Winter Maintenance to Prevent Potential Hazards
Winter months in cold climates can present special hazards for your customers and crew members. Take precautions to prevent potentially hazardous conditions or address those that develop.
- Building Exterior Maintenance
In winter months, it is especially important to maintain the exterior of your restaurant when the cold and snow may cause hazardous conditions.
Keep a clear path to all outside trash receptacles. This provides easy access for customers. Clean the trash receptacles daily with a hot, clean, sanitizer-soaked towel. This helps prevent unsightly food build-up outside the lids.
Make sure all outside water faucets and pipes, including those in the corral, are drained to prevent bursting in subfreezing weather.
Make sure a clear area is shoveled around the entrance and exit signs. It is important that signs are always visible to customers.
- Parking Lot and Drive-Thru Snow Removal
Most restaurants employ a snowplowing service. To the extent practical, the service should ensure that the parking lot will be cleaned and ready to receive customers regardless of the time and amount of snowfall. If your restaurant chooses to do its own snowplowing, there must be adequate equipment on hand for clearing the area. Unless impractical, do not allow more than 2 inches of snow to accumulate on the surface of your parking lot.
Keep wheelchair-accessible parking spaces, access aisles, and curb ramps clear of snow and ice. Do not pile snow in the wheelchair-accessible parking spaces or access aisles.
Refer to the your O&T manual to obtain additional Winter Maintenance guidelines.