18A — July 17 - 30, 2015 — Pennsylvania — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
E astern PA
By Whitney Livingston, Madison Marquette Risk Management: Time to Get Proactive
A
s property owners and managers, we are living through an age of ev-
to get a better handle on risk management: Create and en- force formal procedures, com- municate clearly with both staff and tenants about risk management, and work more closely with law enforcement to prepare for the worst with emer- gency drills. MadisonMarquette has implemented a number of proactive strategies that have assisted the company in both minimizing claim-producing in- cidents and successfully defend- ing ourselves against claims that were not preventable. Remember the Basics
The first essential task in a risk mitigation strategy is to identify and analyze your exposure. Another important task is to prepare for known or foreseeable natural events that could put your tenants or their customers at risk. If you’re in a part of the country prone to hur- ricanes, for example, this might mean lining up enough plywood to board up your windows or procuring sandbags to prevent flooding. Communicate Clearly Clear communication may be the most important aspect
of risk mitigation. Offering clear instructions that are both descriptive and specific helps ensure that your staff knows exactly what to do to prevent incidents and gives you a mea- sure of protection in the event a claim does arise. Low Hanging Fruit The most common source of claims in shopping centers is still the all-too-familiar “slip and fall.” To reduce the risk to customers, tenants and your- self: • Clearly mark any changes in the landscape, such as curbs,
decorative islands, crosswalks and stairs. • Train and retrain your staff on proper spill response. • Make it everyone’s job to re- move trash and other potential hazards. • Use your smartphone to snap pictures of your response to spills or other hazards. Store those photos where they can be easily located. Prepare for the Worst For more uncommon threats, such as shootings or terrorism, preparation, practice and com- munication are key. For exam- ple, MadisonMarquette has toll- free emergency contact numbers and emergency preparedness handbooks that we distribute to our tenants. In cooperation with local law enforcement, we also conduct drills in which we practice evacuation procedures for unforeseen emergencies such as an “active shooter.” An Ongoing Process Every day brings new poten- tial risks to a large public place such as a shopping center. Being proactive about risk manage- ment involves a series of steps that include identifying and analyzing your risk exposure, examining and selecting the right techniques to mitigate those risks, implementing those techniques, monitoring the re- sults, then beginning the cycle all over again. Ignoring risk only guaran- tees greater losses over time. The more proactive, disci- plined and clear you can be in your risk management efforts, the more you will protect the safety of your tenants and cus- tomers – and your profits – as a result. Whitney Livingston is senior vice president of management services at Madison Marquette. n RGS Associates, Inc. promotes Fredericks, PE LANCASTER, PA — RGS Associates, Inc. announced that William Fredericks, PE has been promoted to project manager. Fredericks is respon- sible for the technical design and implementation of RGS projects. Fredericks joined RGS in 2008 and was previously a senior project engineer. He is a graduate of Widener University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. n
er-increasing risk and ever- rising num- bers of insur- ance claims. To keep our tenants and c u s t o m e r s safe and our p r o p e r t i e s
Whitney Livingston
profitable, it’s critical to be proactive about identifying and remediating risks. There are steps you can take
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