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Volume 12 – March 2021 SUSTAINABILITY ISSUE: The secret behind sustainable people management Page 12 Getting a measure on our carbon impact Page 16It has been 52 years since I began working in the rental business, going on to establish DisasterCare Platinum and The National Flood School. It is now time that I bow out of those ventures and leave them in the capable hands of my son and daughters. I have always embraced business with both common sense and a scientific approach. I gained this from my aviation training where I was involved in the development of Concorde. Chris Netherton Managing Director, Valori Brands Ltd. (Former Technical Director, National Flood School) 07436 159111 / 07765 232975 Free international calls can be made via WhatsApp. However, I am not ready to completely withdraw from the restoration industry just yet. A chance conversation led me to question a few things that I had not only been doing, but that I had been teaching to other people too. I, like many people in the restoration industry, had simply been following what I had been told by manufacturers and trade bodies. But where was the science – the sense-check and the balance? I carried out my own simple experiment to put these “things” to the test. I took three desiccant dehumidifiers from the market and rated their performance - not from a quoted extraction perspective, but from a practical viewpoint. I assessed how long they would each take to dry a room. I created a dedicated test chamber in a controlled outer environment. I monitored how each unit extracted water, not from the air, but from a saturated building block. The experiment simply measured how long it took for the building block to return to its dry weight, with all things being equal. The results were not as I expected. I used a refrigerant building dryer to benchmark the experiment. The results from this were even more surprising. Although these are industry standard, they performed less well using the drag race method, when up against the models that used desiccant technology. The newest model on the market with pressure-neutral capability won, and surprisingly it was the least expensive. When I first ventured into the restoration industry in 1988, there was a real promotion by companies, such as Munters, who were advocating desiccant technology. Perhaps due to costs or skill expertise at the time, refrigerant building dryers became the norm. We could be on the cusp now of a paradigm shift as costs have improved, as well as engineering experience and knowledge. They now seem faster at drying than refrigerant units. The comparison of desiccants led to ratification of my new Valori test protocol. Not only an ancestral name, it also means “value” in Italian. It is this value testing I can now offer through my new company, Valori Brands Ltd. Other tests such as AHAM only consider a set environment water extraction. Anyone in the restoration game knows that this is not a true reflection. The restoration professional needs confidence that a wall or floor is dry. While initial conditions when getting a building dry might be cold and humid, we all know that this will change throughout the restoration period. Therefore, a dehumidifier needs to be able to cope with a range of conditions. So, whether you are a manufacturer, distributor, or just considering the right product to invest in, give me a call. We can test your units in my custom-built house and discover how they perform in the restoration environment and compare them to others. This will allow you to make the right choice in purchasing or product development. Whether it is dehumidifiers, air filtration or air handling, we can test it. I certainly look forward to working with you. Best wishes, Chris Netherton, Managing Director, Valori Brands Ltd AHAM or Valori? ADVERTORIAL03 CONTENTS Editorial Enquiries Paul Williamson paul.williamson@realia.co Advertising Sales Cleo Brettell cleo.brettell@realia.co Design & Production Realia Marketing paul.williamson@realia.co 01303 262101 The Standard is published quarterly by The British Damage Management Association. The Standard is written in collaboration with our members, showcasing industry thought leaders and success stories to the wider community. We are delighted to present the opportunity for our members to broadcast their expertise to the broader insurance industry by submitting opinion pieces and case studies for inclusion in The Standard. Please feel free to submit your content for consideration. DISCLAIMER: The BDMA accepts no responsibility for the views expressed by contributors within The Standard. Advertisements are accepted at the discretion of the editor and The BDMA and do not imply any endorsement of goods or services. BDMA MEMBERSHIP Have you recently moved premises? Or have you recently moved to a different company? If so, please