With fall coming to an end and winter quickly approaching, you’ll want to make sure the right steps are in place to protect your residents, employees, and business. Here is how you should prep for winter as a manufactured home community owner:
Tree Trimming
When the snow starts coming down and the ice builds up on the tree branches, it adds extra weight to the limbs. If the snow and ice gets too heavy and the branch is dead or can’t support the weight, it could snap. If the falling branches cause home destruction or bodily injury, you could be held responsible and be liable for the damage from negligently managed trees. To prepare for the winter, make sure any dead trees and branches are cut down and properly removed.
Snow and Ice Removal Logs
It is important to keep up with snow and ice removal in your manufactured home community. Slips and falls are common in the winter because of the slippery ice. If a resident is injured from a fall caused by the ice or snow, you could be held liable for the injury. A snow and ice removal log will make it easy to keep up with what needs to be done around the park. These are charts that employees can check off or sign. List out all the places that need to be treated (sidewalks, entrances, parking areas, roads, stairs, etc.) and what type of treatment it needs (plow, shovel, salt, etc.). The log should also have a place to mark what type of precipitation it was, the start and finish time of removal, and the person’s name. These logs can help if there is a claim against the park for negligence in snow and ice removal.
Pipes
Freezing pipes can be common when temps drop below 32 Fahrenheit. This can cause the pipes to burst and flood the area when the temperature begins to rise. To avoid this, make sure that the pipes are properly winterized before the freezing temps hit. Make sure this is done in the office, common buildings such as the clubhouse or laundry mats, and park-owned homes.
Lighting
With winter comes time change. This means as the cold months go on, the night will fall sooner and sooner. With it getting dark earlier, it is important to have adequate lighting. It might be dark by the time many residents get home from work so lighting is important to prevent accidents and falls.
Insurance
It is important to have the proper liability insurance coverage in place to protect your business and community. Contact us through our website here to talk to one of our representatives about your manufactured home community’s insurance policies.
Follow us on Facebook for updates and new articles!