Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1189904
WEEKLY EDITION DECEMBER 4, 2019 PAGE 12 CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 Co ld W e at he r Pre ca u tio n s By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director…continued from page 11 Han d wash S t at io n s In cold weather, hand wash stations will freeze because you cannot mix freeze-preventing substances into the water that would be bad for the skin or poisonous to ingest. When a hand wash station freezes, it's no good to anyone – and your equipment is damaged in the process. So you want to avoid this at all costs. Here is a great example of why watching the weather and anticipating cold a couple of weeks in advance is a good idea. You can start talking with your customers about moving the stations inside. Help them understand why this is necessary. If they have an indoor location, many customers are happy to do it – nobody wants to wash their hands in ice-cold water. If they don't have the room, pick up the unit and substitute hand sanitizer. The alcohol in sanitizer keeps it from freezing, and that may be the best option during the coldest months. T h awin g F ro ze n E q u ip me n t So, whoops…something froze up. Now what? Well, you can always wait for it to thaw. If you live somewhere that's likely to happen within a few hours, you may decide that's the way to go. More likely, things are pretty cold and will be for longer than it makes sense to wait. In that case, simply swap out the onsite equipment with equipment that has been prepared for cold weather. Bring the frozen equipment back to your shop and thaw it. Remember to load and transport the equipment with caution. Units with waste in them are heavy. You cannot be sure the ice has frozen the whole tank and shifting may break liquid loose, so be careful of spills. Make sure your team knows how to move the units safely and handle spills. That's always important, but if you live in an area where transporting wet units is not legal, it is especially important. There aren't really any good on site tactics for thawing frozen units. We hear of things companies try, but there is always the danger of equipment damage. The lost time is not often worth it. Having your teams completing their routes and bringing the units back to the shop is certainly the fastest option.