Mid-Season Safety Review & Incident Reporting for Snow Removal Contractors

For many of you, winter is in full swing—while for others, snowy winter weather may be just starting up. Regardless of where you are in your season, it’s a good idea to take a step back and make sure things are going as planned in your snow removal business. 

Conducting and documenting both planned and unplanned site visits is a great way to make sure your procedures are being followed and work quality is meeting your expectations. While making visits, many contractors check in with the customer to make sure work is being done satisfactorily. While on site, be sure to observe employee safety, review equipment conditions, and consider holding a quick safety meeting. If you’re not sure what to talk about at your meeting, here are some ideas:

• Slips, falls, and proper winter footwear
• Preventing falls from vehicles by using three points of contact
• Driving safety in parking lots and between jobs
• Daily equipment inspection expectations 
• Theft prevention
• Incident, injury, and property damage reporting procedures
• Keeping customer files up to date with photos, logs, etc.
• Interacting with disgruntled people

While you’re on site, check to make sure there weren't any unreported incidents and remind your customers to notify you immediately of any reports of alleged injury or property damage related to snow/ice/plowing. You can also take this time to make sure security camera footage from any incident is preserved.  

We also suggest that you take a moment to audit your customer files to make sure any incidents are properly documented. This may include maintenance records, plow logs and service invoices for a week prior and week after the incident, photos of the job site, a list of employees at the job site on the date of the incident, employee training records, and a list of supplies used at the location. You could reach out to your agent to seek advice on submitting a claim and what else to document.

Don’t forget to proactively address maintenance issues during the season. An improperly maintained plow could create an unsafe condition or could leave you short-handed and unable to meet customer expectations. And be sure to document all your preventative maintenance tasks.

We hope the rest of your season is successful and uneventful.