remember to send an update of your new details to info@bdma.org.uk Notes from the Chair 05 The BDMA’s View 06 From rainforests to flood recovery Opinions and Expertise from the Executive Board 08 Sustainability awareness in the damage management industry Learning & Development 10 BDMA training news Meet the BDMA Executive 11 Board Introducing Jean Davenport Webinar Feature 12 The secret behind sustainable people management Guest Feature 14 Modelling the floods of the future – Dr Chris Skinner, The Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull Guest Feature 16 Getting a measure on our carbon impact – Jeremy Sykes, Polygon UK The Standard Insight 18 A year in the life Guest Feature 19 Eyes on the sustainability prize – Richfords Guest Feature 20 Getting real about going green – Sabine VanderLinden, Alchemy Crew Learning & Development 21 Women in the claims and damage management industry – Q&A with Julie Bartoszyk, Polygon UK & Ireland Corporate Associate 22 Showcase The Propono Group New BDMA Members 23 BDMA Enquiries & Correspondence The BDMA, Harborough Innovation Centre, Wellington Way, Airfield Business Park, Market Harborough LE16 7WB Phone: 01858 414278 | Email: info@bdma.org.uk Website: www.bdma.org.uk Keep up with us on social media… @TheBDMA @TheBDMA BDMA (British Damage Management Association) www.youtube.com/channel/SPECIALIST CONTENTS RESTORATION Call 0800 019 9990 for a no obligation quotation www.harwellrestoration.co.uk Supporting BDMA members throughout the UK InsurancePOST Claims Awards 2020 WINNER Proud nominees for: Business Continuity Awards 2020 BIA Awards 2020 Documents Books Photos Artwork Ceramics Antiques 04 Raising Industry Standards Directors John Thompson (Chair) chairman@bdma.org.uk Adrian Jolly (Head of Strategic Development) strategicdevelopment@bdma.org.uk Kathryn Rodgers kathryn.rodgers@harwellrestoration.co.uk Executive Committee Members & Constituencies Greg French DM Practitioners (Commercial) commercial@bdma.org.uk Phil McVay Claims Practitioners claimspract@bdma.org.uk James Parsons Insurance Technicians instechs@bdma.org.uk Adam Waters Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Chris Edwards Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Marie Stearn DM Practitioners (Residential) dmresidential@bdma.org.uk Support Personnel BDMA Administration Sophie Bennett (Office Manager) sophie.bennett@bdma.org.uk 01858 414278 Marketing Paul Williamson Realia Marketing paul.williamson@realia.co 01303 262101 Through partnership working and involvement in industry wide initiatives, the BDMA executive is also informed by the Association’s relationship with The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). The BDMA Executive, Directors and Support Personnel The BDMA carried out a wide-ranging governance review of its membership structure in 2019. The review highlighted several benefits which would come from streamlining the membership structure. In 2020, those changes were proposed and accepted by the board and are now in the process of being implemented over the next six months. Associate Membership for Students We are delighted to announce a new category of Associate Membership for students. This category is open to any student enrolled on a course of study with a college or university who has an interest in the damage management sector. This level of membership will be free. Student membership is also available to apprentices working for a company in the damage management sector, who are enrolled on a formal apprenticeship, at any level, or day release training scheme. The member benefits for students include: • Monthly newsletter • The Standard (quarterly magazine) • Access to discounted courses via the BDMA e-Academy • Access to the free BDMA Foundation courses • Access to free events • Discounted entry to paid events • Opportunity to accrue and record CPD points Designations Update Accredited Insurance Technicians should now use the BDMA Tech (Ins) designation, and accredited Commercial Technicians should now use the BDMA Tech (Comm) designation. The collective mark that accredited members are entitled to use in these categories remains unchanged. Specialist Affiliate Membership The Specialist Affiliate membership category is being discontinued, with the majority of members within that category electing to go through a panel assessment to become Specialist Restorers. A massive thank you goes to Adam Waters, the Specialist Restorers constituency representative, for generously donating his time to run these assessments. Any future changes will be detailed in The Standard, the newsletter or on our social media channels. Richard Talbot-Jones acts as the BDMA’s Company Secretary and is co-ordinating the Association’s membership update. Got a question about BDMA membership? Let us help you. Simply email info@bdma.org.uk or call 01858 414278.05 Notes from the Chair NOTE ABOUT