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10 Steps to Organize your Warehouse

Posted on by iRestore
By Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.
September 20, 2023

You may have tried to mobilize Operation: Organize the Warehouse, or it may be on the “TO DO” list. Because there is never enough time, or space, in our restoration businesses, we need to plan, schedule, and make it happen. Described in the article, “Roll it Uphill – A Lesson in Leadership”, is the mindset of taking action and leading the way instead of placing blame on your team for the things that don’t get accomplished. Take the example of a new piece of expensive equipment that gets lost and forgotten in a messy collection of equipment, cords, and supplies. It happens all the time, right? What would be the result if the thought process was more of the following…

  • Does the new piece of equipment have a designated, labelled place where it belongs?
  • Did this designated place get communicated to the team?
  • Does the rest of your equipment and supplies have assigned shelf or floor space?
  • Do you currently have space capacity for additional equipment? Might it have been better to rent it?

In the article, Improving Effectiveness, Efficiency, Profitability by Looking outside the Industry, you will find inspiration in other industries that could best help us design and maintain the warehouse.  In disciplines described, you will find simple approaches and guidance that will help you lay-out and organize your production and storage areas in a way that will maximize your efficiency and reduce your headaches.

To move it off the list of dreams and goals and make it a reality, let us focus on what is to be gained:   

  1. Efficiency:  Operation efficiency is tied to reducing the number of resources needed to deliver a high-quality product or service. In this case, decreasing the amount of time required to locate, mobilize, clean, maintain and repair your equipment and supplies will increase:
    1. Profitability
    2. Productivity (which also results happier work force)
    3. Customer Service
  2. Asset Management:  Our equipment, supplies, and if you do contents, the responsible custody of customer property, is an important part of our operation. The better we can track, maintain, and care for our assets, the better our operational results.
  3. Credibility and Pride:  In our eLearning lesson on the custodial closet, instructor Mark Warner describes this area as the “back of the house” and explains that during an audit, the first place he inspects is the “back of the house.”  The general organization, housekeeping and cleanliness of this space is the evaluated. In our industry, the warehouse, is the “back of the house” and is a reflection on the company.
  4. Mindset and Culture:  As we produce clean and healthy environments for our customers, it is vitally important for us to provide a facility that exemplifies quality, efficiency, and pride. This creates a culture and mindset that is reflected in the personal appearance of our staff, their vehicles, and the condition of the jobsite. If we expect clean, organized, and safe job sites, it starts with how well we manage and control our shop or warehouse.

The following is a practical list of steps offered not as an expert in the field but as an accountant-turned-restorer with a passion for our operations, workflows, and cultures. Depending on your status, you may adjust the list to meet the needs of your organization.

Before executing your project, I offer the following tips, and my joke for managing anything is, “It is just like running a restoration job!”

  • Assign and grant the authority to a project manager who is ultimately responsible for goals, objectives, and managing the resources.
  • Each task should have a clearly defined expectation, a person assigned to the successful execution, and start dates and completion dates.
  • As a project, formalize periodic updates and adjust the plan as needed.

Simple Steps:

