An Emergency Construction and Relief Team: a must-have for any facility manager

When you’re in the business of operating a building, you know that catastrophe is nothing more than a bad “storm” away. From rain and hail to tornadoes and earthquakes, Mother Nature can wreak havoc for facility managers and business owners alike.

But, if you’re prepared, while you can’t stop the storm from brewing, you can certainly get your building back up on its feet and running faster than you can shake a rain stick.

An emergency construction case study

A few years back, a bad storm hit a well-known St. Louis suburban mall and caused the roof of one of the store entrances to collapse. Included in the damage were ripped pipes that created so much flooding, water ran down the escalators. The facility manager at the mall could have called the company that was already doing work on the entrance. But in a pinch (not to mention in the middle of the night), they called our Emergency Construction and Relief Team. Within hours, cranes, trusses and a crew of twenty were on the scene–even beating the local television news team. The crew worked through the weekend for 36 hours without a break.

The biggest challenge on the job wasn’t repairing the damage, it was working with the cranes. Because it was at such a last minute, one crane couldn’t be rented for the entire time needed. Instead, three were used and shuffled in and out. This wasn’t a problem, just an obstacle that we knew we could overcome.

By the time Monday morning rolled around, it was back to business as usual. The mall was opened and shoppers found some great deals. The mall found someone they could rely on.

Key learnings about emergency construction

1. Be flexible and trust your builder. If they’re good, and you did your homework in hiring them in the first place, they will know what’s best to get you up and running as quickly as possible.

2. Have your Emergency Construction and Relief Team on speed dial. The sooner they can get in to assess the damage and get working, the better. This is crucial to minimizing further damage. Our number is 618-654-8611.

3. Have a plan in place for when disaster strikes. Ask your builder if they have 24/7 availability and are available for work at a moment’s notice. You’ll be surprised. Some will say no. Others will say “we’ll be there before the police are.”

Our Emergency Construction and Relief Team

When you have an emergency, our Emergency Construction and Relief Team wants to know about it. We offer 24/7 availability, a free emergency construction assessment, coast-to-coast service and 55+ years of disaster experience.

 

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