It’s July. You're a Facility Manager. Obviously, You Are Thinking about Winter.
July is the Month to Plan
It may be the dog days of summer but as a property or facility manager, you are issuing RFPs and preparing for Winter 2020-21. As a commercial snow company, we are in it right alongside you. Equipment, hiring, logistics, training and supplies are on our minds but as members of IFMA, IREM, BOMA and MSCA for many years, we understand the frustration of needing safe properties while also dealing with budgets. The balancing act is particularly daunting as we consider the upcoming season secondary to the economic and staff impacts of COVID-19. Here are 3 considerations we are reviewing with our clients right now and helping find solutions.
Safety First
Every facility and property manager tracks slip/trip/fall (STF) incidents as part of OSHA 300 logs. Consider this quote from CDC NIOSH Safety Plan 2019 – 2023. “STFs collectively lead in costs to businesses with over $15 billion dollars in direct costs. In the Wholesale-Retail Trade sector, STFs are the third most common cause for lost-workday injuries. STFs are also responsible for 15% of all work-related fatal injuries, the second leading cause of fatalities behind motor vehicles and the third leading cause for this industry. STFs disproportionately affect certain demographic groups. Generally, STFs are the second leading cause of death among Hispanic workers and the third leading cause for Asian workers. In addition, 47% of fatal occupational fall victims are age 55 and above.” The average injury claim for a pedestrian slip and fall injury on ice in a parking lot is $18,000 to $30,000; and workers’ compensation claims are higher at $25,000 to $45,000 per claim according to numerous Snow and Ice Management Association (SIMA) publications. Less frequently than STF, snow and ice are the direct cause of pedestrian-vehicle and vehicle-vehicle conflicts in parking lots. Parking lot accidents can be more expensive, and the building owner is typically named as a third-party. Our Certified Snow Providers at Prescription Landscape can mitigate this risk. We provide an audit of snow and ice management “hot spots” like loading dock stairs, walkways to exterior trash and recycling corrals, the corrals themselves, employee side entrances/exits, delivery entrances, shortcut paths from parking to building, areas prone to snow drifting, areas prone to thaw and overnight refreeze, snow burden on awnings and overhangs. In Minnesota, there is generally a six-year statute of limitations for slip-and-fall accidents which occur due to someone else’s negligence such as failure to shovel, failure to clean a spill, or failure to put down salt and sand (Minn. Stat. § 541.05, Subd. 1(5)). There is a two-year statute of limitations for accidents which occur due to a defect to the property, such as bad drainage or broken steps (Minn. Stat. § 541.051, Subd. 1(c)). As part of best-practice service for our clients, Prescription Landscape maintains the following property records: documented verification process of snow-ice management; electronic reporting and location verification; post-service inspections to verify and document service completion; and, event communications to clients related to weather and services rendered.
Level of Service vs Scope of Work
This is a key differentiator for Prescription Landscape when it comes to responding to RFPs. We find that Snow-Ice procurement processes and forms are frequently a source of confusion. Our company recommends to its clients Purchasing Snow & Ice Management: Quality RFP Creation and Best Practices created by a team of insurance companies, retail clients and snow-ice providers under the leadership of SIMA. When we lose a bid to another company by a substantial percent, it can certainly mean that the company underbid and will lose money on the work. More frequently however, it is due to unaligned expectations in Level of Service (Start Times, Triggers, Completion Times, Extreme Weather Conditions, Expectation of Condition of Paved Surface) and/ or in Scope of Work (Site Size, Site Complexity, Itemized Services). As a Facility Manager, the last things you need in the middle of a blizzard is to find out that your Snow-Ice vendor points to a clause in their contract that states that an extreme event is a release from the trigger expectations; or, to have daily calls from building tenants complaining about pavement conditions but your contract specifies a 3” trigger, no pre-treatment and no ice checks.
Budgeting in 2020-21
As a Facility Manager or Property Manager, if you believe that budget cuts will impact your contracts, and your ability to work with your own clients, then we want to have an open discussion with you. As you consider your 2020-21 Snow-Ice Management needs, we will discuss and possibly, adjust the level of service expectations and corresponding scope of work. If you typically use Per Event or Per Occurrence Contracts, you may not want to gamble on the frequency of Extreme Weather events. You may want to move to a budget-friendly Seasonal Contract. You may find that you can change your level of service by changing access to pedestrians and/or vehicles. As seasoned snow providers, we are expert property auditors and can recommend ways to save money while not comprising safety. We will review a detailed Scope of Work list with you and determine what can be a source of savings.