Last updated on July 8th, 2024 at 11:34 am

Protecting Your Business Against Snow & Ice

Now that snow and ice has hit much of Britain I thought that it was time to offer some advice on how to protect your business against the problems caused by snow and ice, especially in the run up to the Christmas break.

If you are running an office based business, or anywhere where you have buildings the simplest advice is to leave your central heating running.  Don’t use a timer to turn the heating off overnight as the coldest time of the day is normally between 1am and 3am.  If possible leave it running in every room, if there are areas that do not have a radiator in them then leave the door ajar to allow warm air to circulate.

Photo by Colin Lloyd on Unsplash

If you know that your office is going to be closed over the Christmas break (possibly with no-one coming in until the New Year) then you have two options, either leave the heating on or turn it off and drain both your water and heating systems – either of these options will reduce the risk of  you returning to a burst pipe and possibly ruined equipment. If you are leaving the heating on, you can turn it down so that it’s on a “frost” setting, or alternatively turning down the thermostat to about 10 degrees C.  If you are planning on draining the systems and you are not sure about what to do talk to a local plumber and ask them to do the work for you – this will cost you some money but compare that against the cost of redecorating and replacing expensive equipment (don’t forget to book the plumber to come and refill the systems and turn them on again).

If you have visible pipework or a water tank take a few minutes to check that they are lagged correctly, not only will this reduce the risk of frozen and burst pipes but lagging pipework can also save energy if you lag the hot water pipes as it stops some of the heat being lost between the boiler and the tap or radiator.

It is a good idea for you to have a list of all of your staff with emergency contact details – after all, if you do have a problem in the office, workshop or whatever that means that you can’t open then you need some way to be able to contact all of your staff to tell them that they either do not need to come to work or that they should go to another branch if you have one.  Think about how you will handle the fact that your phones will be unanswered and possibly that emails and orders will not be picked up – can you easily redirect the business phone to another number, can you pick up emails and orders from home (even if  you have to reply that there is going to be a delay in answering the email fully or fulfilling the order, at least the person that contacted you knows that there will be a response later).

Make sure that all the windows in your office are securely shut to cut down on the draughts and heat loss, if they are not double glazed think about covering the windows with plastic film, the author has done this and not only does the film cut down on draughts through the window but it also acts as a form of double glazing.  The plastic film can be brought from diy or hardware stores and takes a few minutes to do each window – it can be removed in the spring if required and if taken down carefully can also be put up again the following winter by using new double-sided tape.

If you have a canopy above your entrance then take a look at the amount of snow on it – could it slip off and injure someone?  If so try to clear it, but do not stand on stepladders or anything else that could move on a slippery surface when doing so – sounds obvious I know but would happen if you fell off?

If you have a car-park then think about using grit to melt the ice and make the surface more secure for both cars and pedestrians, details about grit bins for the small business are elsewhere on our blog and that posting gives details of the types of bins that are available.

Most businesses have staff that either drive for the company or at the very least drive to and from work.  If you have staff the drive for your business then you have a duty of care to make sure that they are prepared and even if you only have staff that drive to and from the office you should encourage them to read this winter driving advice.  After all following simple advice such as making sure your vehicle is prepared could save a member of staff from having an accident or even just be the difference between them getting into work and having to have a “snow day”.

Much of this advice is just common sense and you may already have thought about lagging the pipes in the loft in your home for example, but can you say that you have thought about it in your business?