  1. Assign a project manager and consider a project team.
  2. Evaluate your space.
    1. Look at it with fresh eyes.
    2. What is working, what is not working?
  3. Evaluate your Inventory.
    1. Supplies, Equipment, Tools, Contents, Other.
    2. Get rid of what you do not need or use.
    3. Consider how your inventory is used in your workflows.
  4. Design the space in support of inventory, workflows, services, and needs. Sketch out several layouts using the following tips:
    1. Maximize space and fully utilize the volume of your space.
    2. Allow for safe and clear walkways.
    3. Consider the organization systems that you may need like, shelving, hooks, etc.
    4. Other considerations such as Safety and Cross-contamination
  5. Designate locations for the inventory and use the following tips in making these assignments:
    1. Efficient workflows that consider our movements, frequency of use, proximity to loading, weight of the equipment and supplies, and service commonality. An example is we do not want to put a piece of equipment on a shelf that is 12 feet overhead that is used daily. We want to minimize the movement and time it takes to gather necessary supplies and equipment to clean a carpet.
    2. Utilize best practices and traditional vocabulary in warehousing and make it part of your culture.
      1. Example:  Zone | Aisle | Rack | Shelf | Bin.
      2. The Vacuum is stored in Zone A, Aisle 2, Shelf 1, Bin b = A.2.1.b
    3. Workspaces may include the need to accommodate:
      1. Contents
      2. Equipment cleaning, maintenance, repair
      3. The movement of forklifts or pallet jacks
  6. Choose an Inventory Management System / software solution and maintain it.
    1. The system should support designated storage location and movements. You can read more here:  Restoring Success, Inventory Management 
    2. Plan for the pieces will present you with a graphic on the movement that must be accounted for and other considerations in maintaining your warehouse system.
  7. Acquire all tools and supplies needed to support the plan:
    1. Shelves, dividers, hooks
    2. Tape:   Use the proper tape on the floor to create zones, aisles, walkways, and other designations in support of your design.
    3. Ladders, forklifts, other tools, and systems that supports the safe accessibility of the inventories.
  8. Signs, labels, and color coding are some simple solutions that will help the team utilize  and maintenance of the system.  Consider a grocery store, with signs telling us where to find condiments. You would not put an air mover in a spot for the condiments! (Bad restoration joke?)
  9. Supplies Management:
    1. Establish documented minimum and maximum supply inventory levels that is appropriate for the space designed. Having a two-year supply of X is not practical for maximizing our warehouse space.
    2. Establish a restocking protocol that rotates the supplies in accordance with a First In – First Out approach. This will ensure a rotation and avoid potential spoilage of your supplies.
    3. Job costing can be supported if it is part of your supply management systems.
  10. Maintaining the Warehouse:  As part of the operations, protocols, the systems, and warehouse need to be maintained so that the company and team can continue to enjoy the benefits of the project.
    1. Establishment of Receiving Protocols. A few examples to consider:
      1. Reviewing shipping documents, reconciling them with the shipment and forwarding the slips to accounting
      2. Cleanliness:  New supplies are sometimes received and covered in dirt and grime. We do not want dirty supplies on our shelves and worst, yet we do not want them landing on a job site.
    2. Have clearly defined expectations and assignment of responsibilities in all cleaning and maintenance related efforts.
      1. Person assigned (rotation)
      2. Frequency Schedule
      3. Use of a checklist.
    3. Visual Inspections and Supply Checks:
      1. Assigned and periodic inspections
      2. Supplies, even with a digital management solution, should have assigned and periodic inventory checks.

Warehouse management is an ongoing practice that helps our operation, efficiency and can inspire the team. As with much in our industry, changes, technology, and evolution, will often require on-going redesigns of the space and systems. I have seen many beautifully organized and clean warehouses in my travels. Those of you who have mastered the feat of keeping order in the chaos, please share your tips in the comments below. May your well-planned, systems- driven, and organized warehouse bring you much Restoring Success.

Phoenix Restoration Equipment Partners with iRESTORE

Posted on by iRestore

June 26, 2023

Phoenix Restoration Equipment, a top provider of water damage restoration equipment, has announced an integration with iRestore.

Phoenix has integrated DryLINK into iRestore to save contractors’ time. Users of iRestore can have their job information automatically imported into DryLINK and have the drying report automatically available in iRestore.

iRestore users now have easy access to the Power of DryLINK including jobsite data collection and remote monitoring. “We continue to partner with as many software platforms as we can to make life easier for restorers. We have heard over and over that restorers want our industry to simplify all the different systems on the market. This is another example of our efforts to do this for the industry” said Erin Hynum, Senior Director of Product Management for Phoenix.

“With this integration, it makes it even easier for restorers to send the documentation from DryLINK via iRestore to their customers and their insurance companies closing the loop on the proof you can provide to get paid faster” said Jack Lavender, Business Development Manager for iRestore.

This integration is an extension of our commitment to restorers to streamline and build the ideal automated workflows for their company and teams. 

