The Snowfighters Institute will hold its first liability and deicing forum at its training facility in Erie, Pa. This event will be held October 1-4, 2012.

Snowfighters Institute to present forum on deicing and liability issues

The Snowfighters Institute, http://www.snowfightersinstitute.com, will hold its first liability and deicing forum at its training facility in Erie, Pa. This event will be held October 1-4, 2012. Liability issues and their direct correlation to appropriate use of deicing materials make this a natural session for snow and ice management contractors to learn about both major challenges to the industry.


John Allin, chairman of Snowfighters Institute, said “The snow and ice management industry is multifaceted in its approach to ongoing winter challenges. Appropriate use of available products for properly addressing ice conditions on commercial and industrial sites is key to keeping liability issues in check for snow contractors. No longer are snow contractors just guys who plow snow. They are risk managers providing safe environments for vehicular and pedestrian traffic on customer sites. Understanding how deicers work and the resulting liability issues is key to the snow contractor’s ultimate success with their customers and clients.”


Snow management is a mission critical service for many customers, and it comes with a degree of risk and a price. Attendees will learn how to utilize the latest technology and products to keep sites safe and free of potential liability issues which can arise from not knowing what to use, and when. Snow contractors are constantly exposed to liability issues and knowing how best to position themselves to limit this exposure is a key to their success. Dale Keep is internationally recognized as a leading expert in the use of deicing material, including liquids. Josh Ferguson, Esq. works with insurance carriers to defend snow contractors when the inevitable slip and fall lawsuit arrives in the mail.


For those working on the Certified Snow Professional [CSP] designation by the Snow and Ice Management Association [SIMA], Continuing Educational Units [CEU’s] will be awarded.


“Most snow contractors have a cursory knowledge of deicing services for their clients. At this event we will focus on the different products available, how they work, when they work and how best to distribute the product on snow and ice covered surfaces. Liquids are often misunderstood and then incorrectly applied to the detriment of the contractor and the customer. By not being properly educated, this misuse can result in increased liability being directed onto the snow contractor” said Allin. Atty. Ferguson added “Not being properly prepared for the inevitable slip and fall lawsuit can create monumental insurance issues for the snow contractor. We will also focus on proper preparation to defend oneself when these lawsuits occur.”


Attendees will have their company’s preparation and documentation strategies analyzed and will work on their company’s preparedness. The three and a half day deicing and liability forum has four components consisting of educational segments, an interactive workshop, strategic networking sessions and one-to-one consultations with Keep, Allin and Ferguson. The workshop will be limited in size as the venue is an intimate hands-on session. This program is intended for owners, office managers, operations managers charged with performing at a high service level capacity on customer locations.