As restoration professionals respond to higher standards from many of the nation's largest insurance companies, applied structural drying training has become a preferred technique. ASD programs offer participants course work, training, and applied practices that integrate classroom theory with real-life experience.
Insurers and consumers may benefit from hiring professionals who understand the use of psychrometry, the scientific standard for the monitoring and control of water damage. Those trained in ASD standards can expect to reduce the cost of Category 1 water damage claims by at least 35 percent.
Restoration companies are focusing on educating technicians with the latest training and drying standards and equipment as approved by the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. The ASD program emphasizes the importance of training and technology that supports precise application in the field. The certification curriculum is continually updated to incorporate improvements to the practice of drying, and sets industry benchmarks for ever-changing technology and equipment specifications.
Classroom activities are designed to accelerate the training and study process, and sometimes include the use of on-site flood houses under controlled circumstances. Full-sized, furnished flood houses are being designed to be thoroughly flooded numerous times for ASD training, to allow attendees to apply their knowledge and improve drying time, job quality, and costs.
Many of the leading manufacturers and distributors of indoor air quality and water damage restoration equipment have seen rapid recoveries of loss sites using the latest technology as applied in ASD certification. For example, IICRC ASD considers the use of high-speed drying elements as the industry standard for faster, more complete drying. The importance of where the drying job takes place geographically and drying in a highly controlled environment is being studied closely. With the development of equipment that will be placed in drying chambers or structural environments without interruption, the industry is beginning to understand that many jobs have improved due to extreme environmental control compared to previous practices of open environments.
This will help to change the industry's practice from drying in a non-controlled environment to focusing on significantly controlling the environment with state-of-the-art airflow and heat temperature equipment, plus extraction, air movement and evaporation, dehumidification and temperature control.
During ASD training, high temperature and additional technologies are used to chart and monitor the drying process. Session attendees are trained to measure and provide documentation to show that the site has been dried properly. The final documentation includes a psychrometry log, a moisture content log, a drying calculation work sheet, and a dehumidifier requirement work sheet. In the field, certified ASD technicians document the drying process using the advanced measuring devices, including thermo-hygrometers, as well as penetrating and non-penetrating moisture meters.
Recipe for Success
An example of the industry's growth and sophistication in the field of drying can be found through new job guarantees that rely on using advanced psychrometry. A guarantee of drying time in just three days can be achieved through balance among four areas:
Extraction The most important step in the process. Extracting water quickly is the key to drying an area properly.
Air Movement/Evaporation A critical component of the equation turns water into vapor using air movers. This must be done immediately and in conjunction with humidity and temperature control.
Dehumidification Humidity is measured in grains per pound of air. Various dehumidification tools are available depending on the conditions.
Temperature Control Properly managing the temperature within a structure ensures the complete drying of wet building materials and allows dehumidifiers to work efficiently.
For homeowners and insurance companies, ASD training programs offer an alternative to conventional drying methods that may take five to seven days to dry the same types of losses. Implementing the science of drying through psychrometry allows water losses to be dried in the shortest time. s
Tracy Bachtell is vice president of business development for Paul Davis Restoration.
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