How to organize chaos
Television cameras vividly capture the havoc of disasters, and then document the heroic efforts to rebuild what was lost. Often overlooked is the grinding work by debris recovery firms such as Phillips & Jordan Inc. to clear away the grim reminders of catastrophe. Someone has to pick up the pieces. “For the past 20 years, Phillips & Jordan has been involved in some of the most prolific events this country has had the misfortune to experience,” said Ben R. Turner, president, in a recent Harvard talk. “We have had the pleasure or misfortune of being at the center of strategic planning and execution of the debris recovery mission for all of them.” For two decades, the Knoxville, Tenn., company has responded to nearly every major disaster in the United States, from Hurricane Andrew in 1992, to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, to the Alabama and Joplin tornadoes of 2011. Turner and the company’s...