The calendar tells us spring is officially arriving this month and that the end of first quarter is upon us. For quality assurance managers the end of the first quarter also means it is time to prepare for the quarterly review with their pest management service provider.
Food industry professionals should not dread these reviews like a trip to the principal’s office but rather view them as an opportunity to make sure the pest management programs within their facility are working and if corrective actions need to be taken, they are being done promptly.
What do QA managers need to do to prepare for their quarterly reviews? The Sprague Pest Experts have conducted hundreds of these reviews and encourage clients to keep these key points in mind:
Keep Good Documentation – Accurate and detailed documentation is the only way to verify that the proper pest management processes are being done, when they are being done and what methods are being used to achieve them. If you do not have the proper documentation assembled you leave your facility vulnerable to an auditor’s questions and risk receiving a poor audit score. The Sprague Pest Experts will go over your documentation during your quarterly review and let you if something is missing.
Types of Documentation – What documentation is needed for your program review and, more importantly, an audit? Key documents include:
- An overview of the pest program in place, who is responsible for doing what and what pests are being targeted.
- Service reports listing details on each service visit including date, time and what service was provided.
- Pesticide usage logs detailing what products were used, where and when they were used, the active ingredient and what type of pests were targeted.
- Maps/layouts of where pest control devices are located; keeping these updated is important.
- Pest sighting logs that your staff uses whenever they see a pest within the facility; be sure to include the time, date and location of the sighting.
Review Pest Trend Data – With data from pest sighting logs and reports your pest management provider will help you identify pest trends in your facility that require corrective action.
Discuss Corrective Actions – When your pest management service provider makes a recommendation for corrective action it should be noted in a corrective action report. The details of what actions were prescribed and, more importantly, when the corrective actions were taken, should be listed. Following up on corrective actions is a major element in any third-party audit.