On the educational front, a major focus for the organization is certification training. “The RIA provides the industry’s highest level of certification training in the areas of water loss, fire loss, content loss, and environmental risk in restoration, all which lead up to the premier Certified Restorer certification,” Cohen says. “These certifications set restoration contractors apart as experts in their field and support our goal as an association to truly elevate the restoration industry.”

The team recently launched an exciting new certification program that qualifies participants as Environmental Risk Specialists (ERS). “That course prepares restorers to navigate industry guidelines and regulations and improve their awareness and understanding of environmental hazards including chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosives, and other risks that are associated with disaster sites,” Cohen says. “This new certification will help better prepare restorers for the various types of environmental risks they may encounter in their disaster response work.”

Advocacy is an equally important pursuit, and the association’s newly formed legislative taskforce is working to monitor and evaluate legislation at both the state and federal levels that could impact the restoration industry. The taskforce provides “a venue for restoration contractors to proactively come together and address legislation that may be coming down the pipeline,” Cohen explains. Being more proactive in legislative monitoring and government affairs “is the latest phase of our advocacy blueprint that we’re engaging in now.”

Another of the RIA’s key commitments is to protect the financial and legal interests of restoration contractors and help them work collaboratively and fairly with insurers and other stakeholders who are involved in the industry. The team wants “to ensure that our members have equity in the insurance ecosystem, that they’re able to perform the work necessary and be paid the customary and reasonable price for the work performed,” says Cohen.

The RIA’s Advocacy and Government Affairs (AGA) committee “works to unite restorers around substantive positions that all restoration contractors can agree on and that address some of the common problems that they’re facing,” she says. To this end, the team has developed several peer-reviewed position statements to help restoration contractors navigate and overcome these common challenges. For example, “we’re finding that restoration contractors may be facing challenges where insurance carriers and their partners are trying to prohibit deviation from the use of standardized price lists,” shares Cohen. “We’ve developed a position statement that essentially says that insurance carriers and their partners should not prohibit deviations from standardized price lists. Every restoration project is unique and the costs required to carry out the job are going to vary.”

She explains that, “We’ve also developed position statements that address the issue of third parties attempting to unilaterally dictate restoration procedures, scope, price, or billing.” Peer-reviewed positions are bringing restorers together and building cohesion throughout the industry by promoting “productive conversations with carriers or third parties when these challenges are arising.” These position statements cover the appropriate role of adjusters, who play an important role in the restoration ecosystem, by “clarifying that it’s not an adjuster’s role to tell a contractor how to write an estimate, or invoice, or what to charge for work performed outside of a managed repair network or a TPA (third party administrator) program.”

Cohen adds that an increasingly common industry challenge is the refusal of insurance carriers to pay restoration charges on the grounds that these expenses are simply the cost of doing business. “Our position statement really makes it clear that, subject only to the limits of the policy, all costs that result from covered losses must be paid by the carrier unless a specific written exclusion expressly applies.”

Another RIA advocacy effort is to conduct a Third Party Administrator (TPA) scorecard survey that gathers feedback directly from restoration contractors on their experience working with a variety of TPAs. “The goal of this is to really improve the contractor / TPA relationship,” Cohen says. “Our restoration advocate utilizes the results of the survey to have productive and collaborative conversations with third party administrators to work toward addressing some of the concerns that come through in that survey report.”

Indeed, the RIA is always on the lookout for any emerging challenges within the industry in order to best support its members. “We are looking at issues around overhead and profit for our industry, including some of the assumptions that are made around overhead and profit and what is reasonable for restoration contractors,” says Cohen. “We’re also looking at increasing inflation and labor costs and how those costs are accounted for in the various pricing software that restorers and insurance carriers are using.”

The RIA has hit its stride as an association and is currently experiencing an exciting period of expansion. “We’ve got great momentum because we have stepped into the role of being the voice of the industry and we can take on those issues that restoration contractors certainly can’t take on by themselves,” says Cohen. “Now that we have that at the forefront of the work that we do, we anticipate achieving significant growth as an association.”

The team wants to attract restorers with businesses of all sizes, from family-owned independent shops all the way up to large, multi-location companies. “We want to make sure that we have the participation of all contractors: from large enterprise and franchise members to independent contractors and those who may be newer to the restoration industry. We really want to show all restorers that this is the place for you,” Cohen says.

Indeed, to be even more inclusive, the RIA is rolling out a new model of membership costs that allows “all restoration companies, whether you are large, small, independent, or part of a franchise, to join the association. It gives membership flexibility in terms of the amount of dues that companies are paying to come on board and it creates a great opportunity for restoration contractors who have never been members to join the association,” says Cohen.

