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→Property Owners and Managers
====Site Assessment and Planning====
====Site Assessment and Planning====
This activity is often done with contractors to identify appropriate snow storage areas, vehicle impact hazards, problem areas such as grading that directs melt water or precipitation to walkways, roof downspouts directed to paved areas, or infrastructure that could be damaged by snowplows. A winter maintenance policy stipulating the expected weather-based level of service, areas requiring winter maintenance and other guiding elements should also be developed as part of a winter risk management strategy. Certification of the property(ies) through the [http://www.smartaboutsalt.com/becomesascertified Smart about Salt Council] can help property managers through the process of developing a plan and policy, while also demonstrating how the organization has endeavored to provide a reasonable level of care in the event of lawsuits.
This activity is often done with contractors to identify appropriate snow storage areas, vehicle impact hazards, problem areas such as grading that directs melt water or precipitation to walkways, roof downspouts directed to paved areas, or infrastructure that could be damaged by snowplows. A winter maintenance policy stipulating the expected weather-based level of service, areas requiring winter maintenance and other guiding elements should also be developed as part of a winter risk management strategy. Certification of the property(ies) through the [http://www.smartaboutsalt.com/becomesascertified Smart about Salt Council] can help property managers through the process of developing a plan and policy, while also demonstrating how the organization has endeavored to provide a reasonable level of care in the event of lawsuits.
====On-Site Equipment====
Salt storage and spreading equipment, such as salt boxes, liquid storage containers, and walkway spreading devices can be used by building management staff for periodic or spot treatments, which may reduce requests for contractors to return to the site to apply more salt. On-site mobile or in-pavement temperature and salt residue sensors, along with weather forecasting tools are also useful to inform salting decisions and provide building managers with tools to verify that the salting approaches applied to the site and discussed with contractors as part of the winter maintenance plan are appropriately tailored to site conditions.
====Record Keeping====
Responsibilities for tracking winter conditions and maintenance activities should be shared by contractors and property management staff. On-site cameras can be particularly useful in this regard, particularly if the feeds' from these cameras are also shared remotely with contractors. Tracking equipment can help resolve potential conflicts between property management and contractors, contribute to learning through trial and error, ensure the winter maintenance plan is being followed and provide due diligence evidence in the event of slip and fall lawsuits. Liability for "slip and fall" claims associated with winter maintenance are outlined under "''[https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s20033 Bill 118 - Ontario’s Occupiers’ Liability Act'']". The Act was recently amended in January of 2021 and effectively disallows "''any action for personal injury damages caused by snow or ice conditions against an occupier or independent contractor employed to remove snow or ice from the premises when the injury occurred unless a written notice of the claim is personally served on or sent by registered mail to such the occupier or independent contractor within 60 days''" (Kennaley, 2021)<ref name="example4">Kennaley, R. 2021. Legislative solutions to slip and fall liability - Ontario’s Bill 118 marks huge step in the right direction. Landscape Ontario. Accessed - May 8 2022: https://landscapeontario.com/legislative-solutions-to-slip-and-fall-liability</ref> (some exceptions apply if the injury results in death, along with other more extreme cases). These recent changes will result in a reduction in associated claims and insurance payouts, thus leading to likely lower insurance premiums for contractors that historically have been high since the 1990s<ref name="example4" />.
==Salt Alternatives==
==Salt Alternatives==