About iRestore
iRestore is a provider of comprehensive restoration management software designed to empower restorers with the tools they need to streamline operations and achieve success. Built by restorers for restorers, our user-friendly platform offers a wide range of core functions, including Job Management, CRM, HR, Timecards, Scheduling, and more. With a firm commitment to customer success, iRestore strives to deliver robust systems and exceptional support to restoration businesses worldwide. To learn more about iRestore, visit https:// irestore.io/. 

iRestore is a CRM and job management software program developed by a former restoration professional and computer programmer for restoration industry professionals. 

About DryLINK
DryLINK is the only completely automated jobsite data collection tool with remote monitoring capabilities, live drying reports, and asset management for the water mitigation market. The drying report can be shared with stakeholders for up-to-date jobsite information. 

About Phoenix Restoration Equipment
Phoenix is a leading supplier of innovative equipment and technology solutions for water mitigation professionals. Phoenix launched the first LGR dehumidifier, the Phoenix 200, in 1994 and continues to lead the restoration industry forward with innovations like DryLINK. Phoenix is a brand of Therma-Stor LLC, a company dedicated to innovation in the indoor air quality and water damage restoration industries. To learn more about Phoenix Restoration Equipment, visit www.usephoenix.com. 

Restoring Success: How to Effectively Use Lists for Restoration Operations

Posted on by iRestore

By Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

Photo credit: eyfoto / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

May 8, 2023

For nearly 23 years in the industry, I have been making lists. All kinds of lists: supply lists, task lists, inspection lists, to-do lists, lists of lists that need to be made. After all these years, I am still making lists but with new eyes, knowledge, skills, and inspiration. 

Over the years, I had moments of frustration and thought, “no more lists!” I have had a few rants: “Do not make another list because I probably already made it!” I have pondered the use of lists after they were made. Some of the lists fall into the category of “they don’t work if we don’t use it.”    

If you are in this industry, you likely use a list, made a list, planned to make a list, or want a list. You may have experienced some list frustration. Where does our list passion come from? I have had the opportunity to have some great collaborative conversations with some of my restoration friends, and during one conversation I was referred to the book, The Checklist Manifesto, How to Get things Right, Autl Gawande. The following book review gave me goosebumps: “An electrifying manifesto that pairs the most advanced medical science with the humblest of tools:  the checklist….” Donna Seaman, Booklist. The title alone tells us where our list passion is found, “How to Get things Right.”  Summary: “…Atul Gawande makes a compelling argument that we can do better, using the simplest of methods: the checklist….how they could bring about striking improvements in a variety of fields, from medicine and disaster recovery to professions and businesses of all kinds…”    

Lists are widely adopted tools in many sectors and well-developed, accessible lists can be valuable job aids that help our teams succeed and improve our operational outcomes. I am always inspired by my military veteran restoration friends. Not only is their service to our country an inspiration but also the experiences, ideas and strategies from their military background being applied to restoration operations. 

I asked a process-driven military veteran and restoration business owner who I admire to share his thoughts on lists. Chris Sanford, MBA, Navy Veteran Business Owner, PuroClean Disaster Restoration Services:    

“I believe lists are critical to help prioritize and maximize what one can accomplish in a defined period of time. For more than 23 years in the Navy while on active duty and now in the reserves, I have kept a “wheel book,” aka notebook, by my side or on my person and each one is filled with a list of tasks for each day. I’ve broken pages up into tasks for me, emails to write, calls to make, and tasks to assign. I also use different color pens to differentiate normal vs urgent tasks. I’ve tried different digital solutions, but haven’t been able to switch over completely. Bottom line: every successful officer I have met in the military uses lists extensively to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. I also appreciate a good checklist, which is a specific type of list that can be a template used to perform a routine task without missing a step over and over, or a one-time-use checklist for a specific event or project. If you are really into lists for larger events and projects, Google “Plan of Action and Milestones (POAM),” it’s a list on steroids. . .the military loves lists! I have incorporated this into my business and encourage our staff to use both task lists, reminder lists, and checklists each and every day.”

