When a Dental Lab Flooded, We Were On It

On arriving at work recently, employees of a dental lab in Wisconsin were alarmed at what they saw. The entire floor was flooded, and water had drenched much of their equipment.

The cause? A plumber working in the space above them had broken a pipe, causing a major leak.

The result? 64 pieces of equipment were affected by water damage and the lab claimed they needed to be replaced.

The solution? The claims adjuster called TechLoss.

Our engineers drove up to Wisconsin immediately to do an inspection. Fifteen of the pieces of equipment were unsalvageable and needed to be replaced. But the rest could be restored to pre-loss condition — 3D milling machines, polishing lathes, 3D scanners and more.

After determining that there was no corrosion or electrical arcing, we transported the 49 items to our facility in suburban Chicago. Now our team is at work following these steps:

1) Inventory everything and photo-document it to record the equipment’s pre-restoration condition.

2) Disassemble each piece down to the equipment frame and inspect it more closely. Our engineers’ highly specialized knowledge of electronics restoration enables them to immediately assess what is needed.

3) Clean the equipment. This is done with special techniques and detergents authorized by Department of Energy standards.

4) Identify a factory authorized vendor to test the equipment and certify that it meets FDA regulations for use.

If this sounds time-consuming, it is. It can take 3-4 hours just to take an item apart. But cleaning and recertifying electronic equipment is most often faster than an insured purchasing new equipment.

In this case, our client’s payout will be lower and the dental lab will be back up and running sooner. Everybody wins!