THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING
CIOAdvisor Apac
×
CIO Advisor APAC Weekly Brief
Be first to read the latest tech news, Industry Leader's Insights, and CIO interviews of medium and large enterprises exclusively from CIO Advisor APAC
BELFOR: The Property Restoration Experts For All Kinds Of Interventions
Neville Miles, Managing Director, AsiaAccording to reports, a passenger of the Diamond Princess was tested COVID-19 positive on 1 February. “The ship was quarantined immediately after it arrived in Japanese waters on 3 February, with 3,711 passengers and crew members on board. Over the next month, more than 700 people on board were infected—including a nurse—and for weeks the ship was the site of the largest outbreak outside China,” the reports highlighted.
Staying true to its core principles, the Diamond Princess began looking for partners who could assist them in disinfecting and sanitizing the entire ship as quickly and effectively as possible. It required a partner who could mobilize quickly and safely, understand the problem at hand, map out a solution that also needed approvals from many different parties and then execute in a very short timeframe. Princess Cruises assigned the task of disinfecting and sanitizing the Diamond Princess to BELFOR, the global leader in disaster recovery and environmental solutions. The company primarily provides a wide range of Disaster Recovery services, which, simply put, is cleaning up and restoring after natural or human-made disasters. BELFOR provides a variety of services including demolition, reconstruction, cleaning, disinfection, sanitization and the corresponding technical equipment to achieve this.
“Information on COVID-19 in February was limited and things kept evolving. So, we relied on our years of experience in safety and knowledge of the virus from the sources we had, to systematically disinfect and sanitize the Diamond Princess.” says Neville Miles, APAC Managing Director, BELFOR. “We have a very large portfolio of services due to the nature of the business and the range of challenges we face on a daily basis. One big issue we face regularly after a disaster event is that the affected area becomes a near perfect breeding ground for mould spores, bacteria and other fungi as well as for disease. It is important in our restoration process that we also address the complete decontamination of these areas including disinfection and odor removal. In the case of a virus outbreak like COVID-19, we can apply the same principles and associated procedures we use in the disinfection of disaster sites to disinfect confirmed COVID areas.”
The company’s Disinfection /Sanitization services include:
• Treatment of all direct and most indirect reachable surfaces of buildings
• Disinfection of affected equipment, Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems
• Pre-incident disinfection service as a preventative measure
• Cold fogging to remove airborne bacteria and viruses
“We had just 3 weeks to disinfect an 18 deck vessel with 2000+ rooms and common spaces such as bars, restaurants, casino, theatre, retail etc. We knew that the virus can stay active for an extended period, but just not sure for how long. So we had to ensure the thorough disinfection of the entire ship alongside with the safety of our people,” asserts Miles.
The disinfection was organized by zones in the ship, including cabins, kitchens and dining areas, HVAC systems, etc. All rooms were stripped of bedding, linens and other materials and waste was removed. A systematic wipe-down of every space was performed to ensure that every area was thoroughly disinfected.
Dealing with the unexpected” is what makes the restoration expert BELFOR special. This way they help industries to minimize business interruption and get them back to business in the shortest possible time and people back in their homes after fire, water and storm damages
This success story is just one of many that BELFOR prides itself on. Over the last 74 years, the company has been recognized globally and awarded many times for its expertise and commitment to providing value-added solutions to customers as well as a secure and meaningful career for its employees.
BELFOR enjoys a long and rich history dating back to the 1940s, one that has seen great achievements in technology and leadership. The most significant recent event in its history would be its management buyout in 2006. “ Sheldon Yellen, Global CEO, then transformed the business into what we now know as BELFOR—11.100+ employees working on over 250,000 disaster related projects a year across 55 different countries” says Miles.
The End-To-End Service Provider
At its core, the company’s disaster recovery services include—but are not limited to—fire and water damage restoration and RED ALERT® emergency response. As an example, when a fire incident occurs, business operations typically come to a sudden halt. The first 24 to 48 hours after a fire incident are a critical window for recovery. Most of the damage to equipment, machinery, and building contents that were not directly connected with the fire, only occurs after the fire incident. Contaminated equipment with no visible thermal damage may still be exposed to soot and other gaseous emissions. This results in the onset of corrosion on exposed surfaces, starting from the moment soot or the extinguishing material gets into contact with exposed metallic surfaces. In addition, mould starts to grow on surfaces occurs as a result of their exposure to water and high humidity environments.
“We recommend immediate loss mitigation to slow the corrosion process and mould growth to give our customers time to properly evaluate what options are on the table such as repair, replacement, partial replacement, temporary utilization etc.,” says Miles. “Loss mitigation includes deploying equipment to control humidity levels, pre-clean and apply preservation chemicals to protect surfaces from corrosion.”
