Commercial Property Managers: Avoid Hazards this Winter by Planning Ahead

In the tri-state area, we had a scorching summer. This leaves us to wonder about what this winter will be looking like. Well, Farmers Almanac is already looking past this summer and recently released its first winter forecast. 

Why plan for commercial snow removal services?

As a property manager, ensuring commercial snow removal services are promptly available is essential. If you don’t, the hazards snow and ice bring can quickly result in property damages or, even worse, lawsuits. 

Because of this, we strongly advise that you have familiarity with professional snow removal services that are available, and whom you can trust to perform these on your property. With the forecasted winter we’ll experience in the tri-state, it is vital to be prepared. 

Complete commercial snow removal services 

When searching for these services, you want a provider who responds to emergencies, applies the correct practices, and ensures the safety of the crew and those around them. A provider that matches these criteria should be proactive in its services, always ready so that no job is rushed or done poorly.

We understand the headaches that snow and ice can present to property managers. When it appears, you want it swiftly controlled, managed, and correctly relocated off-premise, if necessary. 

Since providing the tri-state area with our services, we’ve achieved accreditation from ASCA (Accredited Snow Contractor Association) and SIMA (Snow & Ice Management Association). These standards and training ensure we’re appropriately ready for any job, both knowledgeably and with the proper equipment. 

We’ve found the most valuable winter services for commercial properties in the Tri-State area are snow removal, ice management, snow relocation, and 24/7 emergency snow services.

Here’s how each of these protects and benefits your property:

Snow removal 

When snow piles up on a commercial property, it can cause heaps of issues. Some of which relate to access, safety, and in extreme circumstances, flooding. 

For a property manager, this screams liability. If the public tries to access the property and damages themselves, others, or a vehicle, it can quickly become a legal issue. (No thanks!)

As a result, we understand how essential snow removal services are. Having snow and ice monitored, maintained, and removed correctly can help with the following: 

• Reduce liability – Claims against neglected or improper snow removal occur regularly. That’s why mitigating the risk by having a trusted snow removal professional remove the safety hazards is key to dramatically reducing liabilities during winter storms. 
• Underlying surface damage – Besides lawsuits, it could also damage your property. These damages typically appear from poor snow maintenance, practices, or tools used during the snow removal. Whether it’s asphalt or concrete pavement lying below the blanket of white, the repairs can become costly if not properly removed in the winter. 
• Eliminates business interruptions – As a property manager, you don’t want any business interruptions for yourself or your tenants. Snow is hazardous for pedestrians on foot or in a vehicle. If it’s too dangerous, people might not visit your commercial property, or, even worse, it could get shut down. When removing snow correctly, you can continue business as usual and keep the revenue flowing. 

These issues are far less likely to occur when snow removal is performed on a commercial property.

Ice management 

Snow isn’t the only problem that’ll occur this winter. We are all very familiar with how quickly ice can form and how dangerous ice is that goes unnoticed (such as black ice which blends in with the environment), or if it is poorly or not promptly managed. This becomes a major hazard for the public

Over 1 million people are injured from ice and snow during the winter. Undoubtedly, this is considerable, meaning the importance of controlling this hazard to prevent any injuries on your property should be an expedited focus. 

The key areas you want to manage and control are walkways and parking lots. If these areas are properly maintained by a qualified professional during the winter, you will be able to:  

• Reduce property damages – Property damages from improper training and equipment can be avoided when using the right expertise and tools. That’s why ice management should be performed by a professional. Using proper techniques and equipment effectively avoids workmanship damages that might not appear until the following summer. 
• Avoid unnecessary injuries – Managing ice isn’t an easy task. Getting an employee or non-professional to control it not only puts the public at risk but also puts them in danger. With accredited snow and ice management professionals, you can avoid unnecessary injuries and eliminate unnecessary lawsuits. 
• Ensure safe consistency in the winter – The most important part of ice management is consistency since ice buildup is an ongoing winter hazard. If you don’t have somebody monitoring and consistently maintaining your property for ice hazards, it can progressively build up and worsen.
• Decrease damaging Freeze-Thaw cycles – When temperatures rise to 40+ degrees during the day and drop below 32 degrees at night, the wet pavement re-freezes into tiny cracks and can expand. Just like a frozen water bottle breaking from water expansion, the same happens when asphalt goes through a “freeze-thaw” cycle… only with each freeze, it has the potential to get deeper and wider.

Surely, ice can be a worrying natural occurrence. However, you can eliminate all the risks by ensuring proper and consistent ice management through the winter months.

Snow relocation 

To ensure maximum protection for your property and the people visiting, we provide snow relocation. 

Far too often, commercial property managers allow snow to get piled up. The only issue is that this is a short-term fix. As more snow falls during the winter, the pile will get larger. When this occurs, a few problems are presented: snow restricts an area of the property, makes a location unsafe, and can become unmanageable throughout the winter. 

To mitigate these problems, snow relocation is used. This is where snow is either transported away from your commercial property or relocated on-site but off the parking lot. 

When utilizing snow relocation services, you can prevent these common things:

• Refreezing Ice – Throughout the day, snow piles will melt, and the water will naturally make its way to the lowest draining point. When this happens, it’ll create a water stream or pool that could freeze again. This causes more ice and ice layers, which can be dangerous to those walking, cycling, or driving around the snow pile. 
• Unwanted attention – For young children, snow and ice are fun. We’ve all slipped down snowy hills or skated across the ice. However, in a commercial setting, you don’t want this. It does bring unwanted attention. If somebody hurts themselves, it brings attention to don’t want from the public, investors, and your insurance company.
• Poor pile placement – Placing a pile of snow in a location that can disturb the public, businesses, or emergency egress for the property. Piling snow in front of fire hydrants, stop signs, street corners, etc., can present problems for others. There’s no need to keep snow on your property when you could have it removed.

Whether it’s poor pile placement, unwanted attention, or the refreezing problem you want to avoid, snow relocation services can help.

What if there is an emergency that requires snow and ice management service? 

Preparation is key when it comes to commercial snow and ice removal and management services. However, this isn’t possible in all circumstances.

How you can plan ahead

The very best thing you can do is to have a trusted commercial property snow removal and ice management company ready to go when you need them. This means having their contact information saved to your phone!

At Swan Co., we offer on-call snow removal, ice management, and snow relocation services. If you need us in an emergency, be assured that our team of experts can help 24/7. 

We recommend having us out to inspect and get familiar with the current condition of your property before winter storms. This will help us expedite any winter services, as well as perform them cautiously where it might be needed.

Whether it’s maintenance or an emergency, Swan Co. is ready to tackle any snow-related issues this winter. If you’d like more information about how we can help your commercial property, contact us today or browse our website.