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THE STANDARD Volume 17 FUTUREPROOFING: PREPARING TODAY FOR TOMORROW REFLECTIONS ON THE BDMA CONFERENCE Page 08 2022 AWARDS WINNER: KIERON LOWE Page 15 THE BARNSTAPLE THEATRE: RICHFORDS CASE STUDY Page 20Toughest, most efficient and above all reliable www.ecor-pro.com UK office telephone 0191 816 2898 DH3500 INOX 316 Stainless Steel Desiccant Dehumidifier03 Editorial Enquiries Adrian Jolly strategicdevelopment@bdma.org.uk Advertising Sales Sophie Bennett info@bdma.org.uk Design & Production Jean Davenport jean.davenport@bdma.org.uk Lucy Thompson lucy.thompson@bdma.org.uk 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. Published 30th September 2022 DISCLAIMER: The BDMA accepts no responsibility for the views expressed by contributors within The Standard. Advertisements and Advertorials 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 Membership Update 03 Notes from the Chair 05 The BDMA’s View 06 Adrian Jolly discusses the return to 'business as ususal' Guest Feature 07 by Rebecca Constable, BSI Affiliates Executive Reflections on the BDMA Conference 2022 08 Members of the BDMA Executive Board, delegates, sponsors and exhibitors reflect on the 2022 conference Guest Feature 10 by Alan James, Dantherm Group Guest Feature 11 by Ian Gibbs, Segwick Guest Feature 12 by Mary Long-Dhonau OBE Guest Feature 14 by Greg French, Davis French & Associates BDMA Award Winners 15 Claims Technician of the Year: Kieron Lowe of DASA Guest Feature 17 by Chris Hall, Questgates Guest Feature 18 by Graham Brogden MBE, GJB Consultancy Guest Feature 19 by Jerry Gibbs, Consultant at Ecor Pro Ltd BDMA Award Winners 20 Sustainable Project of the Year, Commercial Property: Richfords Fire and Flood Learning & Development 24 BDMA Training News New BDMA Members 25 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) CONTENTS CONTACT US Newly Accredited Members this Quarter 95 Corporate Associates 12 BDMA Sponsors 60Directors John Thompson (Chair) chairman@bdma.org.uk Adrian Jolly (Head of Strategic Development) strategicdevelopment@bdma.org.uk Kathryn Rodgers kathryn.rodgers@harwellrestoration.co.uk Adam Waters: Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Chris Edwards: Specialists specialists@bdma.org.uk Marie Stearn: DM Practitioners (Residential) dmresidential@bdma.org.uk Executive Committee Members & Constituencies Phil McVay: Claims Technicians claimspract@bdma.org.uk James Parsons: Insurance Technicians instechs@bdma.org.uk Richard Talbot-Jones: Governance & Company Secretary governance@bdma.org.uk Jean Davenport: Learning and Development Manager jean.davenport@bdma.org.uk Support Personnel / BDMA Administration Sophie Bennett: Office Manager sophie.bennett@bdma.org.uk Anne Roche: Administrator Anne.roche@bdma.org.uk Cheryl Rowell: Membership Administrator Cheryl.rowell@bdma.org.uk Lucy Thompson: Training and Media Support Executive lucy.thompson@bdma.org.uk Sharron Smith: Administrator Sharron.smith@bdma.org.uk The BDMA Executive, Directors and Support Personnel 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). 04 It is difficult to produce this edition of The Standard magazine without acknowledging the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the place she held in our hearts. Most of us have not known another monarch in our lifetime and we should not underestimate the stabilising influence that the Queen has had on all our lives. With the eyes of the world on the UK, and most of the world’s leaders and royal families in attendance, the Queen’s funeral was an exemplary model of British custom and ceremony from the impressively disciplined pallbearers to the appearance of the Queen’s pony and corgis at Windsor. Our warm wishes are with the royal family as they continue to mourn their loss, and we hope that they can take comfort from the high esteem in which the Queen was held both at home and abroad.NOTES FROM THE CHAIR 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 @TheBDMA (British Damage Management Association), so we can share on our company page and in our monthly newsletter! A couple of weeks ago I received a telephone call from a BDMA colleague member to discuss a work issue and he asked if I was still "basking in the glow of a great event". Of course, I am! However, the BDMA Conference 2022 would not have happened without the incredible effort of the entire BDMA team. Their work in preparing and delivering the event has led to the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and delegates hailing this conference as the best so far! My sincere and heartfelt thanks go to everyone involved in delivering conference 2022. In this issue of The Standard magazine with the theme being “Futureproofing: preparing today for tomorrow”, we look back at the conference highlights. The conference illustrated our industry's appetite for restoration over replacement. The speakers talked about how technology is being used to restore more and more. Loss adjusters and restoration companies spoke about preparing and educating a new generation of insurance professionals and embedding sustainable practices. We heard from Pat Nolan, from our headline sponsor Flood Doctor, on how they are actively engaged in measuring and reducing their carbon footprint, something we should all be investigating. We at the BDMA have always believed that education and accreditation is at the heart of