Commercial clients should do this before they leave for the day

Are your clients checking the bathrooms before they leave work for the day?

“The last thing you want is to leave someone with access to your property after the doors have been locked,” Northbridge Insurance noted in Closing time: Making sure your building is safe for the night, recently posted to the commercial insurer’s blog site.

A key question to ask, before closing for the day, is whether a walk-through has been done to make sure no one is still in the building, Northbridge advises.

“Just to be safe, check inside of the building one last time before locking up, to make sure that no customers are still inside. Be sure to check back rooms, stockrooms, bathrooms, and change rooms.”

It’s one piece of advice Northbridge offers to reduce the risk of theft, fires and other disasters from happening to a client.

Portable heaters, decorative lights, cooking appliance are among the items an employee needs to check during a final walk around.

“Another step to help prevent fires from catching is storing flammables properly and ensuring containers are labelled clearly. This includes the proper storage of oily rags and other materials that may spontaneously combust. Also be sure to move any flammables or combustibles away from heating appliances.”

Clients can discourage theft by making sure all their exterior lights are working and are turned on at night.

“But don’t just illuminate the front of your business. It’s important to have lights at the side and back entrances too.”

Cash can be a target for thieves.

“Some steps you can implement include taking a different route each time you make nightly deposits, leaving an empty and unlocked cash register on the premises, and not leaving cash or valuables in rooms that are accessible by windows or external doors,” Northbridge notes.

To help reduce fire risk, Northbridge has some special advice for clients performing welding, cutting, grinding or other hot work.

“Ensure at least 30 minutes has passed since you or an employee finished up the work before leaving the premises.”