A glycol leak paralyzed three floors of a performing arts company. Without repairs within 30 days, the client would lose their entire international sales season. Several contractors refused. Bélisle presented a transparent plan with costs and steps, deployed three rotating teams working around the clock on three floors simultaneously, and delivered the service a week ahead of schedule. The insurer avoided a revenue loss claim. The relationship of trust was strengthened.
Type of claim: Glycol leak affecting 3 floors of a commercial building
Sector: Commercial (entertainment company)
Extent: 3 floors including ceilings (30 feet), walls, and floors
Claim value: Several hundred thousand dollars
Critical deadline: 30 days (delivered in 23)
Stake: Loss of an entire season’s revenue if the deadline is not met
Context
A glycol leak in the ceiling of a commercial building is affecting three floors of an entertainment company: ceilings (30 feet high), walls, and floors are all impacted. Operations are completely paralyzed. The loss amounts to several hundred thousand dollars.
The situation is critical: in 30 days, international buyers are coming to see the shows to plan their purchases for the season. If the venue is not ready, the client will lose all of their sales for the year. Several contractors refused the job, deeming the deadlines impossible to meet.
The stakeholders: insurer, claims adjuster, insurance company appraiser, client (entertainment company) and its employees, contracted engineers, and the Bélisle team.
The real problem
For the claims adjuster, this case has an exceptional financial dimension. If the work isn’t completed on time, the client loses their entire sales season. This loss of revenue becomes an additional claim that the insurer will have to absorb—on top of the reconstruction costs.
The risk isn’t just not delivering on time. It’s having incurred expenses for accelerated work without preventing the loss of revenue. The insurer needs a credible plan before committing.
The pressure
The most critical moment: the initial approval. The client and the insurer want to understand the process. They don’t just want to hear that it’s feasible. Bélisle presents a precise plan: methods, resources, steps, and associated costs. Everyone can assess the risk before committing.
Once approval is granted, work begins the same day. Every day lost at the start is a day impossible to make up at the end of the project.
The intervention
The key decision: to work around the clock with three rotating teams on day, evening, and night shifts on all three floors simultaneously. What other contractors saw as impossible becomes feasible with the resources mobilized urgently and hourly planning. It is thanks to this surgical precision that the deadlines will be met.
The 30-foot ceilings require high-reach platforms. From day one, Bélisle contacts the engineers to validate the permissible load on each floor and secures equipment rentals in parallel with the initial demolition work. This ensures that no days are lost waiting for approval.
Several trades work simultaneously on each floor: demolition, decontamination, drywall installation, taping, and electrical work. The teams work closely together without interruption. The client’s employees need access to the premises, and this access is coordinated without impacting the construction site.
A daily report is provided each morning, summarizing the past 24 hours and outlining the day’s objectives. The claims adjuster has complete, real-time visibility at every stage.
Unforeseen events
During the project, some team members had to be replaced. These adjustments were absorbed without impacting the schedule. Thanks to a network of specialized labor that can be mobilized in an emergency, Bélisle is able to maintain the pace.
Without this rapid replacement capability, a single prolonged shutdown could have jeopardized the delivery and triggered the revenue loss claim that everyone was trying to avoid. The Result
Result
Delivery: 23 days, one week ahead of the required 30-day deadline
Shows: Presented internationally as planned
Revenue loss avoided: Yes, for both the client and the insurer
Progress Report: Daily throughout the project
Long-term impact: Strengthened and lasting relationship of trust with the insurer
“Since this case, this insurer has shown us great respect and trust.”
— Mathieu Bélisle, President