Founded in 2009 with the intent to offer experience, value and customer service for asbestos removal, Removall Remediation began as a two-person team primarily serving real estate and residential markets. Since that time, the company’s scope has grown to become an abatement, deconstruction and demolition company for developers, builders, and renovation companies, as well as the real estate and residential market.
Co-founder Summer Green says her 35 years of customer service, business management and real estate background, combined with husband Dave Robinson’s 20 years of expertise in the hazardous materials field initially connected the start-up with projects such as vermiculite removal from attics and duct tape removal from forced air systems.
“Our growth over time has been a direct result of our ability to get the job done efficiently, effectively, and at a reasonable price,” she says.
Now with a staff of 17, Removall applies its experience to projects requiring asbestos and lead paint abatement, primarily on lower Vancouver Island. “We have a streamlined process that ensures safety and compliance, and also reduces client stress and ensures peace of mind.”
Green says WorkSafeBC requires a plan, including a hazardous materials survey prior to any renovation work beginning, to ensure the project is being managed and carried out responsibly. “We walk our clients through the process from beginning to end, helping smooth out the edges of planning, ensuring the project is completed on time with all appropriate documentation.”
The majority of Removall’s staff are long term employees, she says. This means they are very efficient and can do in one day what many homeowners and smaller abatement companies might struggle to do in a week. “There have been many instances where a homeowner asks for guidance to do the work themselves and then calls us back a few days later to finish because it is ‘not as easy as it looks’.”
There is a liability risk to homeowners when they organize projects themselves. “Most often when a property owner hires a trade to work within their house, the homeowner becomes the prime contractor and takes responsibility for making certain that all trades are compliant with WorksafeBC guidelines.” The WorksafeBC website is a great resource for homeowners.
Green says her team works closely both with the homeowner, who may primarily be concerned about cleanliness and safety, and the contractor, often more focused on deadlines and completion dates. “All of these details are very important to us and we want the whole team to feel satisfied with our results.”
Right from the start of the process – visiting customers when it is convenient to them, coming up with affordable solutions to challenging projects, and walking them step by step through the process – the focus is on the comfort and peace of mind of the homeowner, she says. “For all of our projects we have a third party environmental company work with us from start to finish ensuring the air in and around our containments and working area are clean.”
Safety and environmental compliance issues have changed over the years. Green says Removall works directly with WorksafeBC to be proactive, upgrading safety protocols to ensure staff and clients are healthy and safe. She says the company’s practices have earned them an excellent reputation with WorkSafeBC, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Transportation.
Another challenge the industry faces is start-up companies launching asbestos abatement services based on a one or two-day course. Unfortunately, Green says, these companies will go in with a low bid to secure clients, but then lack of experience and an inability to do the job properly can mean a second company must be called in to finish the work. “Even worse, if proper containments were not in place prior to asbestos material being disturbed there is extensive hazmat cleaning required, sometimes of the homeowner’s personal belonging. This is both costly and inconvenient, not to mention emotionally taxing for the client.”
Removall has recently purchased a new building and will be expanding its resources, including some more instructional type services, this fall. “We are looking forward to the upgrades to the building and invite you to come in and discuss your abatement project with us,” Green said.
For more information, visit http://www.removall.ca.