Restorers who are interested in joining the RIA can visit restorationindustry.org, where visitors to the site will find opportunities for certification training as well as a wide variety of exciting networking events, including a technical conference this fall and the RIA’s big annual convention in April, “which is just a phenomenal, must-attend event. Check us out because we do have a lot of great opportunities for restoration contractors to network and engage with the RIA,” says Cohen.

“We’re really excited to see a bright future ahead for the organization and our industry, as we see traction being made with our advocacy efforts,” she says. “We’re going to continue to be united, we’re going to see more collaboration and most importantly, more of an impact on the issues that matter most to restoration contractors.”

The post The Unified Voice of Restorers<p class="company">Restoration Industry Association</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

“It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. It doesn’t matter what day of the year it is… If you [contact] our company, one of our team members will answer the phone,” states Christopher McAlpine, Network Development Partner at 24Restore.

24Restore refers to its employees as team members because the company views itself as a team, not a corporate entity with a strict hierarchy, says McAlpine. In addition to offering a broad array of services in the aftermath of catastrophe, the company emphasizes staff collaboration, empowerment, and opportunity. As for the specific nature of its work, the majority of 24Restore’s assignments involves fire and water damage.

“We’ll do everything from start to finish for fire and water,” states McAlpine.

Following a fire, 24Restore might board up a property, remove ash and soot, and perform content and structure cleaning and restoration. As the company points out, a fire can be devastating even when a property isn’t badly burned. To this end, 24Restore specializes in getting rid of the smoky odor that lingers long after a blaze has been extinguished.

Water damage caused by floods, broken pipes, overflowing toilets and bathtubs, and sewer backups is another kind of calamity 24Restore routinely deals with. The company’s water damage duties include sewage flood cleanup, water removal, decontamination and sanitization, repairs, and restoration.

Trauma scene cleanup, a service rendered following a violent incident, can entail the removal of blood and biological material. Storm damage services range from roof tarping and board-up to tree removal, temporary power, flood water cleanup, structural drying, and reconstruction. The firm also performs mold and environmental hazard removal and remediation.

All work is done in-house, save those duties that require tradespeople with special licenses.

24Restore servers sectors including residential, office, commercial, and warehouse facilities, and its customers range from individual homeowners to municipalities. 24Restore has a contract to do board-up work for the City of Minneapolis, for instance, and has a similar contract for public housing units across the State of Minnesota. Regardless of who the end client is, the company primarily works within Minnesota, particularly in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The firm does much more, however, than just board up ruined properties and remove damaged contents. 24Restore’s partners include 1-800-BOARDUP, a self-described “national disaster recovery organization with locations all across America” that “assists victims of disaster on one of the worst days of their lives.” People who contact 1-800-BOARDUP can be connected with a personal victim advocate who provides practical assistance. This might include offering cell phones, diapers, or putting a family up in a hotel, says McAlpine.

Originally, 24Restore was established in a slightly roundabout manner. Founder Derek West initially worked in the carpet cleaning business but kept being contacted about water damage issues.

“[West] started carpet cleaning, and the biggest thing he found was that a lot of the older crews didn’t want to clean up water, so they would call him in. So, he basically happened upon this business because people weren’t willing to do things and he was,” recalls McAlpine.

24Restore was founded as a full-service restoration company in 1994 and a few years ago, West, who remains owner of 24Restore, spun off a new company called Cloud Contents. Cloud Contents recovers documents following floods or fires. The recovery process can involve cleaning, duplicating, and reconstructing business records, legal documents, paintings, X-rays, manuscripts, medical records, and more. Once again, this firm was launched to fill a niche.

“No one [else] was willing to step up and help people save memories and save their contents versus just throwing stuff away and purchasing new,” states McAlpine.

Also based in Ramsey, the new company serves a wider geographic region than 24Restore. Cloud Contents has done document recovery work as far afield as Des Moines, Iowa, through North Dakota and into Minnesota.

24Restore currently has between 50 and 60 team members while Cloud Contents has around 25 to 40 personnel. Staffing levels at both companies were roughly the same this time last year. Some 24Restore members are IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration) certified drying technicians.

Regardless of experience or skill level, commitment is an important prerequisite for anyone looking to get hired at 24Restore: “Are you willing to do your best every single day, and show up and improve? If we’re to hire anyone, it’s someone who is humble and hungry—an individual that really wants to be the best they can and be a better person,” states McAlpine.

Indeed, the company motto, “serving others the way you want to be served” neatly encapsulates the 24Restore ethos. The firm has embraced the concepts of selflessness, authenticity, and servant leadership (a school of thought that suggests managers can achieve better results by empowering staff, rather than bossing them around). Authenticity, for its part, means “be true to yourself. You’re not posturing to be something that you’re not,” explains McAlpine.

