Abcott Construction
Limited


Consulting
Engineers of
Ontario



Markham Waxers


Environmental
Abatement Council
of Ontario

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restoration Environmental Interviewed by Daily Commercial News
OCTOBER 26, 2001 - published with permission from the Daily Commercial News


By Korky Koroluk
DCN CORRESPONDENT
MARKHAM, ONTARIO

Doing a bad job of abatement of hazardous materials is worse than leaving the susbstance alone, says Don Bremner, whose firm specializes in just such work.

"A contractor's lack of training and lack of proper equipment can make things worse for building occupants." he said.

Improper handling of asbestos, for example, can stir things up, resulting in a lot of tiny fibres floating in the air.

The same with molds, which improperly handled can result in a lot of floating spores.

Bremner, vice-president of Restoration Environmental Contractors and also of the Environmental Abatement Council of Ontario (EACO), was making a point about the importance of choosing a well-trained, well-qualified contractor to do abatement work on hazardous materials.

"What a building owner, or general contractor, or architect or consulting engineer should do is make sure they prequalify their abatement contractor," he said.

"Low bid is always a factor but it must be a low bid by a qualified contractor. You can always use a licensed electrician or mechanical contractor. But in our industry, there is no licensing, so prequalification is important."

Bremner has put together a checklist of criteria for hiring a contractor in the abatement field. In it, he suggests checking the firm's standing with the Workers' Compensation Board, since proof of payments is verification of the contractor's volume and payment history.

He also says that "good" companies will provide banking and bonding letters, including such details as the length of time the contractor has been dealing with each institution. Performance bonding and banking references must be checked. The firm should also be checked with a credit agency such as Dun and Bradstreet.

He suggests that the contractor be asked to produce a copy of the company's incorporation document to verify that it is, in fact, incorporated, how long has it been incorporated and under what name. The company should have a minimum of five year's experience, Bremner says, operating under the same name.

Levels of bonding and insurance must be checked.

Insurance must include specific environmental and pollution coverage.

If a contractor has only general coverage, that means there is no pollution coverage, Bremner says. If there have been any insurance claims, the company must have a good explanation for them.

Does the firm have an office or does it operate out the back of a van?

Visit the office and inspect the company's facilities.

Verify with the Ministry of Labour that the firm is in good standing with no violations or stop-work orders against it.

If there have been violations or stop-work orders, demand a good explanation.

Ask for a client list and talk to several of those clients about the company's performance.

All these things are important, he says, because "when properly performed, mold and asbestos removal is a permanent solution.

"When poorly performed, airborne asbestos and molds can create major contamination problems."

 

Contact Mr. Don Bremner
Tel 1-800-894-4924 or (905) 888-0066 Fax 905-888-0071
P.O. Box 746
10 Stalwart Industrial Drive Unit 5,
Gormley (Markham), Ontario
Canada L0H 1G0



 

Copyright © 1999 - 2007, Restoration Environmental Contractors.
All rights reserved.