The Technician Flow Chart provides restoration and cleaning technicians with a structured visual decision-making guide for responding to water damage and restoration events from initial attendance through to project completion. The flow chart maps the sequence of decisions and actions that must be taken at each stage of a job, ensuring that no critical step is missed and that each decision is made in the correct order. This course explains how to read and apply the flow chart, what each decision point requires, and how the flow chart connects to the IICRC S500 standard and Australian WHS requirements.
HOW TO USE THE TECHNICIAN FLOW CHART
The flow chart is a decision tree — at each node, you assess a specific condition and follow the path that corresponds to the outcome of that assessment. Unlike a checklist, which confirms steps are complete, a flow chart guides real-time decision-making based on what you find on site.
The flow chart begins at the point of initial attendance and follows the technician through: initial safety assessment, water source identification and isolation, water category determination, damage extent assessment, restorability determination for affected materials, equipment deployment decision, monitoring schedule establishment, and completion verification. At each decision point, the flow chart specifies the criteria for taking each path and what action or assessment follows.
INITIAL SAFETY ASSESSMENT — THE FIRST DECISION POINT
Before touching anything on a water damage site, assess safety. The flow chart directs the technician through: confirm electrical systems are safe or isolated before entering water-affected areas, assess structural integrity of floors and ceilings before applying load or walking on them, identify any chemical hazards from the water source (industrial buildings, garages, laundries), and confirm whether Category 2 or Category 3 contamination requires PPE before entry.
If any safety assessment fails — electricity cannot be confirmed safe, structure is compromised, or Category 3 contamination is present without required PPE — the flow chart directs the technician to resolve the safety condition before proceeding.
CATEGORY AND CLASS DETERMINATION
Following safety clearance, the flow chart guides the category determination: is the water source clean (Category 1), grey (Category 2), or contaminated/sewage-affected (Category 3)? The category determination directs the restorability assessment for affected materials and the PPE requirements for the job. The flow chart then guides the class of loss assessment, directing the equipment density calculation and the monitoring schedule.
RESTORABILITY DECISIONS
For each affected material type, the flow chart specifies the decision criteria for restoration versus removal and replacement. For carpet: Category 3 — remove and replace.
Category 1 or 2 — assess duration of saturation and construction type. For plasterboard: if wet for less than 24 hours and no mould — may be retained and dried.
If wet more than 48 hours or mould present — remove. The flow chart provides consistent decision criteria that do not vary between technicians, ensuring that restorability decisions are made consistently and can be justified to clients and insurers.
COMPLETION AND HANDOVER
The flow chart concludes with the completion verification path: final moisture readings at all monitoring points, comparison to reference readings, confirmation of dry standard, completion documentation production, and client handover. The flow chart prevents premature close-out by requiring documented dry standard achievement at every monitoring point before completion is declared.
