Why Gritting Services is a Winter Essential for Most UK Businesses – Even When Snow is Less Certain

If you are putting the task of organising professional gritting services for your UK business on hold because you expect another mild winter – think again. While it may seem cost-effective to go with the various weather predictions first, transferring ‘organising gritting services’ to the bottom of your ‘to-do list, this could put the welfare of your staff – and ultimately the reputation of your business – at risk.

Why? As this article shows, the likelihood and frequency of snow and ice is hard to predict months in advance. The only solution is to use a professional gritting company who closely monitor localised weather conditions and grit only when necessary, which gives you, and your employees, year round peace of mind.

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A look back at the winter of 2013/14

Last winter (2013-2014) harsh weather was forecast as far back as October when we were urged to get ready for the ‘big freeze’ ahead. On Saturday October 12, the Daily Express ran the headline: ‘The Worse Winter for Decades: Record-Breaking Snow Predicted for November’. The article warned ‘the entire country’ was set for a ‘horror freeze’ which would ‘bring brutal winds and fierce blizzards.’ However, the passage of time showed this wasn’t the case, and while some places did experience significant snowfall, the UK overall had a comparatively mild winter; other areas, such as the Anglian region had no ground settlement of snow at all.

In fact, dire warnings of heavy snow featured prominently in the media in the autumn. On September 10, the Daily Mail ran a light hearted article referring to the 2014 Old Farmer’s Almanac which warned we might have to dust off our snow shovels to brace ourselves for a ‘bitter cold’ winter.

As it happened, although there were some levels of ice and snow around the UK, it was nothing like the ‘big freeze’ people were expecting. The weather formation that was forecast, in fact, hit North America very hard but was blocked from reaching Britain. Instead, stormy and wet weather battered many areas, especially in the South, with heavy flooding posing the biggest threat to homes and businesses in some areas. The winter of 2013/14 turned out to be, not the coldest, but the wettest on record in England and Wales for nearly 250 years (since the rainfall series began).

Preparing ahead for the British weather

There is no doubt that British people have long been obsessed by the weather and are always trying to predict it. The reason for this is that the UK weather varies considerably from year to year: while winter of 2012/13 was dominated by snow and ice, people faced strong winds and flooding in 2013/14.

So, how can we plan ahead? The variable weather makes it hard for businesses to arrange gritting on an ad hoc basis. The solution is to use professional gritting services, such as Ice Watch for your UK business. We closely monitor weather conditions, and only grit as and when needed – so we can pass these savings on to you. You know that whenever the weather takes a turn for the worst and there is a need to grit, you can rest assured the job will be done for you.

Less certainty means a greater need for gritting services

In practice, we all know the UK will receive a good amount of ice and snow most winters – even a relatively wet and mild one. Taking the country as a whole, even if there is no chance of a big chill, there is still a strong likelihood of occasional ice formation on some of the roads and pavements. As mentioned in our last blog post, gritters were still out on the roads of East Anglia last winter.

Certainly, some companies only take snow and ice precautions when there’s a big and definite freeze forecast. However, stocking up on grit and shovels, training staff and arranging rotas, doesn’t offer suitable precautionary measures if the weather turns unexpectedly bleak. And, without the careful, daily monitoring of conditions throughout the winter period this can leave your business wide open to risk.

Arranging gritting services from a UK supplier is akin to taking out insurance. For example, you don’t take out business insurance because you think a person is about to make a claim against you. You take it out because you want to take precautionary measures; as the consequences of not doing so could spell financial disaster for your business.

To ensure the safety of your premises whatever the weather, Ice Watch carry out a risk assessment, put Health and Safety measures in place, keep documents and closely monitor local weather conditions. This is efficient, accurate and far more cost-effective (in terms of actual cost as well as staff time and disruption) than organising in-house preparations , or worse, doing nothing and then suffering the cost of business disruption and potential liability claims.

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Three Strategies for Snow and Ice Removal