Rancho Mesa’s Alyssa Burley and Client Technology Coordinator, Brenda Khalil, discuss how companies can prepare for winter weather.

Show Notes: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠

Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Alyssa Burley

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Brenda Khalil⁠⁠

Editor: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jadyn Brandt

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, “News Room News” by Spence

© Copyright 2024. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved

Transcript

Alyssa Burley: Welcome back everyone. My guest is Brenda Khalil, Client Technology Coordinator with Rancho Mesa. Today we’ll be discussing how companies can prepare for winter weather.

Brenda, welcome to the show.

Brenda Khalil: Thanks for having me, Alyssa.

AB: Of course. So. with winter on its way, companies are bracing for the colder months still ahead. We know lower temperatures, heavy rain, and illnesses can take away from the safety and efficiency of a business or job site.

So, how can employers ensure they are properly prepared for the drop in temperatures during the fall and winter seasons?

BK: Well, it’s true that cold weather brings challenges to a job site, but the good news is, cold-weather related incidents are preventable if the proper steps are taken to ensure employee safety.

And there are many ways to ensure worker safety as the temperatures drop.

Supervisors should be sure their workers are wearing the proper clothing in order to reduce body-heat loss, and are staying dry as much as possible; as wet clothing can chill the body rapidly.

It’s also really important not to ignore shivering.

And even if an employee says they’re fine, persistent shivering is a sign that it’s time to return indoors.

AB: Those are all really good pieces of advice, and we also know the colder weather brings unfavorable outdoor working conditions.

So. how should companies handle rain and snow?

BK: Good question! Heavy rains, dense fog and substantial snowfall can decrease visibility on the job site, and on the road, which increases the likelihood of accidents with equipment or vehicles.

If it is raining or snowing, the best thing to do is stay off of the roads.

But if avoiding the roads is not an option, be sure vehicles are equipped with properly inflated tires that are not bald or badly worn.

This will improve traction and reduce likelihood of losing control of the vehicle.

AB: And, even when prioritizing safety, accidents still sometimes happen.

So, if something does go wrong on a job site because of the weather, what can clients do to address the issue?

BK: So, if an accident does occur, users of the SafetyOne™ platform can complete an incident report mobile form. And, a tutorial on how to complete a mobile form can be found on the Rancho Mesa website.

And, to help prevent accidents caused by a mechanical failure, SafetyOne users can file an inspection report for vehicles in need of service using the “Motor Vehicle” observation. A tutorial on how to complete an observation report can also be found on the Rancho Mesa website.

AB: Those are all excellent resources for Rancho Mesa clients.

Now, is there anything else employers can do to promote safety of their employees during the colder months?

BK: Yeah, there is! So, Rancho Mesa has a number of toolbox talks available for cold weather, including safety tips when using an industrial space heater and weather awareness for landscape contractors and tree care companies.

To enable access to these weather-specific toolbox talks via the mobile app, Rancho Mesa recommends that the SafetyOne administrator create a Winter Weather toolbox talk group specifically for these toolbox talks and assign the group to the desired projects and crews.

And this will make the winter weather-specific toolbox talks available to users in the mobile app.

For a full list of the recommend SafetyOne toolbox talks, head to the Rancho Mesa website and search for the article titled “Preparing for Winter Weather.”

AB: Yeah, and we can put a link to that article in the episode notes. So, Brenda, if listeners have questions about weather-related toolbox talks, what’s the best way to get in touch with you?

BK: As always, clients can contact me at bkhalil@ranchomesa.com or they can call me directly at (619) 486-6562.

AB: All right, well, Brenda, thank you for joining me in StudioOne™.

BK: Thanks for having me.