INTRODUCING THE BRITISH DISASTER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Adrian Jolly, BDMA Director and Head of Strategic Development

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,

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:

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.

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 regardto the appropriate Health & Safetylegislation.

- Providing the best possible service to clients and customers.

- Business practices should be fair andhonest.

- 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 underpins the BS and BDMA Standards guidance notes regarding best practice mitigation protocols and the recovery of damaged buildings.

With BS 12999, PAS 64 and the BDMA Standards acting as a set of guidance documents to support damage management work, the Association has developed a comprehensive Training Academy which provides face to face courses to cover all aspects of the delivery of damage management and elements relation to Insurance Claims Management. For BDMA members it means that all elements of their work from damage management technician to specialist restorer has a relevant course to enable the individual to progress the damage management career ladder. There are also courses for Insurers, Loss Adjusters and Claims Managers to ensure that they also understand their role in the damage management process ensuring compliance with best practice standards and protocols.

The COVID pandemic accelerated a process that had already started - to move training modules online. Initially there was resistance from course providers, mostly training companies or individuals. However, the accessibility of the courses coupled with the reduction in travel and subsistence, means that the move to on-line training delivery has been extremely successful. Course delivery has increased exponentially, to a much wider audience, and providers have benefitted in costs reductions whilst seeing increased training revenues. Understandably, some courses still have to be face to face but the BDMA has been delighted with the success of the virtual training delivery and would cite it as an example of innovation that has helped to raise standards across the industry. Course delivery via virtual platforms has allowed the BDMA to reach more members and in more widespread and diverse locations too – including international candidates too!

For a number of years, the BDMA has been producing a magazine publication called “The Standard”. Published quarterly the magazine is aimed at keeping members updated on the work of the BDMA but also in providing thought leadership on industry current topics which in turn informs industry knowledge. The March issue focussed on sustainability and resilience:

The June 2021 issue is focussing on Technology and Innovation and current “disrupter” in the Damage Management sector.

One major event in the BDMA calendar is our bi-annual Conference, attended by circa 700 people over a two-day event - usually held in November. The event brings together an eclectic mix of Damage Management industry representatives including: Insurers, Loss Adjusters, Claims Managers, BDMA Members, Damage Management and Restoration companies and those subcontractors who support the industry. The next conference event is likely to be held in quarter two of 2022 [June] and will be hopefully face to face at a venue in the midlands – further details will be released when planning has been finalised.

The current Damage Management industry’s challenges are how to make damage management practices more sustainable and resilience focussed and also looking at how to reduce carbon footprint impacts. Part of this involves ensuring recycling takes place wherever possible [Restoration not replacement], use of energy efficient and low carbon fuels for generators, plant and supporting equipment. The industry needs to embrace innovation in product delivery through better workflow management, remote monitoring, and using smart sensors connected to the internet which can reduce the number of site visits required. Improving health and safety management also remains a constant focus.

For the above reasons, the BDMA and UK and Ireland Spill Association (UKEireSpill) have been working together to better understand each other’s market sectors. During significant flood/fire incidents, BDMA Members would have a requirement to work with fuel and chemical spill remediation specialists so that when responding to they would need to involve ISAS accredited members. The Damage Management and Spill remediation industries should very much mutually complement each other in a very non-conflicting way.

Equally there are times when we speak to the insurance/loss adjuster/claim management industry and it would be useful to have UKEireSpill alongside us so that we can talk about the whole range of issues in delivering incident damage management and remediation support to them. There is also a need for BDMA members to understand basic spill response and we would very much like to integrate some of your spill related courses into our Academy and e-Academy. In that way, BDMA members would at least have a very basic understanding of what the risks of fuel spillages are and how to manage them.

As we emerge from the effects of COVID and lockdown [hopefully!], the world will indeed be a very different place.

New working practices will have been adopted and some of those practices will be here to stay. The “new world” will inevitably bring opportunities and the accelerated growth of IT and Technological based innovations will very much be part of this opportunity. The phrase “build back better” will become a regular mantra.

Strategic alliances between like minded organisations which harness and take advantage of synergistic working practices, are very much seen as integral to future development and success.

Given our very similar areas of operation, damage management and spill remediation, the BDMA very much looks forward to our future working with the UK and Ireland Spill Association and member companies.

More details from: www.bdma.org.uk