Annual event included networking and education opportunities.

Updates from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification.

“Creating a clearly planned education and career path for your technicians will help with employee retention and improve the dedication and quality of your restoration efforts,” Lorne McIntyre writes. This article focuses on the role of a technician from day one to an RIA Certified Restorer and can be used as a guide to not only develop employees but attract more talented candidates.

Why the restoration industry is good for women, why women are good for the industry, and three intentional steps employers can take to make space for more women and other underrepresented groups to thrive both in the workforce and at the leadership level.

Mili Washington, standards director with the IICRC, discusses the importance of industry standards, the value of ANSI accreditation, the rigorous and lengthy process of developing a new standard, the business case for embracing them, and on implementing them, and a highlight reel of standards in the works.

In conjunction with our seventh annual campaign celebrating leading women in this male-dominated industry, we asked all six of the past winners, from 2016 through 2021, to answer one question: To what do you attribute your success?

What exactly is bioterrorism and what does it have to do with cleaning and restoration? Bioterrorism expert Dr. George Buck, Jeff Jones of the Microbial Warrior Experience, Jim Thompson of Jim Thompson & Co., and Larry Cooper of Experience events join us for a panel discussion on the role of cleaning and restoration pros in bioterrorism response in this Ask the Expert episode.

On its surface, restoration doesn’t seem synonymous with “soft.” It’s a hard industry that operates in physically and emotionally tough working environments. Restoring a property to pre-loss condition requires a particular set of hard (job-specific) skills and tools. But there is a soft side that, I’d like to argue, carries more weight.