Preparing Your Roofs and Exteriors For The Next Hurricane

A new standard is working to prevent the level of disaster brought forth by recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Facility managers looking to increase support for their buildings against future hurricanes can use Institute for Business & Home Safety's FORTIFIED Commercial—which provides standards for best practices before and after a climate-related disaster.  

The standard takes a systematic approach to improving a commercial building's resistance to severe weather, with three levels of designation available in three levels of bronze, silver and gold.

Starting out with the very basics at bronze, it focuses on enhancing roof performance to increase resilience. After achieving gold status you will have certified your envelope and electrical systems as well as having backup power ready in case of blackouts.

It is still a good idea to certify your facility even if it is not in a hurricane area. For those in high-wind and hail areas, IBHS has a FORTIFIED standard for your region.

To read a PDF of the standard on hurricanes, please click here.