Air Date: 4-8-2011|Episode 204
IAQ Radio welcomes a disaster restoration and industry association veteran Mr. Sam Bergman to the show...
Full Description:
IAQ Radio welcomes a disaster restoration and industry association veteran Mr. Sam Bergman to the show. Mr. Bergman is CEO of Rolyn Companies, Inc. of Rockville, MD and 1st Vice President of the Restoration Industry Association (RIA). Ronald Bergman founded Rolyn in 1979, since then Rolyn’s scope of services and capabilities have expanded to include a wide range of emergency and specialty construction services. Rolyn added infection control services for healthcare construction and renovation projects in the early 2000’s as regulations for infection control became more stringent. Since 2005 Rolyn has doubled in size and now has six offices and 125 employees in numerous states, offering nationwide coverage to clients.
Z-Man’s Blog:
He Loves Action and Hates Drama
“I’m an adrenaline junkie who loves action and hates drama”, says Sam Bergman, CEO of the Rolyn Companies. Sam’s training and experience as a paramedic and in emergency command and control prepared him well for his next career in disaster restoration. In their leadership roles in one of the nation’s largest and most successful disaster restoration and reconstruction firms, Sam and his brother Ron need to be good at many things: hiring, pricing, estimating, negotiating, project management, etc. From my vantage point and experience with him, what Sam excels at is networking.
Nuggets mined from today’s show:
•His firm is beholding to the property owner not the insurance carrier and has been highly successful doing so. He’s proud that Rolyn isn’t on any insurance company’s preferred contractor program.
•In doubt about the presence of asbestos sample, “it’s not that expensive.” “When you are unsure whether there are asbestos containing materials in a wetted work site, running dehumidifiers is OK but don’t run air-movers.”
•On pricing- although the costs for the material are the same, the price to remove and replace crown molding in a residential home and a commercial building can be significantly different due to site conditions and burdens.
•On fear- “I don’t get scared, I get cautious”.
•“I don’t live on an island, I’m not afraid to call for help.”
•Have a Tool Box Talk, safety meeting and briefing with employees on jobsites.
•He advises every commercial building to have a disaster recovery plan,” the time to exchange business cards isn’t at 2AM.”
•Importance of prior planning, obtaining the necessary contracting license, vendors, joint venture partners, subcontractors, etc, before he needs it.
•He’s a believer in, advocate of and has successfully used ozone and hydroxyl radicals as remediation tools on high profile restoration projects.
•He’s discovered cold plasma activated hydrogen peroxide for high level disinfection in hospitals and other areas.
Hospital Acquired Infection is a serious health problem, at a financial cost of 35-45 billion annually and 100,000+ lost lives. Have you ever been to a hospital that wasn’t under construction or renovation? Prevention of cross contamination during demolition, and dust generating activities such as sanding is of significant concern. Hospitals need skilled consultants and workers who can follow strict infection control and prevention protocols. Restoration and remediation contractors have the skill-sets, experience and much of the required equipment to diversify into a business area that is not dependent upon insurance carriers. The matrix can be obtained at: http://www.ashe.org/advocacy/organizations/CDC/pdfs/assessment_icra.pdf, and additional information found at www.jointcommission.org (JCAHO) and www.apic.org.
Sam knows how to zap you back to life with a defibrillator and how to get a client a fair settlement on a property damage claim, both very useful skills methinks.
Today’s music: “I will restore” by Morris Chapman
Z-Man signing off