what we do. Our members are at the forefront of learning about new technologies and techniques for decontamination, drying, and restoration, looking to restore rather than replace. The masterclasses at conference highlighted the traditional skills that we have within our sector, showcasing the restoration of furniture, floors, works of art, documents, and general contents. In addition, there were demonstrations of techniques for moisture measurement, and decontamination profiling. My thanks to all the presenters for giving their time and knowledge so generously Looking forwards, the BDMA are looking to expand our training offering to give our members more choice alongside our current programme of training and exams. Thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, supporters, exhibitors, and members for making conference so successful, and for continuing to support the BDMA in what we do. I hope you all have a productive summer/autumn and I leave you with these words Restoration is the sustainable optiON Until next time, stay safe and healthy. 05 "07 THE BDMA'S VIEW THE BDMA'S VIEW In the aftermath of Conference 2022, we have now returned to our day jobs. The months of July, August and September seem to have disappeared very quickly and Autumnal weather approaches. Hurricane season has already started on the other side of the Atlantic and there is always the potential that this will have a knock-on effect for the UK. Whilst business as usual has resumed, it is important that we continue to build momentum and impetus around the themes and topics of conference 2022: Resilience, Sustainable best practices, environmental impacts, and carbon reduction, and Build Back Better. In this issue of The Standard, you will find excellent articles which continue the discussion and debates around the above topics. The BDMA are in the process of launching several working groups and projects to make sure that the Damage Management Sector continues to provide thought leadership and innovation in relation to Resilience, Sustainable best practices and Environmental protection. 06 THE AFTERMATH OF CONFERENCE Laurence Mitchell – Obituary All of us at the BDMA were extremely saddened to hear the news of the untimely passing of Laurence Mitchell, a stalwart of our industry. We are sure that he has touched the lives of many of our members as a work colleague, a teacher, a sharer of knowledge, and a friend. Laurence was passionate about promoting professional standards and best practice in the damage management sector and will be sadly missed. Our thoughts are with Laurence’s family and friends. BY ADRIAN JOLLY, HEAD OF STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT FOR THE BDMA AWARENESS OF UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABILITY GOALS IN THE UK BY REBECCA CONSTABLE - BSI, AFFILIATES EXECUTIVE For more information on BSI’s sustainability evaluator tool and upcoming related webinars visit: https://page.bsigroup.com/BSI/BDMA/Evaluator NEW RESEARCH REVEALS UK SMES ARE WORRYINGLY UNAWARE OF UN SUSTAINABILITY GOALS New YouGov research commissioned by business improvement and standards company BSI, has revealed the lack of awareness that most UK businesses have of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Only 18% of UK SMEs said they were aware of the goals, despite making up 99% of all UK organisations. Over half (54%) of larger organizations (250+ employees) were also unaware of the SDGs. The outputs question the resilience, aspirations, and understanding of UK businesses and follow earlier research from BSI that revealed that only a fifth of decision makers are fully aware of what carbon net zero targets mean in practice for their organization. Murray Sayce, Global Head of Sustainability Solutions for BSI’s Assurance business says, “It is imperative that businesses of every nature and size understand the importance of sustainability in their operating model if they are going to survive into the future. This data, which also shows that almost 40% of organizations have no established sustainability goals, indicates a massive knowledge and implementation gap that needs to be filled. We know that most businesses want to do the right thing, indeed 72% consider it important to work with sustainable supply chains and 47% actively work with independently verified sustainable suppliers. But they need more guidance on how to set sustainability related targets and how to achieve them.” To help with this, BSI has launched a sustainability evaluator tool to assist organisations in assessing and evaluating progress on their sustainability journeys. The tool, which was developed by BSI and can be accessed for free, provides helpful insight about how organizations can make progress towards their sustainability goals. Further data from BSI’s research showed that Hospitality and Leisure, Education, and Media/Comms/Sales were the lowest scoring industries in terms of awareness of the UN SDGs. Manufacturing, Medical and Health Services and IT and Telecoms scored the highest. Start-up businesses have more awareness than comparable established businesses, and younger workforces enjoy more awareness than their older counterparts. Sustainability and assurance experts at BSI will be hosting a series of webinars throughout the year to support organisations working towards SDG goals on the following topics: Carbon Neutrality Health Safety and