Restoration Industry Association -- Educational Programs and Events

Thank You!

The RIA Convention held in Dallas last week has been praised as the best convention ever hosted by the Association. As with any major event, there are many parts that are the result of months of planning and fine-tuning by many people, accompanied by the support of exhibitors and sponsors.

Special thanks go to the Convention Task Force members who put together an exceptional lineup of breakout sessions: Pete Consigli, CR, WLS; Dan Greenblatt; Lawrie Hollingsworth; Patrick Horrigan, CRS; Art Johnson, CR, WLS; Rich Piltch; Linda Plunkett, CRS, CFS; Barry Swidler; Patti Harman and Cindi Mullaly.

The convention attendees ranked the professional benefit they received from these presentations the highest that they have ever scored since RIA began tracking audience satisfaction.

Thanks to our sponsors: Bridgepoint Systems, 1-800-BOARDUP, Zurich Insurance, Total Contentz, FLIR Systems and Dri-Eaz, who provided the amenities that make a convention special for attendees, as do the advertisers: ArmaKleen Company (Armex); Viking Equipment Co., Inc.; Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.; Abatix Corporation; Bonding & Insurance Specialists; Injectidry Systems; ATEX Wholesale; Creditors Specialty Services, Inc.; D.E.R. Disaster Solutions; and DKI Services Corporation, who underwrote the program guide and compact disk containing all the session handouts.

And we are especially grateful to the Jon-Don Partners for Success: Abatement Technologies; Unsmoke Systems; Chemspec; Phoenix Restoration Equipment; Delmhorst Instrument Co.; Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.; Dry Air Technology; Injectidry Systems, Inc.; BlueLine Equipment Co.; Vaportek, U.S. Products, Inc.; Business Mentors; ELC Training; Water Out; and Jon-Don for sponsoring the best ever RIA Convention Networking Reception.

Most of all, however, thanks to our attendees who always make it all worthwhile. So many of you have told us how good a convention it was that we ask you to tell a friend about it. Of course, we understand if you don’t want to tell a competitor!

Don Manger

Executive Director

Breaking News

Emma Wreaks Havoc on Europe

A winter storm dubbed Emma hit central Europe, Western and Southern Germany, Czech Republic and Austria on March 1st. The hurricane-force winds have caused an early estimate of €100 million ($151.9 million) worth of damage in claims.

Earthquake Shakes United Kingdom

Merseyside, Birmingham, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Northampton, Norfolk, Surrey and Greater London all felt the tremors of a five-second earthquake that measured a 5.3 on the Richter scale. Estimated losses are at €10 million ($19.8 million).

Texas Wildfires

High wind and low humidity moved across Texas setting the scene for wildfires. Governor Perry was forced to renew the Disaster Proclamation, which now covers more than half of the counties in Texas. The fires have burned over 500,000 acres while destroying 50 homes and threatening its wrath on 2,158 homes.

Toxicity Testing Pact Made

Through a memorandum of understanding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have signed a five-year pact on the testing of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners. The partnership will allow testing to become more relevant to humans and expand the number of chemicals being tested in a timelier and more cost-effective manner, thus increasing accuracy and reducing testing on animals.

Housing Options for Future Disasters

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) along with other agencies has been exploring options for housing in case of disasters. By conducting on site visits, specialists have been giving consideration to numerous styles of temporary homes all ranging from $15,000 to $150,000, with a majority costing between $20,000 and $50,000.

State Farm Insurance to Stop Writing Policies in Florida

In the Sunshine State, larger insurers are terminating policies. After giving the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation notice, State Farm has decided for business reasons that they will stop writing insurance policies for new Florida homeowners. The company’s withdrawal from this market leaves homeowners left to purchase insurance from newer, smaller companies.

From staff and wire reports.

RIA Briefs

RIA Standard Industry Guide & Recommended Practice for Rug Cleaning

RIA’s newly released, first-ever standard, the Industry Guide & Recommended Practice for Rug Cleaning, was developed to educate and outline the full complement of procedures that apply to professional rug cleaning.

RIA's Guidelines inform the public about what constitutes the full measure of cleaning area rugs as practiced by members of RIA, its NIRC Division and related certification, and the Certified Rug Specialist^SM (CRS).

