With frequent power cuts now a part of daily life there are a few ways to lessen the impact on your salon.
The EOHCB (Employer’s Organisation for Hairdressing Cosmetology Beauty) has compiled the following useful guide of practical measures to prepare for when the lights go off.
Make it your duty to stay informed at all times. You should always know what stage of load shedding your area is in and what time you will be affected. The last thing you need is to be surprised. There are some resources available via mobile applications which can assist you in this regard. To name just a few – EskomSePush and Load Shedding Notifier.
Look for alternative energy solutions. Invest in a UPS (uninterrupted power supply), an inverter, a generator, or solar power systems so that you are not affected by load shedding or at least at a reduced degree. Whilst this can be quite a costly investment, the benefits far outweigh the cost. The pressures of load shedding seem to be looming for at least two more years to come (2025).
Back up your data. When load shedding kicks in and you lose connectivity on your operating systems like POS and mobile devices, it is easy to find yourself in a situation where you lose the document you were working on or unsaved records just disappear. Save yourself the stress of having to go through that and make it a regular practice to back up your data so that load shedding does not pull a fast one on you! Most operating systems have automatic backup functions. Ensure that these functions are enabled and that you have sufficient storage available to safeguard your data.
Unplug your equipment from wall sockets. Once the dreaded dark hours are over, and the electricity has returned, the power surge impacts the steady voltage flow in the electrical system, which can damage the electronic components of the equipment that is plugged in.
Plan ahead to maintain productivity. Try your best to plan your day around load shedding. Allocate those couple of hours of load shedding to tasks and services that you can complete without electricity or at least with reserved charged devices or tools. This could also be a good opportunity to upskill, do courtesy calls or messages to clients promoting your business, and where you have measures in place to mitigate the impact of load shedding, to share that with them.
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