The company also follows a core set of operating principles, for staff and customer relations alike. These principles include “be impeccable with your words, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions, always do your best. If you treat people that way, then people know your heart is in the right [place],” he says.

Given the environments that 24Restore team members routinely encounter, the company places a strong emphasis on safety. Frontline team members are equipped with appropriate PPE including respirators, while the firm has a safety committee and hosts regular safety meetings.

In a similar fashion, COVID didn’t put a halt to the company’s work (as a restoration company, 24Restore was deemed an essential service and wasn’t required to shut its doors at the height of the pandemic). The firm took steps to keep its personnel safe while continuing to service its customers. “We took care of our team members, by making sure they had a safe environment to come to work. Then, we took care of our customers. We showed up to help,” recalls McAlpine.

The company emphasizes continuing education and ensures that frontline staff receive up-to-date training and equipment. Continuous improvement is a key objective: “We’re improving our processes daily. Our training is, I dare to say, second to none for restoration,” states McAlpine.

Clearly, people seem to enjoy working at 24Restore. The company recently earned a spot on the Top Workplaces for 2022 list which was compiled by the StarTribune newspaper based on information gleaned from employee surveys. 24Restore ranked 73^rd for best small business employer in the state of Minnesota. “Our commitment internally is what makes us stand out,” says McAlpine. “Our team members voted for us because we created an environment that allows opportunities for others.”

The company’s service-oriented philosophy extends into charitable and community initiatives as well. The firm started an annual Serving Others Event in 2013, in which 24Restore and other various businesses participate in a friendly competition to serve community organizations. Serving Others takes place before Thanksgiving, with a view toward helping charities that provide food for the needy. 24Restore is also actively involved in blood donor events.

“Doing a blood drive, we’ll go there, bring tables, chairs, and food, and serve people. We don’t ask for a single dime from people. We want to be a blessing, to go above and beyond,” states McAlpine.

As for non-COVID related challenges, McAlpine cites growth issues. Namely, “how do we keep improving our processes as we grow?”

One way of achieving this end is to “find people who have the same values we do and put them into play… while we could grow at an alarming rate, you have to do it properly, with the right people,” he continues.

As for the future, “we’ve got a lot of goals,” he says, one of which is for the company to stay laser-focused on its core competencies. 24Restore would prefer to enhance its existing services rather than branch off into brand new fields outside its areas of expertise.

On top of carefully expanding revenue and personnel, the firm wants to remain at the forefront of the industry. In the years ahead, 24Restore would like to be seen as “the leading restoration company [in the United States]—to set standards, and then to raise those standards,” states McAlpine.

The post Providing Help When Disaster Strikes<p class="company">24Restore</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.

In addition, livewire owners Bill Blackmon and Scott Mooring were behind several industry innovations, including a unique piece of equipment specifically made for cleaning area rugs.

Believing others worldwide would benefit from their patented, state-of-the-art hot water-recirculation cleaning systems, the two launched the Steamatic Inc. franchise business in 1968.

“They developed a lot of the initial industry standards for how to deal with water damage and duct cleaning,” says Steamatic’s Director of Operations Zach Ledford. “Processes were being developed on the spot at that time.”

Following the flooding of the Trinity River and its considerable damage to people’s homes, Blackmon and Mooring soon found their equipment was well-suited to helping homeowners recover, and the restoration side of the business was born.

“The business helped families suffering water damage to extract the water and clean up after the damage,” says Ledford. “This initial step into restoration—to serve and help people rebuild—became the direction of the brand that we still live up to today. But times change. Today people are looking for a turnkey solution. Steamatic wants to be the answer, by providing construction services that help with the emergency response and the clean-up and being there to put things back together again.”

Acquisition and action

Steamatic took a bold step forward in 2019 when the publicly traded, Australia-based construction and restoration giant Johns Lyng Group purchased the master franchising business from the incumbent owner.

“With the purchase came an investment in resources, as well as a cultural shift that focuses on developing leadership by hiring rock stars,” says Ledford. “This change in attitudes led to a rebuilding phase where complacency was no longer acceptable.”

On acquisition, positive changes were implemented immediately, including the introduction of tools to monitor employee development and determine everyone’s personal and professional vision with the company. All employees, from entry-level positions to upper management, had a voice that was heard. Fresh ideas were welcomed, and employees got more involved with Steamatic’s brand and direction.

Communication increased with updated newsletters and announcements. But the biggest transformation taking root in the company was in its hiring process and staff management. Traditionally, hiring was based largely on skill, but the company shifted toward hiring staff on intangibles instead.

“Our whole MO is that we can hire someone with no skill in relation to the role, as long as they have good intangibles like character, integrity, drive, and we teach them the skills,” says Ledford.

