With summer just around the corner and winter in our rearview mirror, a lot of business owners feel that they can put their concerns about slips, trips and falls away for few months. Unfortunately, that is not the case. As commercial property owners, we must be ever-vigilant about the dangers that lurk around us.

While not every region has extreme winters, every state does experience fluctuations in temperature and weather that can affect sidewalks and parking lots. Freezing and thawing of the ground can cause heaving and cracking of sidewalks, along with potholes in parking lots.

Warmer states may not experience frost heave, but heavy winter and spring rains can cause washouts and sinkholes that may also cause severe damage to parking lots. Early summer is the perfect time to make necessary repairs brought on by winter and spring weather events.

Spring cleaning also gives you the perfect opportunity to look inside your building. Deep cleaning means that the mops are out and things are getting moved around.

Make sure "wet floor" signs are properly used and only left out when floors are actually wet. Be on the lookout for loose carpet seams or defects in hard surfaces, where even the smallest deficiencies can trip someone. Make sure that boxes and other equipment are kept out of walkways and that walk-off mats and chair mats do not have curled edges that can create trip hazards. Changing burned-out lightbulbs immediately is the best practice, but if you have been putting it off, have them changed while cleaning the fixtures.

Taking a few extra preventive steps in the spring can help prevent slips, trips and falls all year long.