SHARING ON SOCIAL Keep the photos coming! Each month we're tagged in lots of your photos on LinkedIn, sometimes they're e-Learning certificates, sometimes they're photos of you celebrating your BDMA exam wins. Either way, make sure to tag us @BDMA (British Damage Management Association), so we can share on our company page and in our monthly newsletter! Hello readers, Welcome to The Standard, my first edition in the role of BDMA Chair. After a busy end to 2020, with flooding across the east of the country on Christmas Eve, the pace has picked up again in 2021. Already we’ve seen freezing temperatures bursting pipes in Scotland and the North, and heavy flooding in Wales. Once again, our member companies and field operators have responded fantastically. It’s particularly worth mentioning the late hours that were put in on Christmas Eve to allow policyholders to have some semblance of “normality” for a few days over what was already a difficult COVID-hit festive period. This work ethic and commitment really highlights the value that we add to insurers’ supply chains, and it’s something we are keen to acknowledge and celebrate as the industry association. Within the BDMA, the year has also had a busy start, with work on e-learning and virtual training moving on at pace. The introduction of Insurance Tech training and virtual examinations has gone well and we are seeing increased demand in this area. Together with the team, I have also been able to help prepare the next offering in virtual examinations. A trial of the Technician Level 1 exam took place earlier this year and this will be open for applications very soon, along with the Claims Practitioner virtual exam. Another project that has been discussed is an award to honour our friend and colleague Dr Barry White. Dr Barry always said that the BDMA Senior Paper was one of the most difficult exams he had sat and he had multiple degrees and masters designations after his name. To that end, the directors are going to present the Dr Barry White Award for outstanding achievement in examinations. The 2020 award recipient will be notified soon. Unfortunately, the reintroduction of tighter COVID-19 restrictions means that classroom examinations for next month are again postponed. However, looking further ahead, examination dates are already filling up and we are now looking at the possibility of a virtual exam taking place alongside a classroom exam should the restrictions allow. Unfortunately we are not yet in a position to offer the Senior Technician examination in a virtual format. Separately, we are also looking to co- ordinate a classroom exam at a large DM company whose facility is still in operation. We will, of course, be doing so in full compliance with government guidelines. As some of you are aware, work to update the BDMA’s rules and articles has already begun, starting with the election of officers and voting rights. We will also be discussing membership categories in due course, including the criteria for Corporate Membership. Finally, I would just like to sound a positive note for the year ahead. As I write this, we are hearing news of the government’s exit plan from lockdown and vaccinations are expected to be offered to the entire adult population by the end of July. Despite all that COVID-19 has thrown at us, the sector has shown great resilience and I am hopeful that, after a challenging start, 2021 will be a year for optimism and regrowth. Take care, John Thompson, BDMA Chair06 THE BDMA'S VIEW THE BDMA'S VIEW With stakes as high as the survival of our species, it is understandable that climate change has become recognised as one of the most pressing challenges of our time. From Greta Thunberg inspiring a generation of climate activists to Sir David Attenborough exposing the plastic pollution in our oceans, there has been a huge swing in public awareness around environmental issues in recent years and this has driven a momentous surge in appetite for action. Even in the shadow of COVID-19, sustainability and climate change have maintained their high- priority status among policymakers and populations across the globe. The idea of offering greater protection to our environment is, of course, nothing new. It may have escalated in urgency, but the thinking can be traced back via David Henry Thoreau in the nineteenth century and to ancient civilisations. In the intervening years it has grown to encompass a broad spectrum of thinking, from conservationism to eco-activism and the circular economy. These approaches all have powerful messages and passionate advocates, but they have arguably not had the same universal acknowledgement of a shared cause and the same sense of collective responsibility that come under the current unifying movement of climate change. Previously, there was no Paris Agreement to galvanise governments into transformative action, such as the UK pledging