, from the truck or from memory, and you cannot tell when that was.

Photo proof of snow removal

A photo is useful when it was taken on the site, at the time of the visit. Take one that shows the surface that was cleared and something that identifies the place, such as an entrance or a sign. A photo sent by text later says little about when it was taken.

With ScanNLog, the photo step opens the phone's camera during the visit. That makes an old picture harder to use, though it does not rule one out. You choose for each code whether a photo is required.

Put a code on each site

Print one QR code for each site, or for each area of a large site. Fix it where the crew has to go, out of the plough's way.

The worker scans it with a phone and answers on the web page that opens:

1. Why they came.
2. A note, if they have something to add.
3. Whether the work was completed.
4. A photo, if the code asks for one.

ScanNLog records their name, their verified email and the time. If you turn on the location check, it compares the phone's position with the pin for that site. Phone positions are accurate to tens of metres, so treat the match as support for the record and not as proof on its own.

When the work could not be finished

A plough that cannot reach a lot is worth recording too. If the worker marks the visit Not completed, they say why, and ScanNLog opens a follow-up for you. You see it on your dashboard, and by alert or in the daily summary, as you choose. The record shows you were there.

What this record does not do

It shows who was on the site, when, and what they reported. It does not judge how well the work was done. It does not schedule crews or send invoices.