If you have struggled to make lists to serve as job aids, you are not alone. As you read The Checklist Manifesto, you will gain valuable insight and knowledge regarding the use of lists, the expertise, and the development process. Today, I collaborate with our teams to make job aids to use in our own operations, as training tools, and for the restorers we serve. Below is a glimpse of the variety of efforts which also resulted in our internal joke of making things simple is not so simple. 

  1. Textile Sorting Chart: Took about two weeks and many iterations. After testing it, it needed to be adjusted several times.  
  2. Water Truck Inventory List: 97 items, only basic items, 3 months of perfecting the list and formatting for practical use and implementation. 
  3. Basic Water Loss – Day 1 Simple Steps: Not simple to make simple steps. Approximately 3 months, many iterations, and resulted in 17 Simple Steps, with some reminder bullets. 

Why is it so hard? It is a discipline with a series of best practices. This is important because the reality is all job aids, lists, are not created equally. I dug into the archives and as a young restoration company operator, I found my documents that were meant to be job aids were wordy documents that ranged from 300- to 1,000-word, single spaced, documents. This was the source of the problem. This was not an effective approach to giving the tools to the team that I was trying to create. They would be fine in a comprehensive manual but not serve as job aids. Here are a few tips (checklist) to help you develop and/or implement lists as job aids. 

  • Simple: Be extremely concise. It is not a replacement for training and experience. I can attest that this is a very difficult element to conquer.  
  • Format and Approach: There are a variety of approaches from a simple checklist to a flow chart. Example: How to Train Someone is an 8-Step Flow Chart   
  • Design: The graphic design, font, colors, and imagery should all be considered. 
  • Test: Test your list/job aid. Your first iteration may have missed something. This is part of the development process. 
  • Incorporate the use of the lists and company expectations in your training and development initiatives. 
  • Accessibility: The team must have access to the lists & job aides. It may be digital, attached to assignments, paper hanging in the warehouse, truck, or placed strategically like putting a PPE Bag Inventory List on the bag itself.  

May using lists bring you much Restoring Success.

KEYWORDS: employee training how to increase restoration

Harnessing the Power of Experiential Learning in your Training Programs

Posted on by iRestore

restoration business planning
GlobalStock/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

August 31, 2022

By Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.
Training is an important function in any operation and is critical to our companies’ effectiveness and efficiency. It has a direct impact on our key objectives from profitability to customer service. For all individuals, training is critical to their success, growth, and morale. Field experience, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships are a few types of experiential learning that we likely already employ.

This holds true in all industries and professions. It is happening on an ongoing basis whether we are deliberate about it or not. You can draw a parallel to programs for electricians, plumbers, physicians, and our industries and professions. Can we better harness the power of this type of learning and improve our outcomes? Yes, we can.

In How to Train Someone From Outside or Inside the Restoration Industry, “experience” is part of our training process. Even if you are not proactively managing or executing experiential learning in your organization, it is happening and natural. Your organization likely already respects and values experience. It may be a requirement of positions that you are filling, or a qualification when someone is being considered for advancement.

Experiential Learning is an entire field of study in and of itself. There are many great resources readily available to learn more about it, Northern Illinois University, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning provides the following overview.

You can relate to the value of experience when you reflect on your own professional journey, observe the team, or consider apprentice and intern programs. The concept applies to all positions and skills in your organization.

A few of the benefits of experiential learning are:

  • The more we do things the faster we get. This applies to a wide variety of skills from keyboarding, estimating, processing contents, or setting equipment in a water loss.
  • Learning is enhanced when someone can apply information in an experience-based format.
  • Our ability to troubleshoot and manage complexities often derives from experience.
  • Have you ever reflected on how you said something or handled a situation? Most soft skills are developed through experience and reflection.
  • Learning from mistakes is a cliché for a reason.