The Guidelines include sections on: Operative Terms & Definitions; Pre-Cleaning Dusting or Dry Soil Removal; Cleaning Chemistry; Cleaning & Rinsing; Grooming or Finishing; Drying; Correction Procedures; Post Inspection/Quality Control; Finishing; and Additional Services.

NCO Awarded Preferred Vendor Status by RIA

NCO, the nation’s leading provider of accounts receivable management solutions, was awarded preferred vendor status with RIA. Through this partnership NCO will help RIA members collect slow-pays, as well as address delinquent accounts, bad checks, and write-offs.

“We are extremely excited about our new partnership with the RIA industry and will be diligently working with the RIA members to reduce their monthly write-offs and bad debts,” said Tom Speiss, NCO’s Western U.S. vice president.

RIA Electronics Courses

The Electronic Restoration Course and the Commercial Electronics Restoration Course are being offered by RIA in April 2008 in Elk Grove Village, IL. They will cover the cleaning of electronics for residential/commercial losses and touch on useful techniques that can be applied. At the completion of these courses, a test will be administered and those passing will receive certification. Course size limited to 20.

For more information and to register, please visit

www.restorationindustry.org.

RIA Oriental & Specialty Rug Course

This course is being offered April 24 – 26, 2008 in Lancaster, PA, and provides the background needed to safely, confidently, and profitably clean fine, specialty rugs.

To register for this course and see more information, please visit

www.restorationindustry.org.

RIA’s Certified Restoration Technician (CRT) Course

This course is being offered April 28 – May 1, 2008 in McKees Rock, PA. It is an entry-level training course for those entering, the restoration field. At the completion of this course, a test will be administered and those passing will receive their certification.

To register for this course and see more information, please visit

www.restorationindustry.org.

Caution: Those Aren’t Just Wires

By Lawrie N. Hollingsworth, E.E.

With the growing popularity of home theatres, higher priced audio and video equipment is now involved in homeowners’ losses. Many times the cables used to connect the plasma screen TVs, stereo, and speakers together may cost more than the entire set up itself. Specialty cables may range anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars each.

When packing out a home theatre, assume a wire or cable is anything but ordinary. Pack them carefully; do not pile other equipment on top of them, coil them too tightly, crimp or nick them when removing them. Be sure to properly label where they go when removing them. Do not, under any circumstances, dispose of these cables until their value and damage, if any, is clearly understood. Remember, accidentally damaging these cables can cause further damage to the very costly stereo and TV components when plugged back together.

Lawrie Hollingsworth is founder and CEO of Asset Recovery Technologies, Inc.

Marketing Savvy

Knowing Your Industry Market

By Casey Geisler

Knowledge is power, and yet the more you learn the more there is to question. In marketing, knowledge is everything. You have to know your industry inside and out. You should be able to identify who your competitors are locally, and if you are looking to become a regionally or nationally known organization, you should also know who the major competitors are both nationally and internationally. The Internet is a great tool to utilize when doing your research. Visiting sites such as Hoover’s or LexisNexis will help you find your information. It is a good idea to look at sites that provide market share graphs. Google search engine is also a great place to look for information, but be sure to narrow your searches down to pertinent information to get the best results.

Make sure that when you do your research, you take notes and keep checking back on the information. Numbers in market shares and revenues change daily, so this is a continual process that should not be overlooked.

Casey Geisler is RIA’s communications specialist.

Here’s a look at what’s coming in the April 2008 issue of RIA’s award-winning magazine, Cleaning & Restoration.

Is It Green or Greenwashed?

By Mike Sawchuk

More than three decades ago, several manufacturers introduced an array of products they termed “environmentally safe” and “recyclable.” Years later, some of these products were found to be considerably less “people-safe” or environmentally friendly than portrayed. The result was a lot of confusion that many experts believe actually stymied the “green” evolution.

Paper Documents and Spore Contamination

By Neil McManus, CIH, ROH, CSP

Paper-based documents, records and books have formed the foundation of the economies of industrialized countries and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Paper, a mixture of cellulose and additives, while chemically stable, is a preferred food source for fungi. This is the major reason that so few cellulose-containing artifacts from historic civilizations have survived to the present era.

Sustainable Product Standards: Simplifying the Process of Specifying ‘Green’ – The Role of Voluntary Consensus Standards

By Kristen Ritchie

Many are seeking ways to improve the environmental performance of buildings and operations. One of the major challenges facing this market is the limited availability of consensus-based, science-driven, sustainable product standards that can be relied upon to deliver better, greener products to the marketplace.

