September 14, 2017 / By yorkshiredampcourse
This week our Director Matthew Tucny and Surveyor Mark Smith attended a Property Care Association (PCA) group training session on Property Level Flood Resilience Training for Surveyors held at their Huntingdon headquarters.
Although we have over 10 years experience in this field it is an ever-changing industry and as experts, we feel it is important to keep learning to continue to gain a better understanding of flooding and how to manage it. The PCA is a trade association serving the damp, timber, invasive weed and flood protection industry. Their purpose is to increase awareness of problems that its members are skilled and knowledgeable enough to manage and to maintain this level of expertise by offering supportive training.
The main objectives of this course were:-
- To explore the history of PLR (Property Level Resistance)
- Discuss different sources of flooding and explain how flood risk determines the suitability of PLR
- Recognising the importance of householder liaison to understand physical barriers which may deem PLR unsuitable
- Distinguishing between different building constructions and understanding how they will perform with PLR
- Recognising different PLR solutions and recommending appropriate PLR strategies for a given scenario
The course comprised of 5 sessions:-
Session 1 – Exploring the history of PLR.
Session 2 – Understanding flood Risk.
Session 3 – Acknowledging the impact of flooding on people.
Session 4 – Looking at buildings and considering common routes of water ingress, the damage that can be caused and how to repair it.
Session 5 – An overview of PLR products, testing and quality assurance and consideration of their use.
These sessions were delivered by:-
- Ray Pickering from RAB Consultants. Ray is a specialist in Resilience & Flood risk. It was a fantastic opportunity to learn from Ray’s experience.
- Mary Dhonau OBE from Mary Dhonau Associates. ‘Mary Queen of Floods’ as she is affectionately known is one of the most knowledgeable people in the country when it comes to flooding. From her experience as a flood victim, Mary has worked tirelessly to raise awareness.
- Steve Hodgson from PCA. Steve is the CEO of the PCA. Steve has a particularly logical approach to all things physical. It comes as no surprise that he has found himself managing a trade association who’s trades are founded on the basis of solving problems.
- Gavin George from Aquobex. Gavin is recognised as being a long-standing member in the PLR product and service industry. His experiences have led him to become a successful and particularly knowable person in this field.
These 2 days were a fantastic opportunity for us to brush up on our skills and ultimately offer a more refined service to our clients.