The following are some easy-to deploy tips to get the most out of your experiential training:

  • Define with trainees
    • Objectives
    • Timelines
    • Define specific experiences
    • Define specific skills and abilities to be gained
  • Assessments and Documentation
    • Mentors, supervisors, tools to check in throughout the learning processes.
    • Assessments can be utilized to both evaluate the outcomes and document the training.
  • Audits, QC, and/or Reviews
    • If using real work and jobs for training, develop checks and balances so that customers and the company are not impacted by a trainee’s lack of experience. A few examples:
      • Estimator — estimate reviewed by a seasoned estimator before submittal.
      • Water Tech — allow the trainee to set up the equipment, perform other duties, come back, adjust, and explain why you may have made changes to the set up.
  • Training Culture
    • Training Overhead: This is a consideration when your field trainers also have the responsibility for job profitability. Allow for the recording of extra time in the context of training to be recorded to an overhead account.
    • Name It: Give it a name and keep it top of mind. “We are always training and retraining each other in our day to day.”
    • Why: In our busy day to day, it is easy for us simply fix, correct, and forget to focus on teaching opportunities. I refer to this as finishing the sentence as it does not take long and can help others learn and engage them. Take the time to explain the reason behind your thinking. Example: We want to do it this way because…
  • Field Trainers
    • Train the trainers: Some are natural, some are in need training.
    • Reward and acknowledge, In A New Tech Under your Wing, you will find more tips and “What is more valuable than a great technician? A technician that can teach others to be as good or better than they are.” Celebrate those who teach and train in the day to day. 
    • Make it a job duty to be performed.
  • Use Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model 
    • A well-recognized approach to the experiential learning model was developed by David Kolb and provides some insight and understanding that may help you develop and formalize your programs. The article, Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle, summarizes as follows, “Ideally, activities and material should be developed in ways that draw on abilities from each stage of the experiential learning cycle and take the students through the whole process in sequence.” McLeod, S. A. (2017, October 24). Kolb – learning styles. Simply Psychology. www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html

Experiential learning can take place in many different ways, and it can range from on the job, to replication and even using eLearning. To help you develop your programs, the following is a sample from RTI’s Digital Training Solution. It is defining the objectives of field experience for Water Tech Level 2 followed by a digital assessment which will allow a supervisor to determine if the expectations have been met and/or give insight to proceed with the team member’s development.  

There are many ways to create and innovate your approach to training. Share your tips in the comments below. May developing your experiential learning programs in your company bring you much restoring success! Developing people is one of the most rewarding things we can do.

8 Tips to Manage the Thousands of Details of a Restoration Business

Posted on by iRestore

restoration business development
Urilux /E+ via Getty Images

Originally Published at R&R Magazine August 4, 2022

Lisa Lavender M.T.R., M.F.S.R., M.W.R.

You’ve heard and can relate to the saying from Gustave Flaubert, “The devil is in the detail.” It refers to the notion that even the simplest of details can be complicated and may cause problems.

As I enjoy continually developing, defining, and refining processes, and talking to other restorers about operations, I found as you adopt a continuous improvement approach to process and clearly defining expectations that it is quite easy to become frustrated by the thousands of details that can easily trip up the most well-developed systems.

Did you ever just wonder or exclaim to yourself, “What in the world! That was a smooth process that has been in place and working for X years!” I am not necessarily referring to a weakness in your operations, a person, or a department although that could be a root cause. I am talking about what could equate to thousands of details daily that are happening in your operation that could be missed even with the best people, processes, and technology in place.

The details may be symptoms of a deeper problem, however. In the context of strong foundations and people, it may simply be a mistake or missed detail. As an example, someone forgot to lock a vehicle or missed the “referred by” in setting up a new job which could result in lost equipment or in the case of the referred by a failure to properly thank the source and comprised reporting. Managing the details is about maintaining your operation and helping talented team members stay great and/or continue to get better.

My unscientific estimate of thousands can be visualized by considering all the details that are happening in each key functional area. For example: administration, sales, production, project management, accounting, and human resources. I did not do a formal count as I lost track somewhere in the hundreds and decided to go with thousands. The following is a rambling list of detailed related activities and/or information. The reality is that the exact number is irrelevant, managing them all proactively versus reactively is what is important.