to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. In business, while there were pioneering pockets of good practice, sustainability was perhaps relegated to a lower profile under the banner of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Today, things have changed. Thanks to a robust and growing base of evidence about the reality of global warming and its impact on the planet, we have passed an inflexion point. We have far greater visibility of the depletion of our natural resources and assets, the loss of our landscapes, and the severe fluctuations in our weather. Public discourse has changed in tone, with less talk of “going green” and more conversations about tackling a “climate emergency”. In business, boards of large corporates have increasingly adopted sustainable thinking, and the effects have trickled down to be felt throughout supply chains. What might, once upon a time, have been characterised as a problem in distant rainforests and unfamiliar lands, is now a consideration of everyday working life, even for small and medium-sized enterprises. In damage management, we are seeing the mantra of “reduce, reuse, recycle” playing out through various initiatives, alongside our naturally sustainable approach of restore over replace. Reducing the use of vehicles, increasing the use of remote monitoring, limiting energy consumption, avoiding waste to landfill, and employing more environmentally friendly dehumidification technology are all examples of how the industry is adopting its sustainable responsibilities. The momentum behind such initiatives is only set to grow. And while our industry is already rising to the sustainability challenge, by continuing to innovate and introduce further change, we will only increase our contribution to this vital collective cause. The BDMA’s Adrian Jolly considers how the macro goal of protecting the planet is embedding micro changes into our daily working practices. FROM RAINFORESTS TO FLOOD RECOVERY Adrian Jolly BYAdrian jollyInstantly Share Photos, Reports, and More on One Platform FIELD DOCUMENTATION MADE EASY Encircle helps restoration contractors accurately document in the field with easy-to-use tools. Save time and money with contents documentation, homeowner communication, and instant reporting. Find out how we make managing claims easy. REQUEST A DEMO TODAY 00-1-519-279-6830 sales@encircleapp.com GETENCIRCLE.COM 07 THE BDMA'S VIEW THE BDMA'S VIEW08 BDMA Executive BDMA Executive OPINIONS AND EXPERTISE FROM THE BDMA EXECUTIVE BOARD HOW CAN THE DAMAGE MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY HELP TO RAISE AWARENESS OF CURRENT SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES? Chris Edwards: The damage management industry has gone some way in developing products and implementing processes to help create a more sustainable future. There are still, however, many challenges in providing solutions with one eye on the ecological impact. We want to reduce the impact on the environment but we want to do this cost effectively. Over the past 12 months at DASA, we have worked on a campaign to ensure we find solutions for our clients that, as we say, 'don't cost the earth’. We’ve trialled innovative products and tried to think outside of the box for our clients, assisting them in developing cost effective, environmentally friendly solutions. Our technical team travel the length and breadth of the country looking at innovative options that can enhance our sustainable credentials. Some have worked, others haven’t. We are passionate about ensuring we trial these products fully to either rule them out or introduce them into our services. We believe that if the industry collaborates and shares ideas together, this will go far in raising awareness of sustainability practices, encouraging others to follow suit. James Parsons: I would suggest sharing what you already know, and continuing to ensure you share new knowledge, and provide education to insurers on the options available to them, to help reduce their carbon footprint. There are a vast number of ways to help achieve an overall reduction in carbon production. The take up of remote monitoring remains fairly low, considering drying represents a huge chunk of what the DM industry does. Is the increased time needed to set up remote monitoring reflected back in reduced visits to a site by the technician? Or does the need to move the kit and maintain optimum drying mean remote monitoring only serves a purpose when you are dealing with a remote location for a claim, or an unoccupied property, or need quicker oversight on drying results if time is critical in getting a customer home again? Sharing the pros and cons of remote monitoring would aid an insurer or adjuster in determining if it's viable for the claim they are handling. I can picture a DM report providing drying options e.g., conventional blue kit, or a