
Wow, is it cold outside! As I write this (Feb 7th) it’s a bone-cracking -49° wind chill in Saskatoon. I’m in Sarnia looking out my front window to see that the trees and sidewalks still have a layer of ice on them as we are several hours away from “the thaw” after two days of freezing rain and unsafe driving and walking conditions outside.
I’m lucky. My commute consists of a 23-step walk (via the tea kettle) to my home office. But last week, when my neck of the woods was experiencing -34° temps, I was walking down the street past a local moving crew struggling to get their load into their destination. I was reminded, again, of just how amazing our men and women are as they work outside in all of the extreme weather Mother Nature can throw at them.
As everyone knows, slugging furniture and heavy book boxes isn’t easy at the best of times. It’s hard on the body and the nerves. But when it’s in the plus or minus 30s, in either scorching heat and humidity, or icy conditions with snow falling and the wind howling, moving crews face even more treacherous conditions.
Make sure your crews are bundled up in layers, get short breaks to warm up, and drink non-caffeinated drinks (that’s hard at ‘Roll up the Rim’ time). It goes without saying to make sure your customers have cleared their sidewalks and made it as safe as possible for your team and that you have a back-up plan with them in case of dangerous conditions.
Thank you to all the crews – including the warehouse gangs – because you are the backbone of our business and we certainly appreciate you coming to work each day and dealing with our Canadian weather, especially at this time of year. Be safe out there!
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