Building the culture

“We are a little different from other companies because we have people on the team who may not have been directly involved with the industry. However, they have good intangibles and great personalities that are in line with the culture we want,” Ledford shares.

Along with setting employees up for success and fostering a positive work environment, Steamatic brought on the former head of human resources for Nike, who introduced culture workshops and teaching. A change in attitude followed, where complacency was no longer acceptable.

As part of the company’s rebuilding phase, Steamatic has re-worked its standard operating procedures, updating documentation, operation manuals, and training processes to build the brand to a point where, when making a franchise offering, they are truly providing franchisees with a competitive, state-of-the-industry restoration business.

“We are one of America’s original restoration brands,” says Ledford. “Steamatic has helped pioneer many of the techniques now used in the industry, and we’re always looking for new ways to innovate. We are an American-born institution with franchises all over the world. Steamatic is committed to the customer experience and personal connection with our customers.”

The complete clean and restoration

Living up to its tagline, “Residential and Commercial, We Do it All,” Steamatic is America’s most trusted restoration and cleaning brand.

From its modest beginnings, the company has added many more services. Offering cleaning services for everything from carpets, area rugs, and furniture, to heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and ducts, the business has expanded to include restoration works such as water damage and flood restoration, mold remediation, and electronics restoration, to name a few.

With the acquisition in 2019, Steamatic added construction services in the U.S. (in Canada and internationally, Steamatic locations are their own master franchises). Although not all American franchisees are full turnkey with construction, they can facilitate construction by working with subcontractors. From demolition and debris removal to project management and new home construction, the company has commercial and residential reconstruction services to meet all the needs of its customers.

Steamatic is also a leader in indoor air quality (IAQ) services, from air ducts to HVAC cleaning.

Considering we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors, the air we breathe matters more than ever. One of the first companies to recognize the importance of indoor air quality and cleaning for health, Steamatic stresses the importance of following industry guidelines for air duct cleaning. The company encourages all of its owners who commit to cleaning air ducts to become certified through NADCA, the National Air Duct Cleaners Association.

Professional air duct cleaning not only improves the quality of indoor air but has many other benefits. Furnaces don’t have to work as hard, and unpleasant odors and harmful bacteria can be eliminated, creating a much healthier environment.

Understanding that cleaning the environment we live in influences air quality, Steamatic recently innovated a line of green chemicals with low VOCs (volatile organic compounds).

“During a water or fire damage, removing excess humidity from the environment quickly can prevent or greatly reduce mold contamination,” says Ledford. “We have the tools and training to monitor the conditions that can lead to IAQ problems and implement solutions to reduce the impact on homeowners and workers in the environment.”

Peace of mind

When flood, fire, or other disasters strike, customers are invariably upset, confused, and frustrated. The average incidence for those owning homes is two claims in 30 years. Their property, and often its contents, are damaged or destroyed. Many don’t know their deductible, or what to do next—and that’s where the professionals at Steamatic come into the picture.

“The first person on site is usually an estimator, and they must have the skills to work with the customer and provide a high level of customer service,” says Ledford. “We want to help them from start to finish. So we’ll walk in, make an assessment, put an estimate together, and communicate with the insurance adjuster and the insurance company.

“We’ll get an agreed-upon scope of work, help the customer with material selection—if there is material selection—and be there during the drying or cleaning stage.” Once this stage is complete, Steamatic is there to the end for its customers.

New Vice President

One of the biggest recent developments at Steamatic is the addition of Vice President Chad Rhoden.

Deeply experienced in the industry, Rhoden has served as Restoration Division Manager for Texas Fire and Deflooding, where he handled property restoration training, industry software, and day-to-day operations.

In other key roles, including the posts of Director of Technical Training for The Dwyer Group and later Director of Operations for Wardlaw Claims Services, Rhoden was entrusted with developing adjuster training reinforced by critical industry standards, providing technical oversight, and other initiatives.

At Steamatic, Rhoden coming aboard as Vice President is a clear signal of growing talent and ability propelling the company forward.

“Chad has been involved in the restoration industry for a significant amount of time,” says Ledford. “He has a wealth of knowledge and an IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification), and he shares a lot of those intangibles we’re looking for, so he’s a great fit culturally.”

The key to growth: people

With 43 locations domestically, Steamatic is currently looking to expand. The company is present all over the globe, including Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Mexico City.

“As far as those people who want to work with Steamatic and are looking for a restoration franchise are concerned, we want self-starters with high levels of drive and energy,” says Ledford. “We want friendly and reliable people with extreme character and integrity who are open to new ideas and processes but unwilling to compromise on work quality. They need to be the best of the best. That’s who we want to attract.”

The post Making It Right<p class="company">Steamatic</p> appeared first on Construction In Focus.