General Liability Insurance & Mold

By Paul Duggan, ERM, and David Dybdahl, CPCU

GL, CPL, PL – it’s a veritable alphabet soup when it comes to insuring businesses that handle mold. This article expands on a piece by Michael Pinto that addressed “How to Get Sued Without Really Trying.”

Swiss Reinsurance Co. research pegs economic losses from natural and man-made disasters last year at $70 billion; insurers paid out about $28 billion in claims. Europe's storm, Kyrill, caused $6.1 billion in insured losses, while the British summer floods resulted in $4.8 billion in insurance claims. The most devastating disaster of the year occurred when Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh in November. While the United States was relatively unscathed by disasters in 2007, Swiss Re expects higher catastrophe claims in 2008, possibly from floods.
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Kalyn Peterson started her Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas-based company, Anubis SceneClean Inc., after a friend's son committed suicide, and cleaning up the aftermath took 10 days--a situation she say was traumatic for the family. Her company has biohazard remediation certification and handles crime and death scenes, as well as methamphetamine labs and homes belonging to people with hoarding problems, in accordance with federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements. "We had a woman who fell in her bathroom and she decomposed for several months before the landlord found her, it left a pretty big mess to clean up," says Peterson. "That's when we have to remove tubs, tiles, walls, sheetrock, counters and toilets, just depending on where the fluids go we have to follow that and decontaminate it or the odor will stay and the biohazards will stay." There are other crime scene cleaning companies in Texas, including Dallas-based KRI Crime Scene Cleanup, and Peterson underscores the importance of property owners hiring a professional. However, she says biohazard cleanup and biohazard cleaning firms are not regulated by the state. According to Peterson, "You can get a pick up and a bottle of bleach and call yourself a crime scene clean up company in Texas." While the state Health Administration requires crime scene cleaning firms to follow employee safety laws, the owners of these companies want lawmakers to pass stricter biohazard cleanup laws. Peterson's firm places materials contaminated with body fluids--including pillows and carpets--into bags and lined biohazard boxes, which are incinerated instead of thrown out with regular trash.
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may impose stronger rules governing formaldehyde emissions in mobile homes, in response to indoor air quality tests involving trailers occupied by families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention performed air quality tests on trailers in Mississippi and Louisiana, encouraging residents to spend "as much time outdoors in fresh air as possible" after tests revealed high levels of formaldehyde in the indoor air. Under existing HUD regulations, the level of formaldehyde in mobile homes cannot exceed 0.2 parts per million from plywood and 0.3 parts per million from particleboard. The current rules do not cover formaldehyde emissions from carpets, glue, and furniture. HUD spokesman Lemar Wooley says the Manufactured Housing Consensus Committee will help create the new rules, which will lower formaldehyde emissions from flooring and institute a new standard for emissions from cabinets. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency says residents displaced in future disasters will be housed in pre-fabricated "Katrina Cottages" and modular homes complying with stringent indoor air quality regulations.
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South Dakota lacks guidelines for decontaminating former methamphetamine labs and professional requirements for remediation specialists. Such standards are in place in more than a dozen states, including Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Carolina. Experts note that meth labs cannot be cleaned adequately by vacuuming carpets and mopping floors, as the drug and the chemicals used to manufacture it settle on every surface within a structure and are difficult to remove. "We have tested a property that was busted 14 years prior to our sampling that tested 170 times over the legal limit for that state," says Meth Lab Cleanup LLC co-owner Joe Mazzuca. "This home had been sold two times in that 14 years and remodeled two times as well--new paint and all--and still tested that high. As far as we can tell, the meth can stay indefinitely." When cleaning homes in South Dakota and other states, Mazzuca adheres to the National Jewish Medical and Research Center's standards, which call for no more than 0.5 micrograms per 1,000 centimeters of meth residue. Guidelines for states to develop meth cleanup standards were released by the federal government in December. Remediation standards in Minnesota, for instance, depend on the type and structure of the lab and how much meth was manufactured in the structure.
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Although the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) has given its Certified Restorer (CR) designation to more than 500 cleaning professionals over the past 25 years, RIA technical advisor Martin King says the program is unknown to many contractors and insurance adjusters. Professionals with three or more years of restoration experience who have completed required training courses, such as the two-day Restoration Technician course, are eligible for the CR designation. The course is divided into a buildings section and a contents section and covers such topics as air flow, framing and roof systems, and heating and air systems. Professionals learn about fingerprint power, protein fires, water damage, corrosion, and ozone, as well as how to neutralize and release chemical components from surfaces. Additionally, they must learn to identify various types of smoke residue, numerous wood species, and fabric weaves. Moreover, King says those who receive CR certification must agree to uphold strict ethical and performance standards.
