There’s a lot happening inside those big buildings on industrial properties, and there’s a lot of action outside, too.
Big trucks rumble up to loading docks. Employees cross busy, expansive parking lots.
Safety is a top concern. Landscaping plays a big part, from keeping parking lots clear of debris, snow, and ice to drainage solutions that keep wayward water under control.
Here’s how:
Industrial Property Safety: Parking Lots
Parking lots are a big deal at industrial properties. They’re huge and really busy, with big trucks tumbling through at all hours.
Parking lots have to be clean and safe, with signage clearly visible.
No overgrown bushes or wayward limbs obscuring important directions. No clumps of mowed grass, leaf litter, or other unsightly debris.
Anything that can cause a person to trip, fall, and injure themselves is a liability concern.
Snow and Ice Management for Landscape Safety
Those sprawling parking lots are even more high-risk for liability concerns in the winter if snow and ice coat the pavement.
They have to stay clear, both for employees who walk between their cars and buildings and for the many trucks that make deliveries.
High-priority areas like the truck gate area, loading docks, and entrances need close attention.
Brine is a must-use tool when conditions call for it, to prevent snow and ice from sticking.
Refreeze is a big issue here in the mid-South, with rapidly changing temperatures. Sun and warming temperatures often melt ice the next day, but when the temperature dips below freezing again at night any pooled water left refreezes, creating a brand-new hazard.
Hatcher crews make note of priority areas and use detailed maps of the property to guide their work.
Proactive Plant Pruning for Industrial Property Safety
When plants, shrubs, and small ornamental trees get overgrown, they cause landscape safety concerns.
When they get too big or out of control, they cause visibility and safety issues around doors and windows. They can obstruct signage, lighting, and traffic signs on your property.
Pruning them now means fewer landscape safety headaches later.
Tending to Trees
Trees are pretty low maintenance — until dead branches suddenly crash down from above, threatening pedestrians, parked cars, and your buildings. Then they’re a big landscape safety issue.
Landscaping crews should keep a close eye on your industrial property’s trees, checking for dead and dying branches that should be pruned out before they take an unfortunate and potentially costly tumble.
Another reason for proactive pruning: Mature trees can shade the grass too much, causing it to struggle and even die.
Thinning the branches can let more sunlight in, for happier, healthier turf.
Industrial Landscaping: Runoff and Erosion Control
Lots of pavement seems like low maintenance, but it brings its own issue: water runs off of it, not through it.
And that causes some water-related challenges that impact industrial property safety:
- Water often washes away the dirt at the edges of pavement. Parking lots can actually sink, and big holes develop where water washed soil out underneath
- Flash flooding. When heavy rain has nowhere to go but pavement, it can quickly trigger flooding. Water runoff from an acre of pavement is 10 to 20 times greater than the runoff from an acre of grass.
- Excess water dangers. Damaged, buckled concrete or asphalt is a trip hazard, which means it’s a liability issue for you.
The good news? There are several solutions for wayward water on large paved areas, including concrete swales, rain gardens, retention basins, or re-grading low spots.
Keep Expert Eyes on Industrial Landscape Safety
The more time our account managers and crews spend on your industrial property, the more we get familiar with it, which means we notice even tiny changes over time.
We’re more apt to catch potential landscape safety issues before they go wrong.
Hatcher account managers do these eagle-eye inspections as part of their jobs, but they also train the foremen who are on properties even more often, so they look for potential problems, too, from tripping hazards to dangerous dangling branches to drainage concerns.
Trust Your Industrial Park Landscaping to Hatcher
If you’re managing an industrial property you have a lot on your plate.
You don’t need landscape safety worries raising your blood pressure.
Here at Michael Hatcher & Associates, we know industrial parks have a set of unique landscaping needs that can impact safety.
Our skilled crews know the drill.
Ready to boost the appeal and safety of your commercial property near Memphis, TN? Talk to one of our commercial landscaping experts today! We’ll meet at your property, create a custom plan, and get you on your way to enjoying a beautiful, worry-free property.
