Fall to Winter Maintenance
Winter weather leads to all sorts of injuries and property damage, from slips, trips and falls to frozen pipes. You can prevent loss and injury by taking pro-active steps to prepare your facilities before the cold sets in.
Roof Care
A sturdy roof with an efficient drainage system is essential to prevent water penetration. First, conduct a ground level inspection of your roof. From the interior of your building, look out for the following signs of water intrusion.
Conduct a rooftop inspection but consider hiring a professional especially if your roof is steeply pitched. A professional knows what to look for and is trained to safely work from heights and on ladders. Check the flashing on the roof. Flashing is material used over joints in the roof to prevent water from seeping in and causing damage. If you have satellite dish installations, roof top HVAC units, and vent stacks, check them as well.
Gutters and Drains
Check the gutters and drains – make sure they are free of debris and in good condition. Leaves and other debris can clog gutters and drain, which may lead to water drainage issues. Ensure that the gutters are properly affixed to the building and won’t be easily damaged by high winds. Make sure that grading around the building is configured so that water from roof drains travels away from the building and does not drain back towards the building. This is especially important if the building has a basement or crawl space.
Preventing Frozen Pipes
In the cold days and nights of winter, the potential for frozen and burst pipes is high. Frozen pipes can result in extensive and costly property damage. For more information on how to prevent frozen pipes, please see our website: dotinsurance.org/frozen-pipes
Winter Driving
Before you head out, remove snow and ice from your windshield, headlights, brake lights, and anywhere else snow has accumulated. Melting snow from other parts of the car can obstruct visibility. In addition, NJ law requires it!
Preparing for Hazardous Weather
- Examine the condition of walking surfaces inside and outside of the facility and repair cracks.
- Ensure all exterior lighting is in proper working order.
- Contact your snow removal company to ensure they are ready for your needs, including notification and communication processes, property problem areas and response expectations.
- Inventory snow removal equipment and accessories. Remember to document your inspection of all equipment. Remind all employees to avoid reaching into any power equipment to remove jams. Follow the manufacturers’ instructions for safe operation, repair, and maintenance of all equipment. Employees under the age of 18 should not be permitted to operate power equipment. Volunteers should not be utilized for snow removal activities.
- Establish a weather advisory notification plan for all employees. Post weather related closures on website making sure that employees, parishioners, visitors, etc. know to check the website before traveling to work or church services.
During Hazardous Weather – Take Precautions
- Ensure walking surfaces are clear.
- Manage employee breaks to avoid overexposure and common cold weather hazards such as hypothermia and cardio stress from shoveling snow.
- Establish priorities for snow removal. Fire lanes must be open for emergency equipment. Fire hydrants, main entrances, ADA ramps and curb cuts, weather-exposed stairs, primary sidewalks, and parking lots should always be clear. Use the appropriate ice melt products dependent upon outdoor temperatures and type of hardscape. Do not use rock salt on concrete. Calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium/magnesium acetate are preferred for concrete and temperatures below 20 F. Rock salt is preferred for blacktop at temperatures above 20 F.
- Before travel becomes seriously impaired, release workers for the day.
Weather Mats
- Place weather mats at all entrances
- Mats need to be large enough to capture as much moisture as possible
- Keep porous scraper mats outside to absorb as much snow/ice/water from footwear as possible
- Use a relatively rough surface, scraper mat, in foyer areas
- Use absorbent walk-off mats to remove moisture in entrance areas especially on hard surfaces that become slippery when wet
- Change mats once saturated with water and clean frequently to eliminate tracking soil throughout the building.
- Consider placing shoe brushes near entranceways to remove snow and ice
- Post caution signs and block access to areas of concern when slip and fall conditions exist.
During the winter season the dust and dirt concerns of the summer are replaced with slush and melted snow that creates slippery conditions greatly increasing the likelihood of slip and fall incidents and injury. In addition, ice met compounds can eat away at floor surfaces and create irreparable damage when tracked indoors.
- A single entrance mat cannot do the job of protecting your church, school or office space. A combination of selectively placed, commercial entrance mats is required.
- Outdoor commercial entrance mats. Outdoor mats are the first line of defense. Select study, made-for-the-outdoors mats that have scrapers on their surfaces. The scraper surface will remove the first layers of dirt and moisture from visitors’ shoes and boots.
- Scraper entrance mats. The use of indoor scraper mats is highly recommended. Like outdoor commercial entrance mats, these mats are designed with an abrasive surface to remove residual snow ice and mud on shoes and boots.
- Cotton action wiper mats.Wiper mats remove the excess moisture on shoes and boots that was not removed by the scraper mats located inside and outside of an entrance.
Winter Mats: The Other Things to Consider
- Ideally, at every entrance, there should be three matts as noted above. Additional mats may be required when foot volume traffic is high.
- Size of mats. Are the entrance mats the right. A general guide for winter season mat coverage is between 25 to 30 feet(linear) of matting for moderate volume foot traffic.
- Quality of Mats. Mat quality is an important factor. The National Floor Safety Institute (NFSI), provides mat certifications. Mat durability is a significant concern. Pick the right mat with an NFSI certification for your needs and clean them as often as necessary to keep them fully functional.