As hurricane season approaches, it is officially time to ensure that your office space and commercial real estate assets are prepared. Whether you are an Owner or Tenant, even minor planning can make a major difference in reducing risk and downtime when it comes to another potentially historic season.
Given our years of project management and site support experience, here are 7 essential steps to prepare your workplace:
1. Secure Physical Vulnerabilities
Inspect your building envelope including windows, doors, roofing systems, and any other potential breach points. If required, brace all access points and make sure all rooftop units, signage, and exterior equipment are properly anchored and secured.
2. Protect Tech & Power
Besides the physical damage, downtime is often the most costly risk during the hurricane season. Ensure all servers, network equipment, and any other critical IT infrastructure are safely secured and out of reach from any potential water damage.
Just as critical: protect your electrical systems. Identify operations-critical circuits and install surge protection where appropriate. If backup generators are part of your preparedness plan, inspect them now and ensure the appropriate levels of fuel are accounted for. If your electrical service disruption plan involves a rental generator solution, review the contractual agreement and make contact with your supplier to cover the process and procedures for activating the response.
3. Safeguarding Workplace Assets
Take inventory of your valuable equipment, files, and furnishings. Photo documentation is recommended. For critical records, consider cloud or off-site storage.
Identify the FF&E that will require storm prep and assign storm prep tasks to the appropriate internal resources.
4. Coordination with Vendors & Landlords
Know what to expect from your Landlord or Property Management team before, during, and after a storm. What triggers a building-wide shutdown? Who communicates reopening timelines? Likewise, communicate with key vendors and business partnerships to understand their availability and protocols for emergencies.
5. Stock up Storm Mitigation Materials
For whatever applies to your specific real estate space, have the basics on hand before supply is strained: boarding, sandbags, plastic sheets, straps, fans, dehumidifiers, etc. Fuel and extension cords are also important if using portable generators.
6. Maintain an Up-to-Date Supply Kit
Beyond mitigation tools, be sure to have the emergency supplies stocked up for staff or personnel who may remain on-site. This includes: flashlights, batteries, first-aid kits, portable chargers, non-perishable food items, and a healthy supply of water. Verify expiration dates and restock as necessary.
7. Confirm Your Emergency Plan
Review and update your company’s emergency response plan, ensuring evacuation procedures, roles, responsibilities, and critical contacts are clearly defined and communicated. Conduct a refresher training or drill so your team can act quickly. Designate a point person or team for internal and external communications, and make sure all staff members know who will provide updates, how they’ll be shared, and when to expect them.
Having a proactive strategy to ensure continuity of operations in the face of disruption is key. Whether you own or lease your place of operations, protecting your space, technology, and team is critical to minimizing downtime and maintaining operational momentum.
In the unfortunate instance that you are impacted by a storm and recognize the value of project management for the recovery project, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Be safe!