FOCUS WINTER PREPARATION
WINTER
READINESS
42 SEPTEMBER 2021
Estates management is ultimately all about
risk. Wear and tear on assets risks reducing
their value. Leaving small problems unresolved
risks greater costs down the line that may have
a material impact on an organisation’s bottom
line. Beyond the risks to the fabric of buildings
or car parks, there is of course the human
dimension: Hazardous conditions such as
slippery surfaces or broken paving risk injury to
site users, which in these litigious times carries
the heavy risk of legal action, liability claims
and even imprisonment for breaches of the
Health & Safety at Work Act, which fall under
criminal rather than civil law.
Perhaps more than any other time in the year,
winter is when these multiple overlapping risk
factors coincide: On the one hand, extreme
weather conditions such as storms, flooding,
snowy or icy conditions present direct hazards,
while on the other, limited daylight hours or
access to sites caused by weather conditions
conspire to make it more challenging to
resolve issues. As a result, it’s vital to take a
comprehensive and early approach to assess and
plan for the winter months that encompasses
areas such as grounds maintenance, drainage,
and - naturally - snow and ice clearance.
GROUNDS MAINTENANCE PRIORITIES
Many organisations significantly reduce grounds
maintenance with the onset of winter, for example
by reducing the number of site visits a er the
main growing season ends. However, even when
lawns aren’t in need of regular cutting this can
be a false economy: Some of the most beneficial
care is carried out in the coldest months to help
lawns grow healthily and free of moss during the
summer, and this is true for grounds maintenance
Whether it’s proactive maintenance of drains or grounds or readying
your plan for snow and ice clearance, Brendan Aherne, Winter Services
Director at OUTCO explains that now is the time to prepare for winter