Ten Winter Facility Preparation Tips
A Cold Weather Checklist for Facility Teams

Preparing your facility for winter is all about predictive and preventive maintenance, according to Goodway, a facility maintenance cleaning product manufacturer, and other sources. Here are a few winterizing tips:

• Look for air leaks around windows and doors
• Shut off the water supply to outside faucets and sprinkler systems to keep the pipes from freezing over winter
• Clean furnace filters to ensure maximum heating efficiency
• Check crawl spaces for proper insulation
• Check pipes for leakage
• Make sure fire pumps are in working order
• Go up on the roof to check for repairs, excessive moss and damage from trees caused by winter storms

Winter is also an important time to better understand the challenges of inclement weather and emergency response for police, fire departments and 1^st responders for several reasons:

• Icy and snowy roads mean it takes longer for crews to reach facilities
• Also, hoses, fire hydrants and gear can freeze, posing a safety threat to firefighters
• Winter weather has an impact on fires, putting them out and restoring operations after
• When snow accumulates, clear it from fire hydrants, to make access easier for fire fighters

This Chicago school survived a burst pipe, but it could have been a real disaster had it happened during a frigid Midwest winter.

Knowing your facility inside and out is vital in the winter. Having your building plans in your pocket 24/7/365 is a smart decision, made possible by ARC Facilities.