Business Winter Safety Tips
The beginning of winter often brings pleasant thoughts to mind: upcoming holidays with loved ones, fun outdoor winter activities, and long, cozy nights cuddled up at home. It should also bring to mind the responsibilities of preparing your business for the impending change of weather. Start by making a list of tasks to complete and check them off one by one before winter arrives.
Slips, trips, and falls become a greater hazard and liability in the winter for businesses. Snow and ice make walkways even more slippery and dangerous. Prevent accidents and injuries by having a written snow and ice removal plan in place and assigning someone to be responsible for enacting it. Place warning signs near high-traffic areas and make sure they are well-lit for visibility. Hire a professional for snow removal from your parking lot. Request a copy of their insurance certificate to confirm they have coverage in place for any damage that may occur from their trucks. If an incident does occur, conduct an accident investigation right away to determine if a claim needs to be submitted.
Business owners also need to work to prevent frozen pipes. Going through the hassle of restoring your pipes can be costly and time-consuming. Pipes can freeze in severely cold weather, especially in places of your building that are not usually heated, such as closets, attics, crawl spaces, garages, or warehouses. Fire protection sprinklers are especially vulnerable, as they are not always insulated. It is imperative to protect your sprinklers from freezing because fires are more likely to happen in the winter due to malfunctioning heating systems.
Snow build-up on a roof can be a high danger for businesses. Verify your business’s roof is in good shape prior to the winter weather and monitor the weather for potentially dangerous conditions. Snow and ice build-up cause dangerous conditions such as a potential roof collapse, unstable snow drift hazards above walkways, and damage to the building’s structure. Preparing ahead of time can prevent all these issues and address the conditions before they arise. When weather conditions are safe, put the snow removal plan into action to prevent damage to the roof.
Also, making sure you are properly insured will give you peace of mind when accidents do happen. To find out if you have the proper insurance, you need or for any insurance inquiries, contact your agent today.
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