INTRODUCING THE BRITISH DISASTER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
advice on standards and representation of members’ interests in the public, industry and commercial domains. You can see more about the BDMA’s work is this short video here:
WATCH VIDEO HERE Its members are primarily individuals who work in the damage management industry and its accreditation and training schemes are predominantly targeted at the individual. This means that individuals build up training qualification and experience working in the industry and in that way can move within it taking their qualifications with them.
Adrian Jolly, BDMA Director and Head of Strategic Development
All members must commit to a Code of Practice and formally sign this as part of the first course they take. The 9-point Code of Practice commits members, amongst other things to: Undertake all work with due regard to the appropriate Health & Safety legislation.
The BDMA was formed in 1999 with its aim and aspiration being to be the accreditation body of choice for those who work in Disaster Management, primarily in relation to flood and fire incidents. It was started by a group of members companies to establish and promote best practice in damage management and related disciplines. This was welcomed by major insurers and loss adjusters. Its goal is to represent the interests of practitioners working in the damage management industry, to facilitate education, training, technical support,
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Providing the best possible service to clients and customers. Business practices should be fair and honest. Avoid misleading or false representation of members’ capabilities or service. The BDMA will encourage instructing principals to use BDMA members wherever possible.
In November 2015 the Association worked closely with British Standard to produce BS 12999 which is a code of practice for the organization and management of the stabilisation, mitigation and restoration of properties, contents, facilities and assets following incident damage. This British Standard provides a common framework for the organisation and management of property recovery and restoration following damage.
Property damage can result from a range of incidents and take many forms. There are, however, generic management processes the damage management practitioner must follow between incident occurrence and completion of the recovery phase that will invariably apply, regardless of the nature of the incident or type of damage. Particularly where damage is widespread, or causes a major impact, the response is likely to involve a number of parties each with varying roles and responsibilities and levels of authority. In addition to providing the damage management industry with a recognized code of practice, BS 12999 allows third parties to identify the damage management industry’s role and facilitates collaboration during the recovery process. Buy-in to the concept from bodies representing other sectors with a professional interest in response to property damage incidents included the Cabinet Office, the Environment Agency, the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Chartered institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA), the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA), the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), the Emergency Planning Society (EPS), the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM), the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), AIRMIC and ALARM, the Public Risk Management Association. Sat alongside BS12999, is the “BDMA Standards document”. This document is designed to provide further guidance and recommended best practice for those who work in damage management, and act as an information resource for those in related wider industry sectors. It provides a series of guidelines which act as a recommended best practice framework to be applied by those who work in damage management at their discretion within the context of an incident. It also acts as an information resource for those in related wider industry sectors. PAS 64 is an approved code of practice [ACOP] document which supports and
