Is Your Company Ready For Winter?

Is Your Company Ready For Winter?

November 4, 2013

Winter is right around the corner.  Are you ready for Jack Frost? The Farmers Almanac is predicting a colder than normal winter with above average snowfall amounts.

During these cold and wintery months, we routinely send notices out to our members, warning them of impending bad weather such as blizzards. By taking this pro-active approach, our business insurance program safety group members have just received a 5% cash dividend on their property insurance coverage. The program has been averaging 5.8% cash dividend since its inception. Our goal is to show business owners that safety does pay.

We want to help you and our members understand the importance of preparing your facility for winter. This is important because so often a company will add things to a facility such as insulation, sprinkler systems, or a new dust control system. These new items can often added enough weight and stress on the load bearing capacity of a roof that in the event of a heavy snowstorm can cause a roof collapse.

With weather patterns changing, we are often experiencing longer winter weather patterns. Not only is a roof collapse dangerous for the workers in the facility, but it can often disrupt business operations more than expected. Prior to winter, a good walk through the facility by the safety committee can often flag areas that need immediate attention such as cracked beams or supports or a roof that has stopped draining properly. These are much easier to correct without a heavy snow load.

Once the snow has fallen it is imperative that companies remove the snow before it accumulates. If it does use temporary supports on the inside. Always remove snow from double sided roofs on both sides at the same time to lessen the possibility of a problem. Not only will this help keep your business running properly but in the long run it will help you to reduce property insurance rates.

If you have questions or need additional information feel free to contact Philip Bibeau at 978-874-5445 or woodprod@wpma.org.