Disaster Recovery – The First Step to Restoring the Business after a Flood

Disaster Recovery – The First Step to Restoring the Business after a Flood

Due to climate change, natural disasters can come in various forms. Our neighbouring countries are sometimes victims of earthquakes, tsunamis and volcano eruptions while our European counterparts may be caught in typhoons, blizzards or snowstorms. One thing is for sure – floods are one of the most common natural disasters caused by climate change and today, more and more global citizens are at exposure to flooding. 

According to an article published on The University of Arizona’s website, roughly 2.23 million square kilometers, or about 861,000 square miles, were flooded at some point between 2000 and 2018, affecting between 255 million and 290 million people worldwide. From these figures, it has also been documented that nearly 90% of flood events occurred in South and Southeast Asia.

Floods can cause widespread devastation, resulting in loss of life and damages to personal property, business and public infrastructure. With Malaysian weather becoming more volatile these days, we cannot deny that floods are a constant issue that we are facing, as shown by the recent flood disaster last December. Many business premises suffered extensive losses, not only in terms of money but also in terms of products and goods, time, as well as manpower. Some of these losses include irrecoverable damages and interrupted business operations such as structural damage, loss of inventory and valuable documents, as well as damages to machinery and company vehicles that may cost a lot of money to replace. The ripple effects from shutdowns due to floods may be felt for a long time to come and, in some cases, may be difficult to recover from.

At maclean, our clients are more than just clients. They are also a part of our extended family. We were aware that some of our clients’ premises were inundated, whereby their staff and customers had to do the necessary to get to safety. In the midst of doing so, they have to helplessly watch their valuables getting destroyed as the waters continued to rise – trapping them and their customers overnight at the venue. 

While the situation is beyond our control, we can only imagine the stress and distraught that came with it. Although some of them may have experienced flooding prior to this, it is a heart-breaking and tragic ordeal to have to experience this once more. Planning and organising the cleaning up of huge amounts of debris from flash floods of such magnitude is testament to our clients’ strength and resilience. In times like this, it is paramount that we prioritise and safeguard our clients’ needs and well-being and their stakeholders’ interest so that they are able to mitigate losses and resume business soonest possible.

Reaching Out & Mobilizing Our Cleaning Crews

As soon as a disaster such as flooding happens, the team at maclean quickly implements a plan called the Disaster Recovery plan. Our project team reached out to them immediately the moment the disaster happened. Part of the plan also involved brainstorming ideas with our clients to determine the most feasible and fastest way to perform post-flood clean-up

Once flood water has receded and our client has informed us that it is safe to enter the premises, the damages were assessed, and the cleaning process commenced. As our commitment to our clients is of utmost importance, the team at maclean acted swiftly and coordinated to temporarily assign cleaning crews from other unaffected sites to assist with clean-up operations

The efficiency of the maclean team helped make the cleanup operation a success, which allowed the clients to breathe sighs of relief as we worked together in recovering their business premises.

The Challenges

Starting the post-flood clean-up operations were by no means an easy feat. We assisted two of our clients who are part of the major retail chains in Malaysia. The sites were considered as “danger” zones as there were garbage scattered all over the place and the ceilings looked as though they were about to collapse anytime. As the retailers also marketed fresh produce and food, the space reeked of spoiled and rotten goods. 

To prevent the spread of bacteria, garbage was sorted out and divided into categories – solid waste for disposal while perishable items were stored in wet bins to ensure that they were separated from the rest.

On top of that, there were also major logistic issues as many other businesses were dumping bags of rubbish at landfills, resulting in a long queue to discard unwanted garbage. Our team also discovered rats, cockroaches and other pests when overturning and relocating goods.

The designated cleaning crew went to the sites prepared with emergency first-aid kits, knowing that it would be difficult to purchase medicine or necessities in disaster struck areas. We were fortunate that none of our team members got sick or injured during and after the clean-up.

Learning From Experience

The post-flood clean-up lasted approximately ten to twelve days per site and many of our team members worked hard to accommodate the large workload of cleaning salvageable shelves, removing mould and stains from the walls, as well as scrubbing the floors of our clients’ premises. 

We are humbled by the trust and confidence given to us by our clients in handling these alarming situations. We empathize with those who were affected and hope that they have the strength to overcome this. 

maclean’s long-standing legacy in helping many multinational companies clean up their flooded premises since 1971 have enhanced our experience and provided us with a clear understanding when dealing with floods, and we will work tirelessly to continue to upgrade and improve our approach every step of the way.

Beyond Cost Effective Solutions

“Thank you, Maclean team, for the good support and on time completion of the cleaning activities as required at the Phase 2 cafeteria and Phase 2 new wing office floor without any delays which met client satisfaction.”

Manufacturing

“The final cleaning has come to an end today. We appreciate your team's full commitment and cooperation in ensuring the successful completion of the cleaning work at Plot H. Your site person in charge and his team has performed well throughout the cleaning period. Their prompt response and action as well as their workmanship on the end-product satisfied us.”

Construction

“I would like to take this opportunity to first, thank you for the 9 years of services to the hospital. Maclean has offered a top-level cleaning service with the magnificent team of client service right down to the cleaner.

I am particularly writing to appreciate the cleaner, namely BAL BAHADUR, M. SUMON and MASLINDAH for their professionalism and exceptional work ethic. They are punctual, dependable and presented with more than what has been asked of them.”

Hospital

“We are writing to express my sincere appreciation for the exceptional work of the cleaning crew who was responsible for maintaining the cleanliness of our office premises. Over the past few weeks, we have observed the excellent work that Nur Alom has been doing, and we must say that his dedication and professionalism are truly commendable.

