The First Facility Management Blog

On February 2, the Institution Recycling Network (IRN) shipped its first container of relief supplies to Haiti. The 15,000 pound load included 120 mattresses from Brown University, medical supplies from New England Baptist Hospital, and more than 2,500 liters of bottled water from Max’s Blues Café in Brockton, MA. The supplies were shipped from IRN’s Everett, MA warehouse through the Port of Newark, NJ, and will arrive in Haiti by February 12.

IRN helped these contributors navigate the complicated logistics of moving supplies through the relief pipeline. IRN has long standing relationships with several of the most active relief organizations in Haiti’s recovery, and is able to match contributed furnishings and supplies with agencies that can place them immediately where they are desperately needed. In this case, the shipment is being handled by longtime IRN partner Food for the Poor, which has been on the ground in Haiti for many years.

With port facilities damaged and dozens of organizations competing for limited transportation resources, making this match is the most crucial challenge in Haiti’s recovery effort.

There’s a pattern to recovery initiatives, according to Mark Berry, IRN’s Surplus Program Manager. “In the first weeks the recovery focuses on supplies for survival and stabilization: food, water, shelter, medicine, and medical supplies. Then gradually there will be a shift to supplies for reconstruction, including building materials, furnishings, school and medical equipment. IRN’s role is to help both contributors and our relief partners match the flow into Haiti with the immediate needs on the ground.”

IRN is able to match large and small quantities of surplus. The February 2 load was made up of materials from three different contributors. That’s typical for loads shipped from IRN’s Everett warehouse, where IRN collects small quantities of usable surplus from generators throughout New England. When it has enough to fill one or more containers, IRN reaches out to a network of nonprofit partners, who slot the materials into their relief needs.

Larger quantities of surplus, one or more full containers, are loaded directly from the contributor’s site. IRN arranges labor or works with the generator’s staff to assure that containers are packed full and tight to maximize value and minimize damage in transit. IRN matches the surplus with the most appropriate recipients, and handles the paperwork and connections to get the loads overseas.

“The Haiti earthquake puts a spotlight on the relief community,” says IRN’s Berry. “The fact is that the need for surplus relief supplies is permanent and overwhelming. Even now we can’t promise that every load will go to Haiti. What we can promise is that every load will go where it’s needed desperately by some of the world’s most disadvantaged people.”

Richard P. Weiland, Chief Executive Officer of the International Code Council, has issued the following statement regarding the Haiti earthquake and the necessity of using stronger codes in the rebuilding effort.

“On behalf of our members and our organization, we extend support and prayers to the people of Haiti, and for the efforts underway to respond to the devastating impacts of the earthquake. In particular we are thinking of our colleagues in the building safety community, as they develop strategies to rebuild from this incredible devastation.

“As Haiti moves in the coming days and weeks from the challenges of immediate response to those of short-term and long-term recovery, we encourage the smart application of proven seismic safety principles to rebuild Port-au-Prince and other Haitian communities. We know that damage, fatalities, and injuries from earthquakes can be reduced by code adoption and enforcement. Effective codes, such as the International Codes enforced throughout earthquake-prone areas in the U.S., require certain design and construction approaches that acknowledge hazards and the risks they pose. The many members of the Code Council who work in seismically active regions know firsthand the value of these codes and the techniques to ensure their effective enforcement. While building to newer codes may result in slight increases in construction costs, studies show that every dollar spent on building safer and stronger prevents four to seven dollars in future losses.

“We stand ready to support the efforts of the U.S. State Department and other federal agencies, along with the United Nations and other international relief organizations, to make sure that Haiti is rebuilt in a manner that creates disaster resilience. The seismic provisions of the International Codes are regularly updated to reflect the latest knowledge about earthquake dynamics and building behavior, and can function as an important tool in the Haitian recovery effort. We can provide written materials, subject-matter expertise, and professional development to ensure a safer and more sustainable Haiti.

“The events in Haiti once again teach us that any effort involving rebuilding should require construction that utilizes the best available information on codes and code enforcement. Events of similar magnitude result in different impacts based on how a nation and community approach their management of the built environment. Our codes are intended to protect people inside buildings by preventing collapse and allowing for safe evacuation. Structures built to the most modern codes should resist minor earthquakes without suffering damage and ride out severe earthquakes without collapsing.”

The International Code Council is a non-profit, membership organization composed of code officials ranging from building inspectors to fire suppression officials, along with architects, engineers, developers and building owners, and others involved in the building safety community. The Code Council develops model codes which have been adopted in all 50 states and are either adapted or used as resources around the world including nations in the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, and the Middle East. The family of International Codes includes specific sections addressing natural hazards, which are regularly updated in coordination with U.S. federal agencies and reflecting current data and field experience.