Get down to the nitty gritty this winter and keep your business moving

With the clocks going back and a drop in temperatures, it’s a sure sign that winter is on its way. For many, it’s a time to wrap up warm and stay cosy. But, for some businesses, this can be a disruptive time with ice and snow causing inconvenience and even injury!

According to statistics from the HSE, slipping and tripping are the single most common causes of major injury in UK workplaces, and failing to keep roads and thoroughfares around your premises clear of ice and snow is dangerous. Your business could be liable for potential damages should an employee or visitor injure themselves due to a poorly maintained road or pathway.

Worry not though. There are effective measures you can take to reduce the risk of a slip or trip caused by freezing conditions. Regardless of the size of your site, it’s vital to take the right steps to maintain a safe working environment during the winter months by ensuring that regularly used paths, roads, and car parks are kept clear. Gritting is the most common method used, as the salt used can stop ice from forming and can help speed up the melting process for any already laying snow and ice.

As we all know, predicting the weather can be difficult. But, if you know that ice or snow is forecast you should be thinking about gritting your surfaces. The best times to grit are early evening before the frost settles and/or early in the morning before your employees arrive on site, as the salt will need time to dissolve the moisture on the surface.

If you choose to outsource the management of your facility to an external provider, then they should be alerting you to the need to prepare your grounds for winter well in advance, so that you can action the plan as soon as the temperatures start to drop.

Creating a winter action plan

At Precision FM, we operate our gritting and snow cleaning service from the start of November until the end of March. We work alongside our clients to develop a winter plan that matches their site needs and aim to deliver our services with minimal disruption to the operation of their facility.

We use state-of-the-art technology to accurately activate our gritting teams when the road surface temperature is forecasted to be at zero degrees or lower. We receive this intelligence through a partnership with The Met Office, with their temperature and weather information fed into our software system triggering our gritters only when it is needed.

Adam Marriott, Operations Director at Precision FM, explains: “Ice and snow can create many challenges for businesses, not least slowing down the essential movement of goods, impacting service delivery and people. The aim of our gritting and snow clearance service is to keep businesses moving, supporting our clients to ensure they can keep their facilities operating effectively even during periods of bad weather.

“For us, winter planning starts early. While our clients are hopefully enjoying the long days of summer, our team will already be thinking ahead on their behalf, identifying the possible issues that need addressing at their sites as winter approaches. This might include gritting and snow clearance. With our gritting depots located across the UK, and our advanced weather detection system, we are well placed to be able to provide businesses with a reliable service, at a time when they need it most.”

We’re worth our salt

Prior to the start of the winter season, we pre-purchase around 2,500 tonnes of white marine salt, delivered into our own storage bays and accessible at any time from more than 40 depots across the country. This salt is the preferred choice for many of our clients as it doesn’t leave unsightly grit dirt on lobby floors or damage internal mats and carpets. Plus, unlike the traditional brown salt used on most public highways, this salt is also a renewable product too.

Our gritting fleet comprises a wide variety of gritting vehicles, from 4×4 vehicles with rear-mounted spreaders to 18-tonne lorries with full-size snow ploughs. All of our 40+ depots only run at 80% capacity allowing each team to have spare time and vehicles to react in the event of unforeseen circumstances, such as breakdowns or very severe weather.

No slip-ups

We know how important it is for our clients to be able to continue with business as usual even in the event of heavy snowfall or during periods of icy weather. Ensuring roads into your site and pathways around the facility are clear of ice and snow creates a good impression for visitors and indicates to your employees that you have their safety in mind.

In order to address any issues, we provide every contracted site with full liability protection. This means that in the event of a claim, not only do we have all the processes, procedures, and technology, we also have the most comprehensive winter-specific insurances in place to protect you, your site, and your employees/visitors. In the event of a claim against you, we will fully manage and co-defend the claim if required, including provision of all the backup information from our fully audited systems.

If there is an alleged failure in service, we can clearly demonstrate that you have met all of your Duty of Care responsibilities by employing Precision FM as your professional winter service company.

Gritting forms just one part of a winter maintenance plan, if you’d like some tops tips for other areas to consider at this time of year, check out our previous blog.

If you’d like to discuss how our team can help provide you with a gritting and snow clearing service, please get in touch with the team here or call 0116 366 6508 for a free consultation.