Wellbeing Waste Management Supply Chain Management Sustainable Events Sustainable Infrastructure 07GUEST FEATURE GUEST FEATURE08 BDMA EXECUTIVE REFLECTIONS ON THE BDMA 2022 CONFERENCE Members of the BDMA Executive board were asked to reflect on their favourite moments from the BDMA's 2022 Conference Adam: The Exhibitor’s Hall was by far the biggest that I have seen at a BDMA Conference, and the range and diversity of both suppliers and service providers was excellent. As an exhibitor, I felt that there were plenty of breaks for the delegates to come and talk to us, and the quality of the visitor demographic was first-rate. The masterclasses were extremely well supported, one of them that I attended was so well subscribed there was standing room only. There was a general feel good buzz to the whole of the conference. The evening events provided excellent networking opportunities, and rounded off the day pleasantly. The whole conference flowed smoothly and was a credit to the events team. The venue offered all the facilities you would want – the food was served promptly and without long queues, and there were quite areas where you could have more in-depth conversation. Overall, this was the best BDMA conference I have attended so far, and I’m looking forward to the next one! Chris: The programme of speakers this year was the best I have seen at any BDMA conference. The variety of topics,and quality of the speakers, was incredibly well received by delegates. I also felt that the mix and calibre of the exhibitors on offer was to a very high standard. I know that those who were exhibiting felt that they had made some very worthwhile and interesting introductions with new businesses they had not met before. It was also fantastic for exhibitors to speak to customers who they had probably not seen in person for a while. With sustainability at the heart of the conference, exhibitors demonstrated some fantastic new products.I was really excited about some of the new developments that are now available on the market supporting sustainability in the damage management industry. WE MADE SOME GREAT INROADS WITH BUSINESSES WE HAVE NOT WORKED WITH BEFORE " MOST OF All , VERy ENjOyABlE ! THE MIX OF MASTERClASSES AND SPEAKERS WAS EXCEllENT exhibitor delegate sponsor " " BDMA EXECUTIVEKathryn Rodgers The demographic of delegates was also really good to see. I spoke to delegates from Insurers, Loss Adjusters, Construction companies along with all those from the damage management sector. I have to say, however, that a particular highlight for me was meeting Barry from Eastenders - who doesn’t like a bit of “Barrioke”! Kathryn: It was great to be back at conference and to reconnect with industry colleagues in person. There was such a buzz around the exhibition, the workshops, in the main conference sessions, and of course the awards! My personal highlight was the engagement and active discussion that followed the session on specialist restoration. There was a good debate as to why we as an industry are not restoring more when so much can be achieved with the specialist skills that exist. We identified that there are many barriers within our own industry and the wider insurance industry. There was suggestion of a roundtable to keep this discussion going and I look forward to seeing that progress James: I thoroughly enjoyed the conference, the highlights for me were: Simon Reeve’s keynote speech about his travels and views on sustainability was truly fascinating. His travel shows are some of my favourite programmes to watch on TV. I said hello to him after his talk and found: 1) he’s unbelievably tall, and 2) he’s as nice in person as he is on the TV! His 1 - hour talk wasn’t long enough! Mary Dhonau, OBE deserves special mention for bringing a level of passion and energy to her presentation. The real-life case studies of people who had adapted their homes and businesses to be more resilient and speed up their recovery after a flood were powerful examples. Ola Jacob Raji of Floodflash, the parametric Insurer. The simplicity and brilliance of the presentation made it easy to understand the offering and seemed an appealing policy for those at risk of flooding where speed of settlement could make all the difference. Graham Brogden speaking about The Flood Compliance Platform was thought James Parsons provoking picking up the gap in the market where data on flood resilient homes could be captured and shared with the wider industry, making it available to us, the BDMA members who work on flood claims. Shaun Williamson (aka Barry from Eastenders!) who was the evening host for the awards presentation. His singing (called ‘Barrioke’!), energy and friendly nature made him a really fun addition to what was a lovely evening. A final note from me to extend thanks to everyone who contributed to our nominated charity, BEAT. BEAT help anyone struggling with an eating disorder. It’s a charity close to my heart and I would like to express my absolute gratitude to all who helped raise the amazing amount of money that the BDMA has passed onto BEAT to help them carry on the remarkable job they do - being available around the clock to provide support to anyone struggling with this illness – thank you. Chris EdwardsAdam Waters 09 BDMA EXECUTIVE THANK yOU TO EVERyONE FOR All THE HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT IN PROVIDING AN EXCEllENT CONFERENCE delegate "Next >