Community Forum

IREM members identified risk management as one of the top issues and trends impacting their business. Please share your challenges and experiences on this issue.

One thing that comes to mind is learning more about ways to protect our company's data from theft.

We have monthly safety meetings taht are put together by our risk managemenrt group . These help to lower our rates well as provide basic infomation that the janitors need.

many of us hire staff that do not have a good command of the english language .Most product data safety sheets are in english as well as the lables on the container chemicals are in. Have as part of your hiring process a test that they can read one of these labels and describe to you what needs to be done in the event of an accident. Better to find out before than after

If you are having troubles with the language barrier you may want to have your MSDS book offered in spanish. You can glean this information free on line if you google "translating english to spanish". I assume this would help in the rates of your insurance as well.

We hold monthly Team Meetings with the following disciplines invited: Asset Managers, Maintenance Foremen, Site maintenance personnel, and usually a few active tenants who meet generally over coffee to discuss risk management and property security issues. Meetings are kept to one hour per month. We later dismiss the tenants and thank them for their involvement. Resolutions to all issues are discussed and a written plan including a timeline is created and shared at the next meeting. Minutes are kept and distributed electronically to all team participants. We have watched our premiums decrease after we increased our attention to the problems.

We also provide copies of our minutes to our carrier to let them know risk management is a concern for us all.

How are professional managers working to decrease the risk caused by natural disasters, flooding and hurricanes, are the plans for the evacuation of tenants for forecasted flooding and hurricanes in place and how far do you go? Do develop cost estimates for these possible events?

The largest challenge that I have encountered in Risk Management has been anticipating risk! It seems that the longer I work in management, the more I encounter the unpredictable and the more I can anticipate problems when I vist the property. As time goes on, I know what to look for on the property that will harm people/cause problems: Pot holes, broken items, etc.

My name is Stephen Kleva, president and CEO of Insparisk, a national safety inspection company. We manage safety inspection for boilers, elevators, fire detection/suppression systems, building facades, HVAC equipment, and electrical panels. Our subsidiary City Spec, Inc. is the leading provider of inspections on low-pressure boilers within NYC.

I see by the responses to the post so far, that people have a variety of different perspectives about what risk management means to them. I can offer our perspective on risk management as it relates to the safety of facilities and their occupants.

Building owners carry the risks and liabilities associated with a variety of equipment, systems and infrastructure that requires regular inspection. Facility managers or property managers are typically the ones tasked with the day-to-day responsibility for managing and ensuring inspections, repairing equipment, as needed, and ensuring regular, ongoing building and equipment maintenance. The key issue is the ultimate responsibility of building owners if something goes wrong.

Between the mandated inspection of building equipment and systems and routine equipment maintenance activities, lies a murky, undefined grey area of voluntary inspection, proactive maintenance activities and risk management for the facility manager or property manager. This is where the facility manager is tasked with balancing proactive inspection and maintenance activities with reactive maintenance and repair. The better the facility manager is at the responsibility, the smoother and more predictable are day-to-day operations for the facility manager and building owner.

Many facility managers have learned through experience that proactive inspection of equipment and systems saves money in the long run, reduces disruptions to building tenants and enables a more predictable stream of financial outlays and building maintenance costs. When performed strategically and efficiently, preventive maintenance is less expensive than reactive, breakdown maintenance.

Yet balancing financial and operational efficiencies with safety and productivity and legal requirements is a complex task.

Our solution is to make the task easier and more transparent through technology. Technology came relatively late to facility management, but as prices continue to fall and the user friendliness of applications increases, it is becoming a very useful tool for management of even small to mid-sized facilities. And although technology is no panacea, it does help to manage many of the tasks and responsibilities associated with safety and maintenance activities.

In a nutshell, technology can help track and manage information, which leads to greater efficiency and data and information that is more easily accessible/retrievable and visible and can more easily support decision making. Inspection- and maintenance-related documents and information can be easily archived, located and retrieved, significantly reducing incidents of misfiled or lost documents.

A wide variety of applications and functionality is available at many price points today. Applications enable facility managers to better manage and verify their maintenance activities including repairs, routine inspections, and preventive maintenance and report them to other stakeholders.

Significantly, insurance companies, property owners and real estate managers benefit from a comprehensive electronic record of safety inspection and maintenance activities. If liability questions arise, electronic records enable audit trails and accountability that help decision makers/an organization defend itself by showing that all required maintenance was performed in accordance with manufacturer's specifications, legal requirements and on schedule.

Maintenance activities can easily be prompted, email reminders automatically sent to ensure that maintenance is performed according to schedule, management can monitor the status of activities, and communication amongst all relevant stakeholders is facilitated.
Hope this perspective helps.

I probably agree with all. Our biggest problem with this is that employees do not recognize how a simple issue can be a risk management issue. For example, an upheaved sidewalk will be walked on and around daily and never mentioned until pointed out; however, this is just the issue mentioned in every safety meeting, brochures, flyers, and webinars. It is simply amazing.

My company has just started requiring all new residents at our apartment communities to carry renter's insurance and we are going to strongly suggest it on all renewals. I am trying to find some sort of waiver the residents would have to sign at the time of lease renewal if they choose not to carry/renew their renter's insurance. Can anyone help me with this or point me in the right direction?

Thank you

[quote=]My company has just started requiring all new residents at our apartment communities to carry renter's insurance and we are going to strongly suggest it on all renewals. I am trying to find some sort of waiver the residents would have to sign at the time of lease renewal if they choose not to carry/renew their renter's insurance. Can anyone help me with this or point me in the right direction?

Thank you

In recent events of my own building, this risk management class has contributed tremendously to decisions critical in rehabing decisions. For example, installing a new AC system Vs the continuous repairing will save several thousand dollars over 3 years. Because we were inspecting the AC system a serious plumbing deficiency arose preventing several thousand dollars, or more, in damage. It would have been a disaster. Risk Management has it's benefits, though costly.

Chris Willoughby

My name is Rich Adams. I manage commercial & industrial sales for BenchMark Restoration & Cleaning in the metro Portland, OR / Vancouver, WA markets. My company can help you proactively manage risk by developing an Emergency Response Plan related to water loss events and other disasters. We offer this service for free and our plans can be as simple or complex as your needs define. Our ERP's are flexible and meant to change as your company changes. What's the catch? At the end of the plan process and upon your company accepting our plan we ask that you sign an agreement designating BenchMark as the first responder if you experience a water loss event. The plan incorporates training for your "in-house" to be able to handle floods at their level or to bring us in as the situation dictates. Our focus on in place drying vs. traditional "rip & tear" methods reduces time loss, stress, expense and insurance claims. Additionally since there is less material being torn out & replaced, your carbon footprint is shrunk as well. In over 75% of water loss events our company is able to restore your property to pre-loss condition in a fraction of the time it takes other contractors. The technology we employ is cutting edge and redefining the restoration industry. Our documentation is second-to-none and our obsession with customer service is recognized by such organizations as Angie's List, The Better Business Bureau, Prudential Northwest Home Services and The IICRC. Check us out at: www.benchmarkrestores.com or call me direct (360) 518-8770.

The idea of the MSDS sheets in Spanish is an excellent idea. We are always telling our maintenance team that they have to speak English at work so they can practice and we know what is going on. But if there is an emergency we would want them to be able to respond ASAP without any miscommunications.