Is your facility prepared to weather the winter season?Power loss, cold temperatures, snow, wind, ice, and a host of other potential problems need to be considered and addressed to ensure that your facility will operate safely and smoothly through the winter season.Here is a checklist of tips to reduce the impact of harsh winter conditions on your commercial property:How To Prepare Your Commercial Property For Winter
1) Prevent slip and falls: One of the biggest concerns in winter for building occupants is falling on icy walkways. De-icers keep snow from sticking to the ground and increase the surface temperature enough to prevent ice from forming. Apply these in anticipation of each store to keep people safe from injury.2) Protect surface areas – inside and out: Consider the impact de-icing agents may have on walkways, carpeting, floors, and even the plants around your buildings. Careful use of ice melt products can minimize damage to these surfaces. Consider installing quality, absorbent floor mats to help keep ice melt residue from being tracked into the building.3) Evaluate winter maintenance costs: The salt and urea-based ice melt products available range in both effectiveness and cost. For example, rock salt. Use rock salt sparingly and ask your snow removal company for alternative solutions. Since salt and labour is a large cost of winter maintenance, make product effectiveness your primary consideration.4) Guard your technology: Winter weather can result in costly power outages due to ice and wind. It is critical to backup all company and client data daily, either on-site or through a hosted, off-site cloud service. Cloud services include benefits such as speedier recovery times, resulting in improved business continuity and revenue. Always make sure you have a backup in case of a storm situation.5) Avoid electrical shutdowns: If you are at the office when an outage occurs, turn off all computers and other equipment as a precaution against the sudden increase in voltage when power is restored. In those instances when no one is present, it is key to ensure that all computers and electrical equipment are connected to surge protectors, which act as more than just a power strip, but absorb excess electrical energy and prevent it from reaching connected equipment.6) Review your telecommuting protocol: Who do workers contact in case there is a storm and the office is shut down? Where do they receive this notification? Make sure this is crystal clear and hang notifications in main lobbies or lunch rooms.
If you need support to help prepare your commercial property for winter and to provide ongoing management of snow and ice during the winter, contact our team today. We’d be happy to visit your site for customized recommendations and a free quote.
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