  • Job-related information and data, file updates, pictures, contracts, videos
  • Estimates, change orders, invoices, collections
  • Ongoing communications, how to communicate, when to communicate, and how to document communication
  • Training, development, human resources
  • Safety, PPE, compliance
  • Inventories of supplies, PPE, equipment, batteries, uniforms, etc.
  • Vehicles and equipment, cleanliness, repairs, maintenance
  • Accounting, bills, receipts, job costing, payroll
  • Sales and marketing
  • Warehouse and facilities, organized, clean, efficient design
  • We did not even get to field execution and production: floor protection, quality, schedule, subcontractors, contents processing, lots of details.

Being paralyzed or frustrated by the details that could be compromised or allowing them to spiral into complete breakdowns of your well-established systems, processes, etc., is not an option. The following is a brief list of tips to manage the details so you can focus efforts on the development and implementation of progress, growth, and other high-impact initiatives. The following is based on starting with a solid foundation that includes a healthy culture, engaged team, relationships built on trust, and good team morale complete with positive recognition and reinforcement. A team with leaders that buy into the concept of constructive feedback for continuous improvement will be impacted in a positive way by the following tips:

  1. Tacit Approval: Avoid ignoring the problem of the missed detail. This could spiral quickly into a bigger process breakdown. You can learn more about tacit approval in the following Restoring Success. The management theory of “things that get noticed get done” applies to this tactic.
  2. Software Systems and Reporting: Utilizing software to monitor, manage, and report some of the details will help efficiently identify a variety of blips. Once you are using technology to do this, reviewing the information, and addressing any of the details that are out of compliance must be a clearly defined responsibility in your organization and must be consistently done on a schedule or in a timely manner.
  3. Inspecting: In addition to using digital tools/software, developed visual inspections, checklists/forms, and a schedule can help keep the details in check. This approach is effective in evaluating fieldwork, job site safety, warehouse, and vehicles. Inspecting our own work and as part of our SOPs also helps to proactively manage the details and minimizing misses.
  4. Systems by Design: Developed systems that support detail success and support inspections will serve the team well. A few examples to illustrate the concept:
    1. The company process may be that the vacuums are put into their designated location at the end of every day. They should be clean and field ready. If there is a designated location and it is labeled, a quick walk-through of the warehouse at end of day (or beginning of next day) will allow for a quick visual inspection as a missing vacuum will be evident.
    2. In a vehicle a shelf is labeled five extension cord reals, it is extremely easy upon inspecting and evaluating if there are in fact five, an important detail.
  5. Responsibility: Clearly defined roles of who is responsible for the outcomes, oversight and, addressing details is integral part of keeping the details in check.
  6. Speed: Addressing details cannot wait 6 months or when we get to it. When addressed quickly, we better prevent the compromised detail from recurring. The timeliness of addressing the detail is the right thing to do for the team member’s individual success. Imagine waiting for an annual review or waiting till the detail has escalated and sitting down with someone saying, “We have a severe problem. You have not been locking your vehicle for 6 months.” And the response is, “I am sorry. Why didn’t someone tell me?” (A dramatization for illustration purposes)
  7. Retraining: Retraining helps solidify details and keep them top of mind. Some of the courses that we have developed I believe are important in the retraining category to help proactively manage details and include but are not limited to: Job Site Behaviors and PPE with a review of proper donning and doffing. You can gain free access HERE.

  8. Tools: As a team, brainstorm, and develop tools and approaches to managing the details proactively and constructively. The following is an example of a tool for leadership to address details quickly and positively, Inspiration Notes:

Click Here for a Download

Do not let blips in the potentially thousands of details that make your company great get you frustrated, or fester. Each detail typically has a chain reaction impacting other areas, details, customers, and people in the company. Make open and constructive feedback part of your healthy culture, keep the details in check and spend your energy on positive high-impact initiatives by having a proactive approach to managing all the details that matter.

Happy Restoring Success and Managing Details.

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