When Paul Davis adopts new technology after careful scrutiny and testing, the company counts on that technology to make significant impacts. They expect it to speed project completion, for example. Or improve communications. They count on it to manage costs, advance partnerships or improve customer satisfaction. Rarely does a technology significantly improve all these areas at once. Until Matterport.
“Matterport has been a truly revolutionary addition to the Paul Davis toolbox,” says Jason White, Vice President, Commercial Large Loss at Paul Davis Restoration of Greater Houston, TX. “When Hurricane Laura damaged the First Baptist Church of Sulphur, in Sulphur, Louisiana, this software system speeded up progress. And speed was critical here because the community turned out to be in the crosshairs of more extreme weather.”
The Situation: Paul Davis arrived toward the end of a storm to find nearly three quarters of the church’s roof missing, with rain continuing to fall into much of the structure, flooding the gym, offices, sanctuary and more. Paul Davis mobilized quickly to prevent further damage, begin repairs and prepare for a still active hurricane season that would soon send Hurricane Sally barreling toward the church and its community.
The Process: Working seamlessly with smartphones, Matterport software created a three-dimensional digital rendering of the damaged church. Users could immediately “tour” the rendering virtually, zoom into it, reconfigure it, customize it, publish it and share it. This system precisely documents disaster scenes in extreme detail with abundant data points, as well as generating high-definition photos and schematic floors plans.
The Matterport Difference: “The digital walk-throughs allowed the pastor to communicate with his leadership, and his congregation to get peace of mind and see what’s being done,” says Shawn Finch, Business Development for Paul Davis Restoration of Greater Houston, TX. “These virtual tours also helped the insurance company determine salvageable and non-salvageable items, document them and estimate replacement costs – without needing to physically visit the site.”
The Results: Matterport helped the church leadership and congregation understand the impact, the plans for restoration and the schedule, so they knew what to expect during a very difficult time. “This system also had the related effect of allowing the congregation to think about other priorities. They knew their church was being completely taken care of,” White notes, “so they could focus on helping the broader community recover from the storm damages.” The gym has been completely dried out and returned to service, enabling the church to hold worship services on site again. Restoration continues on the remaining damaged areas.
Need help recovering from a disaster? Paul Davis has the technology and skilled teams to help. Our people promise to be there within four hours of a call for help.
This blog entry was submitted by Paul Davis, our Platinum Corporate Partner. Join us in thanking Paul Davis for their continued support of IAIP.