Emerging Technologies Speed Mitigation and Reduce Costs for Paul Davis Customers
Paul Davis customers often hear these encouraging words as our teams arrive at disasters: “this technology will get you back to normal faster.” When a hurricane struck a church, our teams employed a marvelous digital platform. When the Texas deep freeze burst water supply lines at an industrial site, our teams deployed nimble equipment to reach damaged areas that were inaccessible any other way.
Two projects neatly illustrated the transformative power that technology brings to the restoration industry. As you’ll see, these state-of-the-art tools improve accuracy, increase speed, facilitate communication and finish projects sooner.
Situation: Struck by Hurricanes Laura and Delta, the First Baptist Church of Sulphur in Sulphur, Louisiana, suffered extensive structural damage to the roof and most interior spaces, leading to widespread water damage. When the Paul Davis team arrived, rain was still drenching many interior areas of the building.
Technology Solution: Paul Davis team members employed a powerful digital platform called Matterport to explore, define and map the extensive damage. This software, compatible with smartphones, creates a high-definition, extremely accurate, three-dimensional digital rendering of any space, allowing users to immediately “tour” the rendering virtually, zoom into it, reconfigure it, customize it, publish it and share it. “The rendering included many data points that helped our experts plan and execute restoration activities at the church,” comments Jason White, Vice President – Commercial at Paul Davis. “Matterport also generates high-definition photos and schematic floor plans on demand.”
Situation: An oilfield services company suffered extensive water damage when unusually cold temperatures froze water lines. The damage included 33 separate leak locations, including leaks into the company’s clean room laboratory for geological testing. As mitigation work proceeded, 28 additional leak locations occurred.
Technology solution: Paul Davis team members used drones to survey, photograph and document moisture intrusion in difficult-to-access areas including a soaring atrium. Team members piggybacked a sophisticated thermal imaging camera on the drones, enabling precise moisture mapping to identify damaged areas. “Drones improved safety and allowed our team members to reach otherwise inaccessible areas much faster and more economically than other options,” notes Shawn Finch, Business Development with Paul Davis, Inc. “And these drone flights certainly uncovered damage that could have been overlooked without their precision and nimble maneuverability.”
Paul Davis is ready to apply the latest technology for disasters of all sizes and severity across the continent. “We are always evaluating new tools and technology as they emerge on the market,” Finch says. “We’re ready to adopt new capabilities that help us better serve our customers.”