I have personally witnessed Nur Alom going the extra miles to ensure that the office is clean and hygienic especially during these challenging times post pandemic. His commitment to maintaining a clean and safe environment has been exceptional, and he has made a significant contribution to keep our workplace safe and healthy for all employees. “

Office

“We would like to express our thanks towards janitor Suriakala for excellent cleaning services rendered during Deep Cleaning activities on 14th and 28th January 2023. As well, we find her job deliverance is excellent and committed on daily routine tasks.

Hereby, we extend our thanks to Bobby, Fahmi for their prompt response of any inquiries and replacement planning during janitor's absence. We are also thankful to be supported by the Maclean team for

  • deep cleaning upholstery office chairs, sofa
  • fabric wall meeting rooms
  • fabric cubicle – employee workstation areas
  • lobby reception, breakout area, workstation area
  • floor scrubbing at carpeted area total approximately 3,617sqft
  • floor scrubbing at pantry vinyl floor area"
Office

“Excellent cleaning services. Prompt response of any inquiries and fast planning during your janitor on leave”

Hypermarket

“Excellent service during the summer break for the school opening preparations - efficient, gracious customer service, the level of detail and accountability you have demonstrated on the housekeeping service.”

Education

Our Supervisors and Crew Are Well Trained

“I received a verbal compliment from client on Crew’s performance & improvement after we had engagement meeting. Well done and keep up the good work!”

Office

“Services provided by the crew on site was good and amazing, especially the head of the crew obviously showing his excellent performance on managing his team that provided high quality cleanliness service throughout the year. They have shown a great team spirit and hope this can continue and maintained in future. I would also take this opportunity to congratulate Miss Nadia who trained such a good team and of course your good services to our company as well.”

Retail

“Thank you very much for the team you lead! Professional and high efficiency!”

Education

“Convey our outmost appreciations for the excellent service provided to our team in Bayan Lepas. Your team, which is Samy and his supportive team, have been doing great jobs & supported us. Samy has been committed to all the tasks given with fast response from him & the teams.”

Manufacturing

“Formally and sincerely express our gratitude for the amazing honesty your team shown during recently lost and found case. Nurhayati Binti Abdullah had shown exceptional discipline and dedication to her daily work. Her actions directly impacted our image and Maclean directly benefited the team and company on a greater level. Once again, thank you for the leadership shown by Maclean’s management team – Kak Mis on the diligence and integrity adopted for all the team on the site.”

Office

“Layanan yang sangat baik, berdisiplin, komited, sabar, berbudi bahasa dan sentiasa positif.”

3S Centre

“Thank You for the Good Service. I would like to express my deep appreciation for the women who are doing the cleaning at our premise. I am very satisfied with their work! I would like to thank Diana (supervisor) and Sajib who always monitor and ensure someone to cover when the cleaners go on leave. Good teamwork and dependable.”

Education

We Are Well Versed with Various Industry Compliancy Requirements

“Congratulations “Maclean Team” as all cleaners have successfully passed the EHS training that was conducted on site.

We are satisfied with their service”

Manufacturing

“Thanks for your team’s kind support to maintain the cleanliness of our LMM plant during our two important events:

(1) EHS Corporate Audit

(2) EHS Plan Forum Recognition”

Manufacturing

“Thank you very much for giving 100% support and for ensuring we followed and maintained proper social distancing amid the events.”

Manufacturing

“Gratitude for Maclean’s performance and support during our compliance audit held last October. Maclean’s team has made so much effort in order to keep our business running with full compliance. It's a good image that we comply to every legal requirement that was relevant with Maclean’s help. Maimunah has been key player into this Audit weeks.”

Office

“Many thanks to Zura for the last compliance audit which covered compliance in pharmaceuticals.”

Office

“Our management would like to take the opportunity to sincerely thank you for the excellent service provided to our facility especially for the fresh goods department, for maintaining cleanliness as per our standard.”

Hypermarket

“Able to answer questions from Auditor during ISO Audit.”

Office

Understanding Urgency and Providing Personalised Attention

“We would like to extend our greatest appreciation to you and your team for all the hard work going the extra mile ensuring everything is ready for the event. We know there were a quite a bit of last-minute requests, but you guys managed to extend your excellent service and that made a difference definitely. We appreciate your contribution and management also relay their appreciation and gratitude to all the Janitor team. Thank you so much for being good support for this event and hope this good performance can be maintained.”

Manufacturing

“Hope you are doing great. For the past few months Samy Rau has been supervising our Penang location. We are very grateful that he has been showing his interest and helping me to solve a lot of problems. His presence here during the site visit has made us able to voice up regarding most issues directly. Most pending issues have been resolved. We hope that we will make a better team in future.”

Manufacturing

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank Samy and the team, especially Ali Raihan, Sajib Sikdar and all Maclean team members for helping our team on the water leaking issue that happened. Their fast respond to our call during midnight and coming to help us to handle the situation. Keep it up and continue to work together and support our Facilities team.”

Manufacturing

“They are remarkable with their attitudes. The way they go above and beyond to ensure that all our events are presented well, their sense of collaboration and attention to detail is greatly valued.”

Education

“I would like to extend our appreciation for the amazing work done by your team on site especially team leader, Maimunah in supporting several occasions of main event. They have been supportive in terms of logistic, pre-event preparation and on top of that making the event running smoothly.

Please pass my appreciation to Maimunah, Sulaiman, Susilawati and Haipah for their support.”

Office

In addition to the above, we are proud and grateful to receive 2 awards from CBRE:

  • Exceptional Service Award 2022 
  • Best Safety and Covid Response Award 2022

So, try us out and experience the Maclean service first-hand. 

To find out more on how we give you the best value for your budget without compromising your health or safety, please connect with us at 03-7773 0300 or enquire@maclean.com.my.

Feb 2022
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