While winter storms can provide wonderful snow days, they can also cause severe damage if businesses are not prepared. Winter storms can lead to property damage, injuries, and wage loss.
Businesses should develop a winter storm preparedness plan to prepare for winter storms. This plan should include preparing your facility for severe weather, establishing a communication strategy, and developing emergency policies. Preparing your business for winter storms can minimize the impact on customers, employees, and your facility.
Here are a few tips to develop a winter storm preparedness plan for your business.
4 Winter Storm Safety Tips
Winterize your facility
Preparing your facility for extreme weather is the best way to prepare your business for the winter. The first step in winterizing your building is to conduct a maintenance inspection to determine whether your facility and equipment can withstand winter storms. Take into consideration how freezing rain, power outages, or heavy snow can impact your building. Then secure any structural weaknesses or flaws to ensure your facility can withstand the storm.
Here are a few ideas for preparing your building for severe weather.
- Add pipe insulation to prevent pipes from freezing.
- Inspect and repair the roof if necessary.
- Check the emergency heating systems to ensure they are operational.
Use technology to communicate with your employees
A communication plan outlining how companies will communicate with their employees is essential for businesses. Once you have developed a plan, inform your employees about how you intend to communicate with them before, after, and during a storm.
If your local weather station forecasts a major winter storm, use emergency management software to immediately notify your employees if the office will be closed or delayed. WellCheck offers an emergency management software that allows companies to send pre-programmed alerts to employees during a winter storm. Organizations can customize their templates for various weather emergencies with detailed information to notify employees of what to do in the event of a crisis. This emergency alert system can send out safety notifications through text messages and emails.
Encourage employees to be prepared
Encourage employees to prepare their homes and cars for winter storms. Provide your employees with a winter safety checklist and a winter emergency kit to help your employee get ready for the storm. When employees know their homes and cars are safe, they can focus on keeping the business running smoothly.
Making your employees’ safety a priority helps to build corporate trust. During the storm, provide your employees with the option of working remotely. This will ensure your employees’ safety before, during, and after the storm.
Create a business continuity plan
It is difficult for businesses to reopen following a winter storm. Therefore, creating a continuity plan is essential to help your employees and investors know what to do in the event of a disaster. The plan should include a cleanup team and a variety of vendors who can fix any damages to your facility and equipment. Creating a business disaster continuity plan will also help businesses figure out where employees will work following a storm and how to keep manufacturing logistics running.
