How Controlling Spills Can Save Your Business Half A Million Dollars

Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity throughout the year. With climate change altering our environments this water scarcity is bound to enhance, making it all the more important to preserve and protect our water sources for years to come. On this episode of the Building Management Podcast, we were joined by John Deming, founder of Safe Drain Storm Water Holdings Inc. to discuss the dangers of catastrophic spills in the workplace, and how these costly and dangerous spills can be avoided.

Deming’s Safe Drain innovation was born from a simple question: “What can we do for the environment?” When a single spill of one gallon of oil can contaminate up to a million gallons of water, the room for negligence and accident spills are slim.

So what causes these spills and who is making them? From a lack of preparedness, complacency, or simply just human error, spills can happen in any workplace no matter how safe. Deming encourages companies to be proactive, to not wait until an accident is at their doorstep.

“It only takes a little bit of prevention,” he said, recommending companies to audit themselves and identify risks before they become accidents.

But when these policies and procedures fail, Safe Drain is the last line of defense before harmful chemicals or pollutants come in contact with the water supply.

“You can open and close a SafeDrain in seconds,” Deming said, which can mean the difference between paying $500,000 in fines and clean up fees, or having a contained and controlled spill.

Some companies balk at the idea of investing in preventative measures like Safe Drain, but it only takes one harmful spill to eat a hole in profits, and harm millions of gallons of water. Deming encourages companies to not just comply with regulations, but do what’s right for the environment.