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The dog days of summer are here and as a heat wave grips parts of the nation, maintenance crews are planning for the coming winter by evaluating and purchasing ice-melt products. For these dedicated maintenance and facility managers, choosing the correct ice-melt product for the correct application can be a confusing, if not a difficult decision. Furthermore, slip and fall litigation continues to be an issue of concern, making the decision to purchase the correct ice-melt product that much more critical.
In a study conducted by Dow, with 2,000 maintenance professionals in schools, hospitals, corporate complexes, hotels, motels, malls and other large organizations the company identified what these managers want in an ice-melt product.
While respondents indicated they wanted a product that would: not harm concrete; not track into the facility; work at low temperatures and safe for plants; overall, 44% of respondents indicated they wanted their ice-melt product to melt snow and ice fast. A result that is probably not all that surprising.
Greg MacDonnell, senior marketing manager at Dow told me that litigation surrounding slip-and-fall accidents is increasing and facility managers are turning to reliable, high-performance products to prevent accidents.
What's more, according to the National Safety Council, of all risks, falls were the leading cause of unintentional death among people 65 and older in the U.S. in 2005. In response, managers of health-care facilities and other institutions are purchasing ice-melt products to ensure the safety of visitors and the elderly.
MacDonnell says the upward trend in slip and fall litigation and growing awareness of how ice-melt products can help decrease slip and fall accident liabilities continues to be prevalent within the industry.
In response, manufacturers of ice-melt products are also listening to end-users and offering solutions to help them weave their way through the decision making process. Offering new packaging solutions, simplifying marketing materials and helping end-users understand the differences between blended or unblended ice-melt products. This month's cover story explores how manufacturers are meeting these demands.
In today's digital age, information is extremely accessible, however sometimes the information is not reliable, nor truthful. While the choices of ice-melt products are as vast as their uses, it's important for end-users to understand when and what product they should use based on their individual factors.
As a distributor, it's also important for you to understand how these products, while they may achieve the same goal of melting away snow and ice, have their own ideal applications for your individual customers.
author: Ryan Olson
Editor - Maintenance Supplies