Prepare Properties Before Snowstorms!

If you have a commercial property, then it is essential to prepare before a snowstorm to prevent personal injuries, vehicle collisions or property damage. Jeremy Swenson is a snow expert who offers his services in the Minneapolis, Minn., region. He understands the ramifications of not preparing a commercial property before a snowstorm that leaves slippery ice or snow on pathways and parking lots. Businesses must clear away snow and ice to keep pedestrians from falling or vehicles from colliding. When a visitor on a commercial property is injured, she can sue the business owner for not providing a safe place to walk or drive during a snowstorm. The best way to avoid a lawsuit for injuries from falling on snow or ice is to plan ahead of time for efficient snow removal.

1: Hire a Professional Snow Removal Company In Advance

Don’t wait until a snowstorm occurs to contact a snow removal company. Plan ahead by contacting snow removal companies in the summer so that you can have the services required when cold weather arrives. Make sure to hire a snow removal company that has a good reputation for arriving quickly to remove snow or ice from a commercial property’s parking lots, entrances, and pathways.

2: Train Maintenance Staff How to Remove Ice and Snow Efficiently

In addition to hiring a snow removal company to remove snow and ice, a business manager should provide safety training for her maintenance employees. A business’s janitorial staff should understand how to apply deicer chemicals on the sidewalks or parking areas to prevent slip and fall injuries.

3: Have Your Own Snow Removal Equipment

When a smaller snowstorm occurs, it is a good idea to have your own snow removal equipment available. Depending on the size of your commercial property, you will want to have road salt, durable snow shovels, and small snowplows. Your maintenance staff can remove smaller amounts of snow and ice along with applying deicing chemical treatments.

4: Safety Inside a Commercial Building During Snowstorms

A slip and fall injury can also occur inside a commercial building during or after a snowstorm. If customers or employees carry in ice or snow on their shoes, then entranceways become slippery and dangerous. Business owners should prepare by having absorbent rugs near the doorways of a commercial building. To keep floors from becoming wet and dangerous, a snow expert recommends drying the tiles frequently.

5: Have a Written Snow Removal Plan

The best way to prepare for snowstorms is to have a written plan available that includes a map of your commercial property. You must think about where your janitorial staff and a snow removal company will deposit excess snow. You don’t want the piles of snow to restrict visibility near the parking lot’s entrances and exits. To prevent additional iciness, it is also not a good plan to have snow piled where it will melt and refreeze, creating slippery-prone surfaces.