Kevin Gilbride
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Over the next 98 pages, you are going to read a lot about contracts. They are the key to the snow and ice management industry, but they’re also the mechanisms many contractors use to hang themselves. That’s right. No matter how good of a job you do, no matter how responsible you are, no matter what you thought you agreed to, it’s what is written in black and white that you ultimately must abide by. And when it comes to snow and ice management contracts, sometimes the devil is truly in the details. My favorite contract language generally goes something like this: “Contractor is liable for any loss, damage, or claims resulting from their negligence or the negligence of the property owner…” What? Really? The contractor is responsible for the owner of the property being negligent? So by signing the contract the owner of the property owner can move a large snow pile into the handicapped spot…and the contractor has signed an agreement that states they will take care of the lawsuit that gets filed when someone gets hurt. Guess what, contractors throughout the snow and ice management industry have signed agreements like this all of the time. What about contract language that states the contractor is responsible for monitoring the site “at all times.” At all times? This means that no matter what happens, you better be in that site 24/7. Even better is when contractors sign agreement where they agree to supply “non-slip surfaces.” I have a few issue with this that I’d like to call attention to: What is the definition of a “non-slip surface?” The last time I check, it snows in North America. When is snows, contractors place snow in out-of-the-way areas of parking lots. However, that snow is going to melt. I guarantee it. It happens every year. The snow then is going to flow to a drain. Is the water runoff considered a non-slip surface? I don’t know, but I have heard of people slipping on wet surfaces. ANSI/ASCA System requirements do address this. However, many scopes of work continue to refer to “non-slip surfaces.” I could go on and on with language that you need to watch out for, but I’ll the experts we contacted explain that throughout this issue. My point here is simple: READ EVERY SINGLE WORD OF EVERY SINGLE CONTRACT YOU ARE SIGNING. Better yet, have your attorney read every word of every contract. Too many contractors are so excited and elated that they just won a piece of business that when they get the contract, they simply sign it and send it back. When they do that they often have just signed their lives away and don’t even know it.
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