How To Reduce The Effects Of Flooding On Your Business

CONTENTS

• How to prepare
  • Business continuity plan
  • Provide training to employees
  • Ensure you have insurance cover
  • Create a flood plan
• Protect your work premises
• Contact us today

According to Aviva, 1 in 3 businesses face the threat of floods. Therefore, it is crucial that business leaders know what to do in the event of a flood.

Being prepared can help you save costs and protect the well-being of your staff. This could involve actions ranging from creating a business continuity plan to providing thorough training to your workforce about how to act in this situation. 

Here at ICE Cleaning, we are a specialist provider of flood restoration services. We help customers nationwide with water damage, and only use non-abrasive solutions to achieve the best results for them.

How to prepare

In this blog, we take a look at some of the ways you can prepare your business for flood damage. It is important to make staff feel that they're welfare is important to you, and that you have proper plans in place if something does go wrong.

To sign up for flood warnings, simply follow these instructions found on the Government website.

Business continuity plan

Writing a business continuity plan helps you to establish what will happen to your company should you be affected by flooding. This could involve things such as where operations will take place, what staff need to do, and how the business will continue to run. 

It is recommended that you create a business continuity plan because the costs of repairing flood damage can be extremely expensive. Having plans in place will help your business operate in a difficult situation, and is something that will impact all of your team.

Additionally, it's a good idea to have this regularly reviewed in case the nature of your business changes and you need to update the plan. Make sure that you have up to date contact details for staff members too, so they are aware of what is happening to the business.

If you find yourself in a situation where you have flood damage, you should call in the professionals to help you. They understand the urgency that is required in these situations, and have the correct knowledge to deal with the problem safely and effectively.

Provide training to employees

Giving training to employees so they know how to act in the event of a flood is good preparation, and will make them feel more confident.

Providing this support to staff is likely to be welcomed, as flooding can be upsetting to experience. It can allow them to understand where their evacuation point is, what the flood risk in there area is, and how they can protect themselves.

As well as training, establishing flood wardens throughout your workforce is another way to help you feel as prepared as possible. These wardens will have the knowledge to help others evacuate the building and to follow the procedures set in a place. 

Contaminated flood water can result in health implications for staff members, so it is important to protect staff from this as much as possible. To find out more about its potential risks, have a look at this article written by the CDC.

Ensure you have insurance cover

Having proper flood insurance cover in place is wise, as it could mean the difference between your business surviving or not. Regardless of where you live, it is always a good idea to have flood coverage to protect things like contents, the building and employees' health.

Employers' liability is an insurance cover that all business must possess, which will apply in cases where an employee is hurt in the line of work. Have a look at the Government website for more information about this type of insurance.

It is advised that you talk to your insurance provider about what type of flood cover would be best for you and your individual circumstances. If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, you may wish to have a higher level of flooding insurance in place.

Create a flood plan

Creating a flood plan is vital so that you and staff know what to do should you be impacted by a flood. This could include information about where to evacuate to, as well as who the flood wardens of your business are.

The document must be stored somewhere known to relevant staff members. The information contained in it can make the process following a flood more smooth and aid in keeping people calm in difficult circumstances. 

The most important details of the plan should be known to all members of staff, to help you be as prepared as possible. Additionally, make sure to include copies of essential documentation such as insurance policies and safety procedures.

Our cleaning specialists can be on site within the hour in cases of emergency to start work on the flood restoration. They use the latest advanced technologies during the clean and will work diligently to return the site to a safe state.

Protect your work premises

Another way you can prepare your business is by investing in flood prevention for the premises itself. For example, having a store of sand bags is a good idea, as these are both relatively cheap to obtain and can be implemented quickly when you receive a flood warning. 

Depending on how much money you wish to spend, there are modifications that can be made to the building to make it more flood proof. This may involve adding air bricks to the structure of the site, or other similar actions.

There are many other things you are able to do to protect the premises, and it may be worth getting in touch with a local contractor to see what they recommend. Investing the money now in flood defences can save you in the longer-term from having to repair more significant damage.

Other services to consider

After a flood, mould spores often grow. This is because the atmosphere afterwards gives them the perfect space to thrive, where they can spread quickly throughout the property. 

Should this happen to you, call in specialist mould remediation cleaners to help you. At ICE Cleaning, we are Dewpoint Professional accredited, and have extensive experience in tackling mould. 

What's more, we are able to conduct a moisture survey that can take a sample of spores from the air to be sent to a lab. This will help to identify the type of mould, and will give us a better idea of how to treat the issue.

So as well as flood damage cleaning services, mould remediation may be necessary to if it has started to develop.

Contact us today

For flood damage cleaning services, get in touch with us today on 0208 066 0360 or enquiries@icecleaning.co.uk. Our dedicated customer service team work round the clock to provide excellent support to our customers, and will answer any questions or concerns you have.