RVR managers have to be prepared for just about anything. On one day it will involve rescuing priceless 16th century books, on the next preventing oil from polluting a water supply. Between them Patrik Åhnberg and Peter Andersson have many years experience of salvage operations.
Patrik Åhnberg's day job is as an analysis manager for the Attunda Fire Service. He works primarily on organisational- and future development, but also with investigations and negotiations. For the last three years Patrik has also been working as an RVR manager.
No two assignments are alike for an RVR manager, but Patrik considers that there are a number of important points that almost always reoccur on assignments.
They are: Establishing a picture of what has happened. Dialogue and cooperation with the emergency services and the police if they are on site. Getting hold of representatives of the business or the owner and finding out what sort of insurance cover there is. Contacting the insurance company and having a plan of action for emergency measures. Selecting contractors and coordinating!
When Patrik describes the most unusual case he has been involved with it is easy to understand what a multi-faceted task the RVR manager has.
– One of the most instructive and unusual salvage jobs that I was involved in was a water leak at Stockholm University. A considerable amount of water had damaged large areas on several floors, including the University Library. The cellar contained a collection of rare books dating from the 16ͭ ͪ century onwards that were just about priceless, including literature written by Linné.
Along with the librarian who was responsible for the collection, I got involved in real detective work trying to find an expert who knew how water-damaged books should be treated. They managed to get hold of some of the country's leading experts in the field and I received good advice over the phone about what to do. It should be added that the day in question was a Saturday!
Finally, there are a large number of success factors that are clearly central. A very important quality that a salvage manager has to have is the capacity to communicate with people and manage relationships.
– Some of the people we meet are under stress and upset as they have suffered damage and lost possessions, keepsakes or a business. It is important to be able to engage with them and establish trust, says Patrik. He continues:
– Customer focus is also essential for a successful operation as the majority of the people we meet as salvage managers are customers of our client, that is to say the insurance industry. And if they are not already customers they are prospective customers.
Environmental salvage managers
Among the RVR managers there are also a smaller number of specially trained RVR managers who are qualified to deal with environmental accidents. These environmental salvage managers are fire officers with at least 6 years experience as Incident Commanders. One of them is Peter Andersson, who after several years experience has a good grasp of the most effective way of cleaning up after an environmental accident.
– The most important thing for me is getting to the site quickly and being able to make a reasonable assessment of what has to be done. Deciding what can wait until the next day and what is urgent. As an environmental salvage manager my job is to guide and lead the clean-up initiatives so that they meet the environmental code's three fundamental conditions; technically possible, environmentally justified and economically reasonable.
The most common environmental accident is when there is a leak of diesel, petrol or hydraulic oil, which, if not dealt with immediately, can have major consequences for the environment and a clean-up operation after the damage has taken place that is considerably more costly.
– To assist us we have test equipment that enables us to verify when we have completed our task. We also make use of geological maps and product sheets on the subject that have been published. If necessary we sometimes engage experts, chemists for example. To ensure that my work functions effectively it is important that all parties involved fully understand their role.
Sometimes the municipality or specific authorities engage decontamination contractors before an RVR manager is on site. This can sometimes lead to unnecessarily expensive operations or confusion about who is liable to pay. The RVR manager must therefore ensure that the operation is controlled by someone who represents the individual(s) who are going to pay. With their experience and network of contacts, RVR managers ensure that the right contractor is on site and that the cost is not higher than necessary.