Wisconsin winters and heavy snowfalls go hand-in-hand, so having an effective method of removing snow from your commercial property is key to a safe season. Timely snow removal and effective snow and ice management is especially important in high-traffic areas such as sidewalks and busy streets, as pedestrians and potential customers need to be able to safely navigate your property without the fear of losing their footing.
Despite overseeing many moving parts of the business, owners need to be mindful of an efficient approach that prioritizes the safety of pedestrians, employees and consumers. If your business needs to improve the efficiency of its snow removal process, take advantage of the following tips.
Create a Winter Checklist
Sure, you’ve got a lot to handle when the winter weather arrives, but a checklist can help you stay on top of things. An example of the kind of checklist you should be keeping is as follows:
- Understand snow laws in Wisconsin and federal legislation, and make sure you are ADA compliant.
- Hire a reliable, local snow removal company.
- Purchase any additional equipment you may need to stay on top of the ice and snow.
- Implement a reporting procedure for employees and team members concerned about the weather and how it impacts your business, facility, or staff.
Invest in a Snow Plow
Just as a snow blower is the most efficient way to clear snow from your home, a snow plow is the most efficient way to clear snow from your commercial business. Hiring a snow plow company that is dedicated to the safety of your property will help eliminate the stress and expenses of navigating a plow on your own.
Hiring a professional snow plow company in Milwaukee, Madison or other cities is also the safest approach to commercial snow removal. Commercial companies understand the safest and most efficient way to navigate the plow in order to complete each job in a timely manner. Many of these companies, including our own, are on call 24/7 during the winter months to closely monitor any snowfall development.
Coordinate Plowing and Parking
Without a safe and usable parking lot, you won’t have many customers – and the customers you do have may not return next year.
Where possible, direct your customers to park in regions of your parking lot that have already been plowed – and make your outdoor space as safe as possible by relying on professional snow management teams to keep your parking lot safe, day and night.
Apply Salt and Sand
Salt and sand are hugely important parts of your snow management process.
While salt is used to lower the freezing temperature of water, preventing the build-up of ice and snow, or even melting existing ice, sand offers something different. Instead of melting the snow, sand can add traction to your outdoor surfaces, making walkways safer to use for pedestrians on your property.
A reliable, local snow management company like Earth Development can handle these tasks for you, but it doesn’t hurt to have salt and sand on hand.
Use Mobile Weather App
Mobile weather apps are more accurate than ever. You no longer need to wait until the evening news to get weather updates that may change only hours later.
A mobile weather app can give you real-time updates on the weather and may even offer notification alerts, giving you important updates as the weather turns.
Leave It to The Experts
Handling the winter weather is tough at the best of times, but when you’re also trying to run a business and keep both your employees and customers safe, it can be especially difficult.
Why not entrust these important measures with local experts? Our teams of trusted and local snow management professionals from Earth Development are ready to help businesses of all sizes across the Midwest.
Contact our team today for a free quote and consultation, and find out more about how our snow management helps you remain operational and safe this winter.