Addressing Water Damage

2/23/2022 (Permalink)

Standing Water in an office building

The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is a standards developing organization for the inspection, cleaning, and restoration industries. For water damage restoration work, they have published a manual, S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration (S500) - SERVPRO of Tigard/Tualatin/Lake Oswego/West Linn and Beaverton follows the principles outlined in this manual, alongside our fellow Tigard/Tualatin area restoration vendors.

To learn more about the IICRC, read our previous blog on them by clicking here.

Here at SERVPRO, we believe it’s important for our community to understand the principles that outline the work we do. Over the next month, we will be summarizing each principle from the S500 and sharing that knowledge with you.

S500 Principle 1: Provide for the Safety and Health of Workers and Occupants.

Safety is everyone’s responsibility on a water damage worksite. A primary concern in water damage safety is protecting restoration employees performing the work, as we often work in unsafe and unhealthy environments due to the nature of the services we provide. 

As premier restoration professionals, SERVPRO of Tigard/Tualatin/Lake Oswego/West Linn and Beaverton takes all the steps necessary to ensure the safety of all occupants or visitors to the worksite, as well. We will post important signage to prevent visitors and occupants from exposing themselves to hazardous areas in the worksite, or alert them to the safety precautions necessary to be in that area. If we have a scheduled site walk, we will provide all necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which can include hardhats, respirators or face masks, safety vests, and/or protective eyewear. 

Before we begin work on a water damage loss, we will assess the property for existing and potential hazards. We call this process H.A.R.M. (Hazard Assessment and Risk Management). The goal of H.A.R.M. is to assess the hazards and implement controls to prevent further hazards from developing.

Part of H.A.R.M. is testing for hazardous materials, such as asbestos and lead. We do not disturb anything in the affected area until after we have received results from our testing. Residential buildings built before 2004 must be tested for asbestos before work can be performed, while all commercial buildings must be tested before work can be performed. All buildings built before 1978 must be tested for lead before work can be performed.

Ensuring a safe work environment is critical for the work that we do. This is just a snapshot of the steps we take at SERVPRO of Tigard/Tualatin/Lake Oswego/West Linn and Beaverton to keep a water damage worksite safe for all parties involved.

If you experience a water damage at your property, call SERVPRO of Tigard/Tualatin/Lake Oswego/West Linn and Beaverton at 503-684-5829 if you find water damage in your home or business. Don’t hesitate to mitigate the damage the minute you see it!