BRAVO! Group Services has regional offices across the Carolina’s in areas that have seen some devastating effects of hurricane Florence. Our offices in Columbia SC, Raleigh / Durham NC, and Charlotte NC have all been affected. Cleaning up after the storm isn’t going to be fast or easy, but it is a process that we will all work together as a community to accomplish.
Thinking about the task that lays ahead for both us and the companies that trust us to take care of their facilities maintenance needs, we started to put together a list of things to do to get a business back in order that everyone may benefit from.
Water Damage
Rising waters caused a lot of damage in hurricane Florences wake. If you were lucky enough to just get a small amount of water intrusion then you may just need to dry out your carpets and have them properly cleaned.
However, if you had any amount of standing water, the damage may be far more severe. Water can soak into wood frames and turn them into a lure for insects, or a perfect breeding ground for mold. If parts of your facility have wood framing that was saturated with standing water, you should probably consider having that wood replaced.
If the water was deep enough that it made it to your electrical outlets then you have even more serious problems. In many places, a city will revoke a buildings certificate of occupancy if the water level rose above the electrical outlets. This is because water in the electrical system can create a dangerous problem. If you had standing water more the 12 to 16 inches deep in your facility, you should have your electrical system inspected as soon as possible.
Wind Damage
Wind damage is something to be concerned with during a hurricane. Flying debris can damage many parts of your building including windows, external security systems, your HVAC, roofing materials and much more.
After any high wind weather event, you should have a complete inspection of your roof, your HVAC and any other building that were exposed to the wind. Roof damage from wind can cause your roof to leak and if the leak isn’t that bad, you may not notice until much later when it has done significantly more damage. If to much time has passed before you find the damage, you may not be able to make a proper insurance claim.
HVAC condenser coils can be easily damaged by flying debris. It is important to have them inspected after a storm because, like roof damage, the extent of the damage may not be immediately evident. You may have a unit that still works, but is no longer working efficiently because of damage to the condenser coils. This will raise your monthly utility bills and can eventually lead to catastrophic failure of the unit.
Morale Damage
It is important to understand the impact a storm like hurricane Florence can have on the morale of your staff. Low morale creates low productivity. When people are suffering the stress of having to rebuild or repair after a storm, there focus on work can be less than usual. As a team, we need to work together to help our staff through the troubles they face after the storm so that we can get them back to 100% at work as soon as possible.
Your staff is an important part of your business, and just as you may need to allocate extra resources to your facility or equipment after a storm, you may also need to allocate extra resources to your staff.
At BRAVO! Group Services, we believe we are all part of the same team trying to create a successful business. When we work together as a team we can overcome all obstacles. Even natures fury.