The technical staff at Via Companies is fully certified in all pertinent areas of disaster restoration by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration (IICRC). The IICRC and its restoration guidelines, the S500 (Water Damage Restoration) and S520 (Mold and Microbial Remediation) are the most stringent standards in the industry.
Certification in these areas qualifies that the holder has proven the capability to perform the associated functions at the highest levels of expertise. The course work is a combination of scientific methodology called Psychrometry (the study of atmospheric air and its associated water vapor), and hands-on field work. The certifications are as much a reinforcement of our staff’s years of field experience as it is a validation of their technical expertise.
In addition to our Water Damage, and Mold and Microbial Remediation certifications, Via Companies’ employees also hold certifications in related areas such as Odor Control and Fire & Smoke Restoration.
Following is a list of the certifications held by our operations and field staff:
The Water Damage Restoration Technician course is designed to teach restoration personnel that perform remediation work to give them a better concept of water damage, its effects, and techniques for drying of structures. This course gives residential and commercial maintenance personnel the background to understand the procedures necessary to deal with water losses, sewer backflows, and contamination such as mold.
The Applied Structural Drying courses covers the effective, efficient and timely drying of water-damaged structures and contents, using comprehensive classroom and hands-on training, in order to facilitate appropriate decision-making within a restorative drying environment. Students experience live hands on use of instruments, extraction systems, drying equipment, and chemistry use in an actual flooded building situation.
The Applied Microbial Remediation Technician course covers mold and sewage remediation techniques to individuals engaged in property management, property restoration, IEQ investigations or other related professions. Emphasis is placed on teaching mold and sewage remediation techniques to individuals who perform these procedures in the field. Course graduates are adequately equipped to perform remediation services, while protecting the health and safety of workers and occupants.
The Fire & Smoke Restoration Technician course concentrates on technical procedure for successfully completing the restoration of a fire and smoke damaged environment. Students learn how to combine technical procedures with a practical approach to managing the job site and how that relates to pricing the job.
The Odor Control Technician course covers olfaction and odor, odor sources, detection process, theory of odor control, equipment, chemical options and applications. The student learns how to address odors caused from biological sources such as decomposition, urine contamination, and mold, combustion sources such as fire and smoke damage, and chemical sources such as fuel oil spills or volatile organic chemicals.
Applied Structure Drying (sometimes called in-place drying) is the quickest and most thorough way to dry a structure through non-destructive methods.
There are three integral steps to a successful mitigation project:
- Extraction: The gross removal of large concentrations of water.
The first key is to maximize the removal of water from carpet and padding by using a high powered, focused extraction unit that will remove the water from the carpet and pad without removing, disturbing or lifting the carpet and padding.
- Evaporation: The removal of latent water molecules from affected surfaces (carpet, drywall, wood framing), and deposition of them into the air.
After the extraction process, the next step is to set up turbo drying fans in a configuration that creates a vortex air flow that draws the moisture out of the flooring and structure. This includes structural materials such as drywall, and wood framing studs.
- Dehumidification: The removal of water molecules forced into the air by the evaporation process.
Proper selection and application of dehumidification equipment is the next critical step. High efficiency LGR and desiccant dehumidifiers remove the moisture from the air, and deposit it onto the coils of the dehumidifier. The dehumidifier then slowly drains the accumulated moisture through a tube and into a sink or bathtub.
Daily monitoring and charting of the drying process, coupled with the modifying of the equipment array reduces the drying time. Via Companies uses Psychrometric charting to take the guess work out of drying every structure.
There is, of course, always the occasion where carpet padding and structural materials like drywall will need to be removed. This occurs predominantly when moisture has either “wicked” up the wall from the floor to a level of over two feet (Class 2 water loss), when water has invaded from the top down, as in a second story flood that has caused moisture to accumulate along the entirety of a ceiling or wall (Class 3 water loss), or in the case of a “Black Water” loss (sewage, ground water, or any water that contains potential pathogens).
|
