CALCIUM CHLORIDE WHITE PAPER Optimize Your Sidewalk Ice Melting Program to Improve Winter Safety and Meet the Challenges of Today’s Business Climate By Greg MacDonnell General Manager Occidental Chemical Corporation (OxyChem) Preventing winter slip and fall accidents Floor Safety Institute, the average cost reputations among visitors who can tell has never been more important for of a worker compensation claim for a that owners and managers – and by building owners, facility managers and slip and fall accident is $4,000. When extension, building tenants – care maintenance contractors responsible for customers or third parties are involved, about their safety and take pride in a keeping walkways free of snow and ice. liability awards quickly jump, averaging well-maintained facility. The cost of effective deicing materials and $60,000 to $100,000 per claim. Legal time spent maintaining safe walks, steps costs, lost productivity and human Best Practices for Snow and entryways is minor compared to the suffering can make the final toll from and Ice Control risks associated with slippery walkways these accidents much higher. Effective snow and ice control means and the damage it can inflict Complying with Local Regulations a lot more than simply having snow on businesses. removal equipment and deicer on hand In many communities, clearing and Today, the need for safety must be with vague instructions for their use in maintaining safe sidewalks are the balanced with other important business the event of a winter storm. Every facility responsibility of the property owner and considerations, including the cost- should have a well-documented plan for regulations often define how quickly efficiency of deicing operations and managing snow and ice, and have staff sidewalks and other public walkways their impact on walkways, buildings and ready to implement it for preventative must be cleared of snow and ice after landscape. Also important are society’s action when a storm is forecast, or for storms. Failure to do so can result in fines rising expectations for facility owners, speedy removal of ice and snow once foul or other penalties. managers and contractors as concerns weather arrives. about human health, accessibility, and Minimizing Insurance Costs Know Your Facility’s Characteristics environmental impact become more Minimizing slip and fall accidents can and Needs widespread. More responsible and translate directly into cost savings for improved snow and ice control practices Begin by understanding needs at your building owners. Operations that are are among the ways facilities are facility and predict how key locations will meticulous about snow and ice control responding to meet the entire range of be impacted by snow and ice events. programs, and document their efforts, requirements. Where is pedestrian traffic heaviest? may be rewarded with lower liability Where do vehicles move, pause or park? insurance premiums.1 The Business Case for What routes do people follow when Effective Ice Melting Maintaining a Quality Reputation moving between locations? Where is access for the disabled most critical? Are There are many business reasons to Efficient, effective and responsible winter certain locations more prone to trouble effectively control snow and ice on maintenance is a hallmark of quality due to exposure to weather, melt runoff, walkways, stairs, landings and other management. In fiercely competitive or vehicle traffic? Do sloped surfaces outdoor surfaces: commercial leasing markets, it can help such as wheelchair or automobile ramps property owners and managers maintain Minimizing Slip/Fall Liability pose an elevated risk to pedestrians satisfaction among current tenants while or motorists? Are there visibility issues A disciplined snow and ice control fostering the positive image necessary related to poor lighting or blowing program can protect facility owners from to attract new ones. It can also enhance snow? It is also important to assess the costly litigation. According to the National 1 WHITE PAPER total surface area of pavement you will mechanically remove light accumulations environment, lawns and shrubbery, metal have to maintain and what equipment, and can make removal of heavy snow and architectural features and interior flooring. materials and manpower will be required ice faster and easier. Excessive application also increases to respond to winter storm events and costs. By using a faster deicer that Speed and Reliability are Critical maintain safe conditions between storms. performs well at low temperatures, there Timely and reliable attention to snow and is less tendency to over apply. Plan for All Conditions ice melting and removal are essential Be ready for anything. Although mid- to allow tenants, visitors and customers latitude or southern facilities may typically safe passage. Winter maintenance experience only occasional light snow, plans should be designed to provide Winter maintenance plans ice control programs should prepare clear and safe conditions for the first should be designed to for the uncommon events that cause vehicle and pedestrian traffic to arrive provide clear and safe the most trouble. For example, Dallas is during and after a storm. Preventive conditions for the first well-known for its warm climate, but a maintenance should be performed to vehicle and pedestrian few times a year it receives freezing rain ensure equipment is well-maintained traffic to arrive during that can bring the city and facilities to a and available for duty on short notice. halt. Further north, cities like Chicago and Adequate supplies of ice melting material and after a storm. Minneapolis experience winter storms should be stocked on-site for immediate and very cold temperatures all winter access. Maintenance crews should be long. Businesses and individuals in any trained and ready to remove snow and Comparing Ice Melters ice quickly and properly. Standards for region expect that sidewalks, steps, To evaluate the performance reliability crew response and performance of winter entryways and parking lots – as well as and the speed of melting associated maintenance activities should include roads and highways – will remain open with different ice melting materials, it adequate time for deicer to penetrate ice during bad weather and will be quickly helps to understand that solid deicers and loosen it for mechanical removal. returned to ice- and snow-free condition must first dissolve before ice melting can This will help eliminate the tendency to after a storm. begin. The resulting deicer solution melts over apply ice melter in an attempt to Make Mechanical Removal a Priority surrounding ice on contact. achieve faster results. Over application is The most economical and lowest impact a wasteful practice that may cause large Even though it may not be visible, method of snow and ice control is amounts of residual deicer to remain on water is always present on the surface mechanical removal of accumulations the surface long after snow and ice have of ice. The amount of water increases during and after winter storm events. melted, increasing the potential for indoor as temperatures rise and is reduced Prompt removal of snow and ice from tracking and environmental impact. when temperatures drop. During colder walkways and parking lots minimizes conditions, when there is little water on Choose the Right Ice Melter compaction by foot and vehicle traffic. the surface of ice, rock salt and some Mechanically removing any existing snow, Several performance characteristics other solid deicers take longer to dissolve, before applying ice melter, enables the should guide the selection of an ice resulting in slow melting action. However, deicer to more quickly penetrate and melter, but two are particularly important: hygroscopic deicers dissolve and begin break the bond between remaining ice melting ice very quickly even under cold, • Reliable Performance – Will the and the underlying pavement. This can “dry” conditions. Hygroscopic deicers deicer perform well in the coldest reduce the amount of deicer required and will attract any available moisture from temperatures your property may the potential for impact on infrastructure the surface of the ice as well as the experience? and the environment. surrounding air so the ice melter can • Ice Melting Speed – How quickly will begin to dissolve. Use Anti-icing Treatments to Prevent the material melt ice to minimize Slippery Conditions Some deicers actually accelerate melting pedestrian exposure to potentially by chemically reacting with moisture to dangerous conditions? When foul winter weather is in the release significant heat. Ice melters that forecast, ice melter materials can The goal of any ice melting program is release heat are called “exothermic” be applied in advance as anti-icing to minimize slip and fall hazards using and melt ice more quickly and at very treatments to keep subsequent freezing the least amount of materials. When cold temperatures. Other deicers are rain or light snowfall from bonding to used excessively, all ice melting materials “endothermic”. Rather than releasing pavement. This may eliminate the need to can have an impact on the natural heat, they must draw heat from their 2 WHITE PAPER surroundings to dissolve. Endothermic small percentage of calcium chloride Potassium Chloride deicers work slower than exothermic that cold weather effectiveness is not Endothermic properties and a lowest products, especially when temperatures significantly improved.