faster, advanced/targeted drying option. The report would highlight price differences and estimated drying times of each option, along with recommendations on future resilience measures that would aid the recovery of the property in the event of a future flood occurring. Can the DM industry provide specialist advice to insurers on practical measures to improve an insured property's resilience to the future risk of flooding? What material changes could be proposed to enable a customer to better bounce back from a future flood? I’m sure, with the DM industry’s knowledge of drying, there should be a voice that gets heard that advises what changes to make, as and when Build(ing) Back Better develops further with insurers and FloodRe. Beneficially evidencing the cost of restoration on contents claims versus a replacement value would be helpful. And identifying confidently that restoration will achieve positive results. How does the DM industry maintain focus where it’s needed on reducing waste and ensuring anything with a restoration potential gets actioned urgently? I believe greater trust and delegated authority will help drive positive behaviours in the restoration space. Greg French: For me, there are some very clear and immediate measures we can take, together with some longer term, strategic actions. Fundamentally we should always look to make decisions for the long-term benefit of clients, rather than chase the short-term economic payback and that is a philosophy we can better communicate right across the insurance supply chain. Of course, it is always a challenge to balance short-term profitability over longer term, sustainable advantage, but this should be our first principle. In the short-term there are ways in which we can reduce our carbon footprint through better use of technology, which in turn reduces the number of people attending a site and limits the requirement for travel. As a sector, I believe we are in full agreement that restoration is always a smarter, more sustainable, faster, and cost-effective option than strip out. This in itself delivers benefits in terms of reducing raw material processing, shipping etc. These things we do today, to some extent, but we can always do more, and certainly we should communicate our approaches more effectively.09 BDMA Executive BDMA Executive Chris EdwardsJames ParsonsGreg French WHAT SHOULD BE THE TOP SUSTAINABILITY MEASURE THAT BUSINESSES IN THE INDUSTRY SHOULD ADOPT? Chris Edwards: Just thinking more about how to be more sustainable is key here. It doesn’t have to be changing your whole business model (at first anyway!). There are many practices that businesses can adopt quickly and effectively. One of the first areas we looked at was ensuring that all of the cleaning products we use are eco-friendly, biodegradable and, where possible, plant based. This had a significant impact on our sustainability credentials but wasn’t particularly difficult or expensive to coordinate. From there, it’s about putting a plan in place to ensure that you are always thinking about how your business and its operations can be more sustainable, and talking to your clients and your peers to work together to achieve a common goal. James Parsons: I think having an awareness that the use of new building materials and throwing old materials away has the biggest impact on carbon emissions in the industry we work in. Anything you can do to dry and repair, rather than replace, in the construction sense or for contents losses has to be a winner, from a sustainability perspective and in terms of reducing your carbon footprint. Demonstrate your green credentials. If you conduct research into carbon usage, share it so it becomes known that you strive to be carbon reduced or neutral in your operating model. Understanding what areas of your business are good and not so good when it comes to your carbon output will aid you in prioritising what you should tackle first to ensure improvement. Make flood resilience an everyday topic of conversation when a technician visits a customer so that knowledge is shared with the customer about how to improve their future flood-risk performance. Greg French: We have a noble cause – to help people. To do that, we should be looking more at our social and human impact – how can we be more inclusive so that we represent the communities we serve? How can we see past the damage and see the person? How can we influence our customers to make decisions that positively impact the environment? Too often we don’t see the bigger picture – our decisions could potentially impact thousands of livelihoods if, for example, a factory never reopens after damage. That could mean that we take the ‘easy option’ and recommend reconstruction over restoration. If we are to achieve long-term environmental sustainability, we need to put people’s long term welfare at the core of everything we do long-term.Next >