Essential Winter Equipment & Supplies for Your Business

Whether you’re planning for a bevy of outdoor events or “a season of shivers,” as predicted by the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it’s time to gear up for winter. Get your equipment, crew, and workplace ready for the cold season by stocking up on fundamental winter equipment and supplies.

Safety First: Essential Winter Supplies

According to OSHA, you’re responsible for ensuring a safe workplace, including protecting staff from cold stress. Preventable falls, motor vehicle accidents and threats from losing power during a storm all affect workers. Going through winter safety guidelines is always a good idea, but it’s equally important to have supplies on hand and equipment winterized.

Go through your offices, shops, and vehicles, and check the following areas:

• Cold weather emergency kit: Ensure that all vehicles have the basics, including sand or cat litter, a tow rope, snow shovel and scraper, jumper cables, flares, and a first aid kit.
• Building systems: Verify that your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and emergency exit lights are working in your offices and shops. Replace any that aren’t.
• Slippery surfaces: Place containers and scoops for salt or magnesium chloride near entrances, put mats near doorways, and pull out those caution cones.
• Space heaters: Remind staff about the risks of space heaters and encourage them to say something if they see one located near flammable materials or left unattended.
• Flashlights: A winter storm knocking out your power isn’t a good time to realize the batteries are corroded. Open them up and replace them as needed.

Warm Up Your Portable Restroom Workers

Company-branded gear keeps your team warm, is a tax write-off, and promotes your business every time your crew puts it on. Likewise, other cold-weather supplies protect your team from harsh elements.

Consider handing out:

• Anti-slip footwear
• Hand and foot warmers
• Portable heaters
• Battery-powered NOAA weather radios
• Flashlights and batteries
• Battery-powered device chargers
• Neck gaiters or balaclavas
• Merino wool socks

Protect Your Equipment

For PROs up north, winterizing sinks, toilets, and tanks are second nature. But our friends down south have some extra time before preparing antifreeze formulations. However, a brutal winter storm can take any PRO by surprise. One day, everything is fine. The next day, your drivers can’t pump, resulting in downtime and a backlog of work. Being proactive helps overcome the unpredictability of winter weather.

Make sure you’ve serviced your company vehicles and checked batteries, windshield wipers, tire treads, and antifreeze levels. Stock up on extras so you’re not running out in the hours before the winter storm along with everyone else in your region.

Purchase surge protectors for your office and shop equipment to protect from an unexpected power surge and outage. Set up weather alert notifications so you can prep your equipment and crew before a storm hits. Don’t forget to switch to winter foam hand sanitizer and order de-icer pellets for your waste tanks.

Winterize Your PRO Business

Save time and protect your staff by buying winter equipment and supplies before cold weather hits. With a proactive approach, you can avoid downtime, reduce injuries, and improve your team’s work environment.

For more in-depth information about operating a PRO business during winter, utilize your free JohnTalk membership to download “Winterization Procedures for Your Equipment” from the JohnTalk Vault.

Looking to Take Your Portable Restroom Business to the NEXT LEVEL? Download our FREE Guide: “Your Guide to Operating A Portable Restroom Business.”

Thinking About GETTING INTO the Portable Restroom Industry? Download our FREE Guide: “Your Guide to Starting A Portable Restroom Business.”