By Brian Wilmer
With the colder days already showing their face, and the winter being right around the corner, it’s time to make sure have everything ready for the upcoming cold. It’s essential that you get your workshop ready for the winter, especially if you have employees who are going to still be working through the cold weather.
The Building
The first thing that you need to do is to check your building. You should make sure it’s structurally safe, has no leaks or damages, and repair them if you need to. You may also want to think about upgrading your warehouse, especially if yours has seen better days. Talking to steel building designers will help you to see the benefits and features that you could gain from upgrading and updating your warehouse.
Equipment Maintenance
Ice and snow can have a serious impact on the performance you see from your equipment, Especially tools like forklifts. You need to check the tires for stability and traction, inspect the hydraulic systems, and check that the relevant maintenance has been carried out. You should also check things like hoses, and other machinery to make sure they are ready to deal with the colder weather. Inspections shouldn’t take too long, but they could save a lot of problems in the future.
Electricity And Heating
Another really important step to get your workshop ready for the winter involves your electricity and heating. Power outages are never good, but they can be even more detrimental in the winter. If you haven’t got back-generators it’s definitely worth investing in some. Especially if your heating relies on electricity. You should also check your roof regularly for snow, and consider roof insulation for extra protection.
Check your heating systems in plenty of time before the winter arrives, you are likely to use the heating for long periods of the day throughout the winter, therefore, you need to identify any issues before you ‘really’ need it. Having allowed temperature can be demoralizing and dangerous for staff, especially if we have winters as we have had in recent years. As obvious as it may sound, you also need to make sure you are supplying your staff with the right uniform and extra protection is that need to work near doors or outside. Having insufficient windows or doors can also cause problems and lead to your warehouse being cooler than it should be.
Staff Needs And Tasks
The first thing you need to do is to make sure you are aware of all the staffing needs for your warehouse. During the winter more people tend to take more days off, and it can sometimes be difficult for them to get to work due to heavy snow. You need to take this into consideration and make allowances for it. Make sure you look at schedules and rotas in order to ensure you have a well-staffed and reliable team at all times.
Make sure you supply the right training to people ahead of the colder months, enabling your staff to feel confident in full-filling duties they need to cover if there is absence is motivating and positive.
These are just a few of the ways you can get your warehouse ready for winter. Is there anything else that you are doing to get yours ready? Please share these in the comments below.
