Water Damage How To Prevent Water Damage And Save Cost

15%

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• Check the room envelope for potential leak sources and entry points • Provide catch pans for overhead supply/drain pipes • Consider rerouting steam and liquid lines away from high-value equipment • Provide drainage and leak detection in rooms with liquid sources • Provide sump pumps connected to emergency power • Equip sump pumps with monitored high-water-level alarms • Equip below-grade drains/sewer lines with backflow prevention valves

27%

Environment/Building Envelope

Download Liquid Damage Data sheet

Inspect outside

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Leaky roofs and windows

Domestic waterlines and systems

How to safeguard critical rooms

Electrical and alarm system rooms

Click for ways to reduce frequency and severity.

Data and communication centers

Drains and drain lines

Water heaters for signs of corrosion

Mondays are hard enough ...

Minimize your overall exposure to water damage.

Environment/ building envelope

Cooling and heating piping and radiators

MyRisk®

without being greeted by a cascading wall of water. A third floor air-conditioning pipe burst yesterday. You’ll spend weeks cleaning up, restoring equipment … putting other critical business activities on hold.

Liquid Damage

Fire

Water damage

Even a relatively small quantity of water can severely damage finished interiors and high-valued digital or electronic equipment. The negative impact on business may be costly, could result in loss of goodwill and may require you to discontinue operations.

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Emergency response

Diagnostic equipment rooms

Emergency Response

Main and emergency power equipment

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Laboratories and cleanrooms

Sewage systems

Check Regularly

Water pumps for excessive vibration

Critical Room Exposure

Quarterly

Preventive Maintenance

NATURAL HAZARDS

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Water leaks can happen at any time, so adopt an effective response plan to mitigate the effects of liquid damage and return to operation as quickly as possible.

Should I be concerned about water damage?

Sprinkler piping

How does water damage happen?

LIQUID DAMAGE

Pharmacy and medical supplies storage

FIRE

Connections of dissimilar metals for corrosion

Be sure to

FM Global clients Sign into to access the Liquid Damage Loss Control Center for client-only resources and templates.

How to keep your business flowing

Equipment Breakdown

Escaped liquids can result from multiple culprits:

Preventive maintenance

42%

See how water damage stacks up against other hazards.

16%

Causes of Loss by Frequency

YES!

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Provide labels

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• Seal wall, roof and ceiling penetrations with fire-resistant and watertight material • Review downspouts and ensure that they are extended away from buildings • Provide sump pumps at points of water ingress or collection • Label sprinkler control valves to identify the area controlled • Provide labeling to indicate a warning to avoid contact with sprinklers • Provide high-water-level alarms monitored at a constantly attended location • Equip sewer lines with backflow prevention valves

Added steps for locations below grade

Natural Hazards

AFM clients Sign into to access the Liquid Damage Loss Control Center for client-only resources and templates.

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How can I prevent, manage and mitigate water damage loss?

• Exercise domestic water control valves • Test sump pumps • Check/clear HVAC condensate drains • Check/clear roof drains

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Critical room exposure

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Natural Hazards

Remember that liquid flows. That means high-valued equipment and devices, elevators, and computer equipment in its path are susceptible to damage. Even small leaks can severely damage offices, hotels, condominiums, retail stores, healthcare centers and schools.

EQUIPMENT BREAKDOWN

Adopt a robust preventive maintenance program. It could make the difference between a brief delay in business practices and a long-term shutdown.

Survey building envelopes (the exterior) for potential leaks. Be sure to consider the environment and the critical equipment/rooms within.

AFM® Online

Critical rooms have high operational impact and house valuable contents that cannot be easily replaced.

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Annually

• Create an emergency response team (ERT), and train on a semiannual basis • Maintain a list of vendors for replacement equipment for your building, i.e., electrical, HVAC, elevator and plumbing • Identify where any salvageable content, stock or supplies may be stored if water damage is incurred

Monthly

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Use these steps to develop your emergency response plan