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Methamphetamine contamination is the subject of numerous lawsuits, with home buyers insisting that the contamination was known but not disclosed by property owners. Meanwhile, property owners and landlords contend that they should not have to pay remediation costs because they were unaware of the contamination. A case in Ohio involves a single mother who lost her personal belongings and is on the brink of foreclosure after being forced to move when her children came down with chronic respiratory problems she claims were caused by meth contamination, and she filed suit against the previous owner for failing to disclose the property's use as meth lab. The woman's attorney, Warner Mendenhall, notes, "In the city of Akron alone, there are hundreds of houses, apartments and hotel rooms that have been used as meth production labs, and I think there are tremendous dangers there." Meanwhile, a judge in Washington state ordered a real estate firm and home seller to pay $94,000 to a family that purchased a dwelling without knowing its past as a meth lab and ultimately was forced to relocate. So far, 14 states have enacted disclosure laws for home sellers with regard to meth contamination, 13 of which require sellers to perform cleanup prior to putting the properties on the market.
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The U.S. Justice Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $250 million settlement with W.R. Grace & Company under the Superfund program, which will be used to help clean up asbestos at the firm's mining operations in Libby, Montana. The settlement must be approved by the bankruptcy court judge overseeing the company's case, and it does not eliminate a criminal case pending against the firm. The criminal case accuses the firm and several senior workers at the mining operations of knowingly exposing the town of Libby and its residents to asbestos, causing about 1,200 people to fall ill.
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Cleaning professionals should understand the importance of proper sanitization in hospital settings to prevent the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). According to Dr. Tee Guidotti of George Washington University's Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, the bacteria lives for quite awhile on floors, beds, and hospital equipment. Given that MRSA is found in and on radiators, furniture, door handles, televisions, floors, towels, and the noses and hands of patients and hospital workers, proper cleaning is crucial in preventing recontamination. Bedding and clothes should be washed with a detergent at temperatures between 40 and 60 degrees Celsius, and shared medical equipment, doorknobs, and other items also should be disinfected. With regard to carpets, upholstered furniture, and other textiles, experts recommend that vacuums with HEPA or micron filters be used to remove dust. Research shows that all-purpose cleaning cloths used in conjunction with quaternary ammonium disinfectants are more effective than cleaning cloths used with hot water or bleach. Natural disinfectants, such as vinegar, were found to be less effective in killing MRSA than cleaning products containing hypochlorite, phenolic, and quaternary ammonium compounds.
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The Navajo Nation Council's passage of a tribal Superfund law makes it the first Native American tribe in the United States to take steps to eliminate toxins, pollutants, and contaminants from their reservation. Similar to the federal Superfund law, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, the tribal Superfund program will create a fund for cleanup projects and make current and past site owners, as well as hazardous substance transporters, responsible for cleanup. According to Navajo Environmental Protection Agency senior environmental specialist Freida White, "It will allow us to work on sites that didn't meet the federal U.S. EPA criteria and sites that we wanted to address but couldn't because it couldn't be funded."
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With strong balance sheets, bolstered enterprise risk management infrastructures, and subsequent earnings momentum, A.M. Best continues to view the global reinsurance market as stable. The ratings firm indicates that without significant catastrophe losses, the reinsurance market should post a profitable 2008. However, firms and analysts are still concerned about recent price declines, increased competition, and hikes in cedent retentions.
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The Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed the My Safe Florida Homes program on March 4. It will provide grants for hurricane mitigation inspections and bolstering home protections against storms. Insurance carriers are required to accept uniform documents regarding inspections so homeowners can obtain discounts on their insurance premiums. The bill also calls for the Florida Department of Financial Services to approve contractors after evaluating them, which means stricter standards for those inspectors. Homeowners who are low-income or have a home valued at less than $300,000 are eligible for the grants.
