Disaster Preparation

The Must-Have Disaster Preparation Checklist For Restoration Companies

Disaster Preparation

Using mobile applications with smartphones and tablets has increased by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Zuper helps business owners access their business anytime, making it easier for them to grow their business. Restoring your house after an unexpected disaster requires a well-thought-through disaster prevention plan. The failure to create a plan might lead to unwitting mistakes and missed opportunities, which could easily turn a manageable event into a major catastrophe. Let’s look at what you need to do to prepare for the worst.

With the help of Zuper’s field service management app, restoration companies can get a head start on their disaster preparedness. The app allows you to create and share a checklist with your team members. The checklist will help you manage all aspects of the restoration process.

Inspect the Damage

When a disaster occurs, you must assess the damage as soon as possible. Inspect every property area to determine if any areas need special attention. Be sure to check for signs of mold growth in areas where water has accumulated for long periods of time. Also, inspect each room or area for signs of water leakage and smoke damage. Once you have completed this inspection, you can determine how quickly you need to make repairs.

Calculate the Restoration Timeline

After inspecting the damage, it is time to calculate how long it will take before you can start repairing and reconstructing damaged areas in the property. This step makes it easier for you to prepare bids or quotes for insurance providers who may ask for such information when they come over to assess their claims.

Draft a Bid for the Insurance Provider

Next, some of the first things to do are to prepare a bid for the insurance provider. The restoration company needs to know how much money it will receive from the insurance company. This will help them estimate how much work needs to be done and what it will cost. The insurance provider usually has a standard process and timeline that they follow when dealing with claims, so you should be able to use their guidelines as a starting point for your bid.

Get Your Disaster Restoration Plan Approved

Once you have submitted your bid, your restoration company will likely need approval from the insurance provider before they can start working on the property. While you wait for approval, consider some other steps that can help ensure the best possible outcome:

Assess Damage & Find Solutions: You’ll want to determine exactly what happened and how severe the damage is before starting any repairs or reconstruction work. You can also use this time to find solutions that will help prevent similar damage from occurring in future storms or disasters.

Document Everything: You must document every step of your work to prove it was done correctly if there is any question about whether or not it met the needs of the project.

Start Implementing Remediation Measures

When a disaster strikes, one of the first things you will want to do is start implementing remediation measures. For example, if there’s a flood in your area, you want to start pumping out water as soon as possible so that it does not get worse over time.

Perform Repairs and Reconstructions

After removing damaged items from the property, it’s time to repair and reconstruct your customer’s home or business. This will include cleaning up debris left behind by the storm or fire, installing new drywall, replacing carpeting and flooring, etc. In addition to these tasks being completed directly by your company’s team members, they may also be contracted out to other companies specializing in specific services such as electrical or plumbing work.

Get the Work Reviewed and Create an Invoice

When all repairs have been completed, it’s time to create an invoice so that your client knows exactly what they owe you for all work done. Make sure that everything is accurate as possible before sending out invoices — this will ensure no confusion later on when it comes time for payment processing!

Make Suggestions to Limit Future Damage

For example, if the water heater has been damaged during the flood, I suggest replacing it before it breaks down again. This will save you time and money and prevent more damage to your customer’s home.

Hand-Off to the Customer

Make sure you have all their contact information so they can call you if you have any questions or concerns about their home after you leave. You should also hand off any paperwork or receipts for insurance purposes so that they don’t need to worry about collecting those items when filing their claim with their insurance company.

Considering Zuper’s FSM Mobile App

If you are a restoration company and have one or many locations, you can have access to your projects from any location and show your customers what work has been done and what remains. With Zuper’s online service invoicing software for contractors, it is easy for your company to generate invoices for your clients. 

Zuper’s customizable disaster restoration software gives restoration companies a way to be more efficient, work smarter, and ultimately make an easier profit. By remotely managing the day-to-day running of the business, restoration companies can spend more time on what they do best: providing removal and restoration services.