Winter weather can present a lot of challenges for property managers. In an apartment building, your residents rely on you to react quickly when a weather emergency heads their way. Some advance preparation before the worst of the winter weather sets in can make serving your residents a little more manageable, and it can make life a lot easier for your maintenance staff. Moreover, getting ready for winter can help you save on your operating expenses by sparing you from having to do things last minute. Lastly, being prepared to respond to weather-related problems will lessen the possibility of an accident and make it easier for you to keep your residents safe. Here are some important tips for property managers about what they can do to be prepared for winter weather events.
Have a Good Plan for Snow Removal
Plowing parking lots and clearing snow from walkways is one of the most essential parts of managing a residential building during the winter months. Residents have to be able to walk outside of the building and drive out of the parking lot when they need to. It’s important to establish a relationship with a reliable company that can respond quickly when you need help with prompt snow removal. In addition to being reliable, you need a company that’s affordable and will offer you competitive pricing on their services.
Plowing parking lots and clearing snow from walkways is one of the most essential parts of managing a residential building during the winter months. Residents have to be able to walk outside of the building and drive out of the parking lot when they need to. It’s important to establish a relationship with a reliable company that can respond quickly when you need help with prompt snow removal. In addition to being reliable, you need a company that’s affordable and will offer you competitive pricing on their services.
Prevent Slip and Falls
People coming into a common area from a wet and snowy day outside are likely to track in snow and leave the floor wet and slippery. You should have a floor mat placed immediately where you walk into the building at each entrance. Having a good floor mat will greatly reduce the risk that someone will leave an entire hallway wet for the next unsuspecting resident who walks down it. However, it’s important that you use a market that has a thick material and a non-skid bottom. If the mat is too thin or moves too easily, it could shift from its place when someone walks on it and cause him or her to fall. Also, you should try to get a material that is relatively easy to clean because you can expect that it may get stained with salt or ice melt. Another good way to avoid slip and falls is putting up a conspicuous caution sign near your entrances. A mat will catch most of what people will track into a building but not everything, so having a caution sign offers another important form of protection by reminding residents to be careful.
People coming into a common area from a wet and snowy day outside are likely to track in snow and leave the floor wet and slippery. You should have a floor mat placed immediately where you walk into the building at each entrance. Having a good floor mat will greatly reduce the risk that someone will leave an entire hallway wet for the next unsuspecting resident who walks down it. However, it’s important that you use a market that has a thick material and a non-skid bottom. If the mat is too thin or moves too easily, it could shift from its place when someone walks on it and cause him or her to fall. Also, you should try to get a material that is relatively easy to clean because you can expect that it may get stained with salt or ice melt. Another good way to avoid slip and falls is putting up a conspicuous caution sign near your entrances. A mat will catch most of what people will track into a building but not everything, so having a caution sign offers another important form of protection by reminding residents to be careful.
Be Ready to Deal With a Power Outage
A severe winter storm could knock out the power to an entire region. It’s imperative that your emergency lighting and any other backup equipment such as a generator are in good working order. It’s advisable to inspect and test your equipment in advance of the weather so you don’t learn of a problem when a malfunction could be dangerous. Be sure that your emergency lighting in common areas and stairwells complies with any applicable fire and safety code in your area.
A severe winter storm could knock out the power to an entire region. It’s imperative that your emergency lighting and any other backup equipment such as a generator are in good working order. It’s advisable to inspect and test your equipment in advance of the weather so you don’t learn of a problem when a malfunction could be dangerous. Be sure that your emergency lighting in common areas and stairwells complies with any applicable fire and safety code in your area.
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