BELFOR uses a multi-step restoration process to disassemble, degrease, clean, remove corrosion and reapply surface protection to prevent corrosion. Components of equipment that have been damaged by high temperatures are likely to be replaced by new spare parts.
The company even has many examples of where they have completed fire damage restoration projects in Data Centers. For instance, one of BELFOR’s customers fell victim to such an incident and had stored data on customized equipment which had no back-up. With their expertise and unique processes, BELFOR helped restoring the equipment to a point where the data could be accessed and removed. After this, the equipment was scrapped.
Another aspect of fire-induced damage restoration evolves around building and content recovery. BELFOR specialists will decontaminate and restore building structures, surfaces and contents which have not been irreparably damaged. Interiors such as damaged walls, windows, and HVAC system (Heating, Ventilation, Air conditioning) will be decontaminated, repaired or replaced, depending on the extent of the damage.
On the other end of the spectrum comes BELFOR's water damage restoration. “Water damage can be caused by pipe leakage, fire sprinkler accidents, floods, typhoons etc. Water damage restoration needs to be done swiftly to prevent contamination, deterioration of materials and mould damage,” says Miles.
BELFOR’s specialists are trained and certified both via a comprehensive internal training program deriving from many years of experiences and by Industry Standards training such as the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) and they strictly follow the corresponding protocols.
It is important to know that there are three types of water damage:
• clean water from water sprinklers, broken pipes, which is toxin-free;
• grey water damage refers to water from toilets, pump backups, where the waste and chemicals may be harmful to health and
• black water damage, which is the most serious type of water damage. It includes flood water, that may contain chemicals, sewage, etc. This can pose a serious health risk and requires significant disinfecting. Under these circumstances, it is essential to remove any affected items and disinfect them thoroughly.
BELFOR will always start with thorough removal of water and assessment of the damage. The company would safely remove and dispose any furnishings and contents that are damaged beyond repair. More importantly, they would clean and decontaminate the building to remove any potential environmental, chemical and/or biological contaminants. The building will be inspected for structural damage by experts. Lastly, the property will be dried entirely and dehumidified to ensure that no residual water remains.
Water damage can also result in machinery and equipment being exposed to corrosive contamination and electrically conductive contamination. If not cleaned up properly, corrosion will occur and the water residing inside the equipment can lead to further damage. BELFOR addresses this by using high-pressure cleaning to remove contaminants and drying them with special equipment. They even disassemble the machines to clean inaccessible areas. Electrical Equipment and Electronic circuit boards are decontaminated, and mechanical parts that are damaged, such as bearings and belts, are replaced and lubricated. Machines are then tested and recommissioned.
BELFOR also offers a complete mould remediation process as mould growth arises from failing to dry quickly and properly following moisture build up. This service includes full structural drying and dehumidification, containment and decontamination, and disposal of contaminated materials. Mould remediation is a specialized process requiring a unique combination of knowledge, training and technical equipment. BELFOR’s professional mould removal teams are considered the best in the industry and were the first to issue mould guidelines in 2002. They were also the contributing authors to the official industry Reference Guide for Professional Mould Remediation.
Lastly, the BELFOR RED ALERT® Emergency Response Program prioritizes RED ALERT® customers for area-wide disasters (catastrophes). They provide 24 hours emergency response service with a 24 hour hotline. “We do a familiarization survey with our RED ALERT® customers in advance so that we are familiar with their critical systems and facilities before a disaster occurs,” says Miles.
The Undisputed Disaster Recovery Specialists
Evidently, BELFOR is so much more than an average disinfection/sanitization company providing services in a Facility Management type environment. “Dealing with the unexpected” is what makes them special. They have experts with years of experience and knowledge to deal with almost any situation, following a strict set of protocols starting with Safety First. “For COVID-19 disinfection, our cleaning protocols are based on the US Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines,” says Miles. “Our advantage is that we can adapt quickly to these situations whilst ensuring the safety of our own and our clients personnel in managing any problem.”
With its long history and ability to adapt to changes, the company plans to remain focused on its core business, servicing disaster-related incidents. They aim to continue to evolve their offerings to each new challenge (such as they have for COVID-19) they encounter. "We can help with a variety of problems that our customers don't encounter every day around contamination. COVID-19 disinfection service is an extension of the environmental services BELFOR already offers. In the US, our teams are extensively involved in COVID-19 cleanups including schools, businesses and testing centers. There is always more we can do to help our clients especially when disaster strike," concludes Miles.
Follow BELFOR on :