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Wood flooring is gaining popularity because it is a sustainable resource that is non-toxic, recyclable, and energy-efficient. With regard to cleaning, experts recommend that cleaning professionals avoid wet mopping wood floors. They recommend a mixture of white vinegar and warm water, with the solution sprayed on a cotton towel to damp mop the floor. Vinegar works best on treated wood floors, as the finish contains oil. Experts say treated wood floors should never be cleaned with oil-based cleansers because the oil in the cleaning solution eventually will dissolve the oil in the finish, giving the floors a dull, dirty appearance.
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Wood-floor refinishers increasingly have been adding dust containment to their services to minimize cleanup. Attaching vacuums to the buffers, edgers, and sanders used by refinishing firms eliminates the hours-long cleanup of walls, windows, dishes, and other items following a traditional job. These "dustless" systems capture about 90 percent of the dust, according to David Brattin, owner of Grandview, Mo.-based Armstrong Hardwood Floor Service. "It's like a black car driving down a gravel road," he says. "Usually, in a few miles the car is covered with a white film and needs to be washed right away. With this, the car doesn't need to be washed for another week." These systems also minimize prep work because cabinets and countertops do not need to be perfectly covered, and they reduce the amount of dust in the air and on the workers as well. Moreover, instead of replacing furnace filters one day, one week, and two weeks after refinishing, property owners must change the filter only once. Dust containment typically adds $150 to $250 to the cost of wood-floor refinishing.
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Crime scene cleaning is a relatively new industry, having begun in the past 15 years, and it is not widely known. While most people believe the aftermath of homicides and suicides is handled by law enforcement, family members and property owners are left to clean up after evidence is removed. Jessica Townsend runs Alabama-based Gulf Coast Bio Clean, which is the only crime scene cleaning firm in the state with American Bio-Recovery Association certification. All six of the company's workers, including Townsend, are vaccinated against hepatitis B and tetanus and are trained in the proper handling and disposal of biohazardous waste. Townsend chooses employees carefully in an effort to avoid hiring "adrenaline junkies." To ensure workers can handle the things they will witness at crime scenes and are motivated to help others, Townsend only hires individuals with medical backgrounds. Certified crime scene cleaners typically charge up to $250 per hour, and Townsend recalls a two-day job cleaning a house occupied by crack cocaine addicts that netted $19,000; in some instances, the services are covered by homeowners' insurance. "You just have to follow the blood wherever it goes, and you only stop when you don't see any more," said Townsend, underscoring the importance of a thorough cleanup following homicides and suicides. However, Townsend says marketing the business remains a challenge, as people "don't want to hear about suicides or murders over their Cheerios in the morning."
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Given that soot is acidic and damages items long after a fire is extinguished, property owners would be wise to seek the help of cleaning professionals during the first 72 hours following the fire. Soot ranges from 0.01 to 0.03 microns in size, meaning that it lingers in the air and settles on surfaces even when the air appears clear. The type of odor and residue depends upon the substances that are burned, which in turn affect the method of cleaning. The residue leftover from a fire is considered a carcinogen, and it is classified according to the type of odor. Protein odors from burnt meat create a greasy, hard-to-clean residue, while natural substance odors from burnt wood, paper, and cotton leave behind a powdery residue. Synthetic odors caused by burnt plastic and man-made textiles create a black, easily smudged residue. A number of factors also come into play, such as heat, which captures soot, and pressure, which allows smoke into cracks and crevices. Impingement or splatter, plays a role in how residue sticks to surfaces, and magnetism means smoke is most attracted to metal coat hangers, plumbing, pipes, and other metal surfaces. Ionization is another consideration, which explains why more residue is found on plastic bags containing clothes than clothes left out in the open.
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Ethical or green flooring is a new trend and involves flooring made from recycled or sustainable materials. Reclaimed wood flooring is made of old elmwood, rosewood, and maple from barns, hotels, railroad cars, and other structures. Sustainable and recycled materials are used to make linoleum floors, though they cannot be recycled because of the glue used during installation. Taken from the bark of the cork tree, cork floors are durable and flexible, and they do not allow water or air through. Another type of green flooring is bamboo, which is stronger than many woods and does not pose the same expansion and contraction problems.
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NewsBreak is another valuable service of Restoration Industry Association.
Masthead photos courtesy of VanDam & Krusinga and Insurance Restoration Services.