On this episode of Ask The Expert, we’re joined by Ben Doebler, Founder and President of AccuGuard Environmental and Mark Davis, CEO and Chairman of PuroClean and Co-CEO of Signal Restoration Services. They discuss how The Mobile Lab™ is changing Environmental Testing for not just restoration professionals, but everyone involved in the claim’s ecosystem. 

Key topics of discussion include:

• AccuGuard came to life after Ben and his team experienced a poorly executed $600 asbestos test that was performed by a technician in flip-flops who grabbed a drywall sample and left, and it wasn’t a sample, it was an actual physical piece of the drywall itself. Ben knew that environmental testing could be done in a more professional manner and that the turnaround times could be cut down substantially.
• The restoration industry suffers from costly bottlenecks. On average environmental testing costs an estimated $500/day split between carriers (ALE, ~$200–$300/day) and contractors (equipment, labor, fuel, admin burden). This adds up quickly to roughly $1,000–$1,500 per claim.
• With AccuGuard, their AHERA-certified analysts arrive, photograph and survey the site, collect samples professionally (sealing sites, HEPA vacuuming, in proper PPE and uniform), complete a chain-of-custody, then analyze samples on-board using PLM microscopy and deliver results in roughly 90 minutes vs. the industry-standard 2–3 days.
• Ben had already beta-tested AccuGuard for roughly 18 months in his market and secured relationships with a top-5 carrier and two top-3 TPAs before he ever took the idea to Mark Davis.
• With same-day results it helps eliminate scheduling limbo for contractors, reduces ALE costs for carriers, and accelerates the project timeline for property.
• One job that particularly stands out to Ben is when a major university's football stadium laundry facility caught fire, his team deployed, pulled onto the field, gathered their samples, and returned negative results within one hour. This allowed the crew to get to work immediately.
• In the next five years, Mark shares that he believes mobile testing will shift from a differentiator to an industry standard. In addition, he believes there will be lobbying efforts that will open remaining states that currently restrict it. This will be driven by irrefutable data showing reduced severity, lower ALE, and better outcomes for every individual/party in the claim’s ecosystem.