If you’re a business owner dealing with disaster, having someone you can rely on is essential. Fortunately, expert help is close at hand. We talked to Lisa Lavender at Berks · Fire · Water Restorations to discover how her company’s knowledge and caring helps businesses get back on their feet.
Restoring Lives and Livelihoods
According to their Berks · Fire · Water Restorations, Inc.’s website, bfwrestorations.com, “restoring lives” is one of their core beliefs. While businesses have unique needs, there are some common ways this company provides comfort and support during a loss. “Starting with the same passion and care, we understand that we are restoring livelihoods,” says Lisa Lavender, COO, Berks · Fire · Water Restorations and Restoration Technical Institute. “Businesses are a foundation of our community and are serving customers who rely on them.”
Berks · Fire · Water Restoration actively listens to business owners. “Understanding a business’s highest priority and being a solution while addressing concerns during an unplanned disruption or disaster gives comfort and peace of mind,” says Lavender.
Create a Plan
Companies seek out Berks · Fire · Water Restoration’s services when faced with an unexpected emergency, or as part of an emergency preparedness plan. In an emergency, “insurance companies, agents, first responders or other associates may reach out” and connect the business owner to Berks · Fire · Water Restoration.
As a preventative measure, Lavender suggests talking to her company to develop an emergency response plan before a disaster occurs. “When there is an established plan, all necessary resources and contacts will be notified. Emergency service providers, like us, are prepared to respond,” she says.
Take Advantage of Tech
“In recognition of September being National Preparedness Month, we also provide free tools and consultation to businesses that need help in their preparedness initiatives,” says Lavender. “This is an extension of our care and support as planning and preparedness has a direct impact on an organization’s resiliency during the recovery process.”
Berks · Fire · Water Restoration harnesses technology to make planning even easier. “Because plans are so important to response and recovery efforts, we recently released the BFW Preparedness & Recovery App,” says Lavender. “We offer this as a free tool to develop, store and execute plans in the case of a loss. It also allows for us to be easily notified by the organization in the case of an emergency.”
When emergencies happen, business owners may be surprised to find service providers seek them out. “It is not uncommon that a variety of service providers will respond to losses by listening to scanners. It is important to be aware of this, making sure your company’s response team is prepared to manage solicitations,” cautions Lavender. She notes that this is not her company’s procedure. She asserts, “Berks · Fire · Water Restorations does not deploy to a site unless we are invited to respond.”
When Berks · Fire · Water Restorations is called, “the details of the process will vary greatly depending on the type of loss, extent of damage and the priorities of the organization,” says Lavender. “The common elements of mitigation are to reduce or eliminate further damage and/or disruption to the property, the organization and address any safety-related issues. For business operations, other considerations will include, but not be limited to, auxiliary locations, business interruption and employees, etc.”
Once the damage is assessed, the next step is restoration. “Depending on the type and extent of damage, most anything can potentially be restored,” notes Lavender. “We had the pleasure of even restoring an ATM machine.”
Lavender’s team works to restore important items first, such as linens. “We have had a few occasions where the core business is hosting events. In addition to preparing the facility to maintain commitments that are days away, the linens and textiles were restored with the greatest urgency so that commitments could be honored.”
Electronics and Document Restoration
“Computers and anything with electronics can be restored through an electronic restoration process. This is different than the repair of a defective unit or recovering data,” Lavender says. “The process will stop any deterioration from an exposure and remove any contaminates that could degrade the electronics.”
For hard copies of important papers, “Even in the day and age of technology, there are still documents that are critical, required or of high value to an organization,” Lavender notes. “Processes like freeze drying and gamma radiation can be employed to restore them.” When planning for the unexpected, “organizations should deliberately address documents of this nature. This allows for the most effective and efficient document recovery.”
Getting Back to Business with Speed
Time is of the essence during restoration. “One of the most important things to consider for any facility and its contents is that with the passage of time, the severity of damage will increase and/or restorability may decrease,” cautions Lavender. “The faster anything critical to the organization is handled, the better. Again, in preplanning for a response, identifying the most critical things, maintaining inventories and having plans in place in the case of an emergency service allows for optimal outcomes in the recovery process.”
From start to finish, the length of the restoration process can vary. “The best approach is to execute an emergency response and recovery plan that allows the business to resume operations as quickly as possible,” advises Lavender. “A strategy to minimize down time will vary but may include anything from getting an auxiliary location up and running or moving a critical operation to an unaffected area or building. Many losses are not severe and can be handled with minimal or no impact to operations.”
When developing a just-in-case plan, Lavender suggests thinking about “different scenarios and considering the probability of, and vulnerability to, the organization. When there is a keen focus on the continuity of the business, resuming operations is a possibility even when damage is being repaired.”
After a broken sprinkler pipe flooded his business, Jeff Sieker called on Berks · Fire · Water Restoration. “They immediately assessed the situation and began working quickly to start cleaning up the water,” says Sieker. He was impressed by the company’s clean-up equipment, including a special vacuum. “With only one pass, the carpet felt almost dry to the touch, and the amount of water it sucked out was incredible. Watching that, I felt reassured that they were going to be able to minimize the damage to the facility from the water.”
To keep Sieker’s surgery center up and running, the Berks · Fire · Water Restoration added temporary barrier walls so patients could come in the following morning. After a week, the walls and ceiling were dried out. “They provided clear communication and expectations that made it easier for me to plan what we needed to work around the problem,” says Sieker. In addition to Berks · Fire · Water Restoration’s fast service, “the most impressive thing about the company was their accuracy in expectations,” he notes. “This allowed me to plan and make arrangements so that we didn’t have to close the facility. This was good for our business, employees and most importantly the patients that we serve.”
