As January winds down, cold spells continue to march across the country.
It begs the question: Are you prepared for the late arrival of winter?
Winter weather has now arrived in full force around the Gulf Coast and Southeastern US, and some are having flashbacks to Winter Storm Uri and the subsequent freezes.
Is your facility prepared for any winter weather that comes your way?
Here are our top four concerns to be prepared for as winter rolls on.
Be prepared for whatever winter brings
While there’s no guarantees with weather — it’s best to be prepared for anything. If you haven’t already, check on these important areas of concern.
- The potential for severe weather as cold fronts move through. Are you prepared for severe weather to impact your power supply? What emergency plans does your facility have in place today? Make sure you’ve removed debris and secured any stored material in preparation for high winds.
- Back-up generator maintenance. Are your battery and charging systems ready for a 30-degree temperature swing overnight? Do you have block heaters operational to keep engines ready to start during cold weather? Are your coolant systems at appropriate mixture/levels to survive a hard freeze?
- Cooling and HVAC systems. Are your chillers and chilled water systems insulated and freeze protected? Make sure your humidifiers are operational and prepared to add humidity. The goal here is to prevent static electricity from low relative humidity as cold, dry air dominates. What about your rooftop systems and drain/plumbing; are they freeze protected?
- Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). Are your UPS well maintained and ready to support a critical load? For example; during an unplanned utility outage or generator issue?
Plan for the worst
We get it — investing money in “precautions” and planning for the “what-ifs” sounds like a lot of dollar signs on the chance of a possibility.
But, trust us, you do not want to be on the other end, wishing that you had been prepared.
Did you know the average cost of downtime can be up to $11,600 per minute? That can really add up quickly.
In winter weather, temperatures can go from 80 degrees to 30 degrees in less than 12 hours.
At FIBERTOWN, you can be sure that we are always prepared for the worst. Our customers depend on it.
Do you have a backup plan?
Putting your emergency plans down on paper ensures that everything goes smoothly when you need to activate it. And make sure everyone has access to the plans — in an offline environment.
Year-long diligence with preventative maintenance will help prevent failures when unplanned outages occur.
For you and your employees – prevent a bad day from getting worse! If your company is working from home, what is the plan if the internet goes out?
FIBERTOWN is prepared with disaster recovery office space should you need it. Contact us today to chat about specs and your needs. We’re here to help!