Temperatures already are dropping and wintry weather is just around the corner. Is your business prepared?
Forecasters at Weather Services International predict that the first part of the winter season will bring colder than normal temperatures to the Midwest, the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast. This temperature drop is expected to last throughout November and into December, according to WSI’s chief meteorologist Dr. Todd Crawford.
This will be caused by a dip in the jet stream east of the Rockies. But the second half of the winter could bring warmer than average temperatures and no extreme cold or warmth is anticipated from December to February.
Hope for the Best But Anticipate the Worst
The weatherman is frequently wrong, as just about anybody can tell you, so it’s a good idea to be prepared for the worst. That’s why we would like to review some of the best winter-weather products that can help your business get ready for the snowy and icy conditions that are right around the corner.
For any warehouse or manufacturing facility, preventing snow and ice from being brought into a facility is of vital importance. Not only can it make floor conditions hazardous and unsanitary, but the excess liquid can damage products, seep into packaging and cause unnecessary losses.
Mission: Moisture Removal
Keep snow and ice out of your building by installing protective mats at each of your entrances. Specialized mats use waffle design surfaces to stop water, show and ice from being tramped indoors. They also include dams on all sides that reverses the flow of melted water so that it is pushed back outside where it belongs.
Deeper snow calls for a more aggressive approach, such as shoe scrapers. These heavy-duty devices remove snow, ice and mud from all aides of the shoes of people entering your facility and are helpful in keeping your aisles clear of mud, water and debris. The include stiff nylon bristles that thoroughly clean shoes and boots and help protect your floors.
Free Up Interior Floor Space
To protect products stored outside from the elements, consider installing a dome-shape storage garage. These temporary structures are easy to set up and affordable, but are also versatile enough to provide protection from the elements so that you can provide more room inside by storing non-essential products and inventory outdoors until you are ready to use it.
The polyethylene cover is supported by 1-3/8″ powder-coated steel poles to provide heavy-duty protection and they are staked into the ground using high-endurance ground stakes. For heavier weather, their extra-long sides can be buried in the ground to provide an additional moisture barrier.
A snowstorm or ice storm can cripple your business, but you can melt ice and snow quickly using natural liquid deicers. These work faster than traditional rock salt, quickly melting and evaporating snow and ice. Completely biodegradable and environmentally safe, liquid deicers won’t harm plants or animals. They also are virtually odorless and colorless.
Sometimes the simplest problems require the simplest solutions. Having a good, old-fashioned snow shovel available to manually remove snow is often all it takes to keep your dock clear of ice, snow and mud and fully operational so that the weather impact to your production is minimized.
Check out these and other winter-related products at Barhns’ winter weather gear page.