The unthinkable happens—a fire rips through your facility spreading thick, black smoke; a flood in a basement storage area threatens valuable inventory about to be delivered; a trauma-related incident disrupts operations and impacts employees. You can’t make such disasters “un-happen”, but be reassured: there are expert disaster restoration teams trained for how to get your facility up and running again and “normal” restored.
Your business survival is at stake when a disaster happens
Many established commercial cleaning services, for example, offer disaster restoration services. Note, however, that disaster restoration for floods, fire, and other emergency issues is not for “the new kid on the block”. The steps involved, from dealing appropriately with the initial emergency call, to providing an expert team to assess, remediate and restore damage, require experience from a commercial cleaning and facility maintenance company that knows what it’s doing. After all, you can’t afford for anything else to go wrong.
Your survival as a business, for instance, could likely be at stake, in particular, when you provide products and/or services that need to reach customers (and make a sale) in a timely fashion.
What to look for in disaster restoration services
Unfortunately, some disasters can’t be prevented. Planning ahead and preparing for the unknown, however, can help your business recover faster when you have to deal with issues such as damages from water, fire, storms, and more. Wondering what to look for when assessing whether or not your commercial cleaning partner is up for the job when it comes to a flood, fire, or other unexpected disaster? Check out the following:
Does your disaster restoration service include Emergency Response by a human being?
Emergency Response should be by your side when disaster or another unforeseen event strikes, and this should be in the form of an actual person who answers your call. Look for a 24/7 support line, answered by a live attendant for immediate dispatch, and a guaranteed on-site team response time (ideally within 2 hours).
Does your disaster restoration service provide a full scope of remediate and recovery services?
You can’t pick and choose your disaster! You may have to deal with the outcome from a small burst pipe in one room, or a catastrophic fire/water damage in a large multi-story tower building, hospital or warehouse. There’s a lot more to do than just the initial clean up. While restoration efforts are under way, where are you going to store your furniture? What about your equipment?
Make sure you deal with a commercial cleaning and facility maintenance company that offers a full scope of services for all disaster-related issues: fire, flood or other disaster, from initial clean up and structural drywall services to packing/storing of furniture—and everything in between.
Are the disaster abatement, restoration and remediation quick and effective at every stage?
Answering the initial emergency call isn’t the only time that efficiency matters. You need a disaster restoration company with a team that can guarantee ongoing, quick responses so that you eliminate additional problems. For example, the faster remediation can happen after a flood, the less likelihood of secondary damage from mold development. Getting to work right way, including getting the right advice, is also going to support required insurance claims.
Certifications and qualifications to ensure disaster restoration services meet quality standards
As a customer, when you hire a service partner for disaster restoration, you are looking for quality, reliability, safety (health and environmental), and effectiveness. Standards matter. The IICRC is the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification, a non-profit organization for the Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Industries. A company that follows ANSI/IICRC standards means that they are certified in the specialty areas of disaster recover (flood, fire, etc.)
Certification demonstrates their expertise to current and future customers and should instill confidence and credibility that the company has procedural standards for disaster restoration in place, based on reliable restoration and remediation principles, research and practical experience.
At Kleenway for example, all work is completed in accordance with or exceeding the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration (IICRC) Clean Trust Certified® program standards.
Can your disaster restoration services provide the required insurance documentation?
Dealing with your insurance company after a disaster can also be time-consuming and challenging. An experienced company that provides disaster restoration services will be able to provide proper documentation to meet your insurers’ requirements. Ideally, they’ll also have technology tools such as billing systems that make it easy to determine deductibles and send claims directly to the insurer.
You do not have to manage a disaster at your facility alone
A natural disaster, such as a fire, flood or tornado, can wreak havoc on a business, from a few days of closure to a months-long supply chain and loss of sales. But expert, experience disaster recovery teams have seen it all and can get life back to normal quickly and calmly.
Be prepared by making sure you have a number to call, and talk with a disaster recover expert ahead of a disaster happening to find out what you can do to prepare if the unthinkable happens.
