Why It’s Never Too Late to Winterize Your Office Building

Kenneth A. Travers

As the glow of the holidays fade, building owners and property managers should reckon with the cold hard truth of winter: It can be the longest three months of the year. Freezing temperatures, ice and unpredictable storms pose serious risks to office buildings and the workforce. Whether the business team is in-person, hybrid or remote, there are some key winter preparations that every company should consider.

Winterize the Office Building(s)

If the office is fully staffed in-person, building owners and managers are likely making the rounds every day to ensure safety. However, according to a 2021 Return to Workplaces Survey by Deloitte, approximately 50 percent of American business are operating in a hybrid model, which may lead to sections of your office being closed off or infrequently used. If that’s the case, or the office is closed due to a winter storm event, it is important to take heed of the following safety precautions:

• Check electrical panel breakers to make sure all circuits are operating properly
• Turn faucets on so water comes out as a trickle until the bitter cold weather subsides to keep water moving and help prevent pipes from freezing,
• Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing
• Close blinds to keep the heat inside the office space
• Minimize opening and closing the office refrigerators to keep perishables fresh
• Adjust diffusers to better circulate heat in dead-end or closed spaces
• Close off unused rooms with no plumbing to avoid wasting heat
• Unplug expensive electronics and appliances to prevent damage from power surges once power is restored if an outage occurs

Prevent Frozen Pipes

Ensuring adequate heat and monitoring facilities are important steps as frozen pipes can cause some of the most common and costliest cold weather issues. The risk of pipes bursting can increase when businesses are closed or unoccupied such as when a major winter storm causes businesses and office buildings to close. Even a short period of time, such as a weekend, can cause potential freeze-ups, rupture and disruption.

Practice Business Continuity Management

It’s never too early to prepare. Business continuity management (BCM) helps a business prepare and plan for how it will recover in the aftermath of a disaster. Business continuity planning requires time and effort from all areas of the business, but in the long run having a business continuity plan (BCP) in place can help reduce loss, save lives and speed up recovery after a major emergency.

To get started with the business continuity and disaster recovery planning process, building owners and managers should break down the plan into key business processes. From there, they can work on each piece one at a time, identifying critical tasks required to keep those processes operating. Then, they can determine if there is a need for creating alternative sources of those tasks, either within the organization or by third parties. Some recommendations to help develop and implement a plan include:

• preparing in advance
• establishing mutual aid agreements with similar businesses
• identifying potential alternative sources, processes or locations
• creating a separate action plan for an emergency
• developing a recovery plan
• testing the BCP and training employees
• keeping the BCP current

Create a Winter Storm Plan

A 2021 report from the Insurance Information Institute (III) found that winter storms caused $2.1 billion in insured losses in 2019 and are often referred to as “deceptive killers.” This is because weather conditions are rarely the sole reason for winter fatalities. It is winter weather combined with other contributing factors that lead to a significant number of deaths annually. This is why it is important to learn what building owners and property managers can do before, during and after a storm strikes, to help protect employees, property and business.

Protect from Flooding

Flooding can occur anywhere, anytime, and is caused by more than just rainfall. Snow melt, hurricanes, and new residential or commercial project developments around a property can also cause flooding. Even if the property is located high on a hill or in the desert, it could still experience flooding. According to The Hartford, more than 20 percent of flood claims come from properties outside high-risk flood zones. Most commercial property insurance policies do not cover flood damage. With a standard flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), building owners and property managers can protect their facilities, contents or both. Insuring both helps provide coverage for damage to walls, floors, equipment, and fixtures, as well as furniture, appliances, wall and floor coverings, clothing, audio equipment and televisions.

Reduce the Risk of Slips, Trips & Falls

Slip and fall accidents can be very costly whether they involve employees or a third party legally on the premises. Each year, these accidents result in thousands of workers’ compensation or third-party liability claims. This risk can increase substantially with winter weather. Therefore, it is important to help prevent potential claims by treating all exterior areas where businesses can expect to have pedestrian and/or vehicle traffic and make certain the property has ample lighting during the shorter daylight hours of winter. This process is not a “one and done” event. It is imperative that facility owners and managers inspect and treat areas of potential hazard frequently to help prevent potentially costly losses.

Kenneth Travers is technical manager – property and product specialist for The Hartford. He has more than 42 years of experience in the risk engineering field developing and delivering loss control engineering services and assessment tools for complex businesses with a focus in natural catastrophe, business impact, supply chain and fire protection engineering applications.

Ryne Carney is the head of property product for middle & large commercial at The Hartford. He has nearly 20 years of experience across commercial property underwriting and product.