Winter Isn’t Passive

Winter is the season where facility pros suddenly become part gambler, part meteorologist, part risk strategist. Preventive maintenance stops being a line item — it becomes survival.

Trey Adams, Physical Plant Director, Southern College of Optometry said, “Winter prep starts long before the first snow hits. Teams should be conducting thorough roof inspections and making necessary repairs now, followed by detailed checks on supplemental heating systems — especially in areas with exposed piping that could freeze and rupture.”

“Crews should inventory all outdoor snow and ice equipment to ensure every tool is ready and accounted for before the first event, and stock up early on ice melt and deicing supplies. It’s also worth having a conversation with facilities and maintenance teams about their personal winter gear — if someone lost it, outgrew it, or hasn’t replaced damaged items, now is the time to fix that. You can’t send people into freezing conditions without proper protection,” he added.

Nick Roberts, from iSource Rentals, added another important reminder — have your rental HVAC partner lined up before the freeze. “It’s always better to have someone on deck before an emergency arises.”

Kris Kuehny, a Regional Director of Maintenance, said Southern states should weatherize outdoor spigots, have extra CPVC parts on hand, and stock ice melt even if deep freezes are rare.

Preventing power outages is critical during icy and snowy conditions, cautioned electrical system consultant Anthony Messano from Power Shaver. The last thing you want during the winter is for a major piece of equipment to go down due to a power outage when it’s freezing outside and you’ve got buildings filled with students or patients.

Frank Pace, Director of Facilities, Saint Agnes Hospital-Medxcel, keeps a checklist that every hospital FM should pin near their desk: boilers exercised on fuel oil, fuel tanks at 95%, snow removal contracts secured, helipad cleaning protocols confirmed, and winter emergency safety plans reviewed with staff.

Here’s where winter prep is changing: the teams who make it through winter with the fewest surprises are the ones with instant access to building plans, shut-offs, equipment information, valve maps, and repair histories — the exact moment they need it on their mobile devices.

Winter emergencies don’t wait for someone to dig through PDFs… ask a retired tech to remember where the isolation valve is… or search through the 4th subfolder in a drive no one’s opened since 2019.

That’s where ARC Facilities makes life easier for facilities teams and leadership — making institutional knowledge and building information available in seconds, not hours. When the roof leaks during a storm, when a frozen line bursts behind a wall, when temps threaten boilers — speed of access to information becomes risk reduction. Winter rewards the prepared and challenges the reactive. Building Information access is preparation.

Key Winter Prep Takeaways for Facility Leaders

• Winter prep starts early — roof inspections / repairs first before weather hits
• Verify supplemental heating systems, especially areas with exposed piping at freeze risk
• Inventory, test, and stage snow + ice equipment ahead of time
• Stock up on ice melt and deicing supplies before supply chains tighten
• Make sure staff have proper cold-weather PPE — don’t send anyone out unprotected
• Secure rental HVAC support before an emergency
• Even in warmer states — weatherize outdoor spigots and keep extra plumbing components on hand
• Hospitals should confirm boiler fuel oil exercise, fuel tanks at 95%, snow removal contracts in place, and helipad cleaning protocols
• Preventing power outages is critical — freezing temps + power loss = threat to life safety
• Fast access to building plans, shut-offs, valve maps, and equipment details reduces damage, downtime, and risk
• ARC Facilities turns hours of digging into seconds of access — which is the difference between reacting vs staying ahead of winter surprises