The Importance of Site Assessments
The Importance of Site Assessments
02/2022 Issue: The Importance of Site Assessments
By: Andrew Fisher
The first step in determining what the right plan of action is, no matter what industry you work in, should always start with an assessment. Without this crucial step, there is no way to determine the following: food safety, food quality, personal health and safety, adverse environmental effects, biosecurity, informational and financial security, and much more. This article will touch base on several aspects in a site assessment that pertain to pest management and why it is an essential step that often gets overlooked.
Why should I conduct a site assessment?
If you’ve ever walked down a dark hallway not being able to see anything, then you know what it’s like to service a new account without conducting a site assessment first. You might have an idea of what lies ahead, but without shedding some light, it could get bumpy fast. While conducting a site assessment, you should be looking for: types of pests/pest pressure, best control strategies, health and safety concerns, aesthetic concerns, legal requirements, and what the economic/action thresholds should be. The answers to these questions will differ depending on the type of account you’re dealing with. For example: a food manufacturing facility will have more strict guidelines and limited types of equipment/applications you may use (intrinsically safe equipment, organic areas, etc) vs. a seed facility with no auditing body and no strict guidelines providing a free range of equipment/applications to use. Without knowing the important site assessment answers, it is impossible to recommend the perfect IPM program. There is no such thing as a cookie-cutter IPM program that fits any model. Instead, an IPM program should be tailor-made for each individual account to achieve the best results.
Breaking down the different aspects of site assessments.
Pests/Pest Pressure: Different facilities will have different structural, sanitation, and staff concerns. Asking crucial questions will help with important decision-making factors. Is the biggest concern stored product pests, rodents, both? Is the facility surrounded by corn fields and have most of their activity during harvest season? Not every facility will have the same pest pressure. It is our job to figure out when, where, and what pests will be a concern.
Best Control Strategies: There are four main types of integrated pest management (IPM) control methods: cultural (crop rotation, use of locally adapted or pest resistant/tolerant varieties, sanitation, manipulating planting/harvest dates to avoid pests), biological (protect, enhance or import natural enemies of pests), mechanical (cultivation, trapping, pest exclusion), and chemical (insect growth regulators, pheromones, biological/chemical pesticides).
Health and Safety Concerns: Serious, even fatal diseases can be spread or carried as reservoirs by pests, making it incredibly important to eliminate any diseases from being transmitted. Some examples of public health problems caused by pests include vector-borne diseases, asthma, allergies, microbial diseases and infections. Other things to consider are less obvious than just getting rid of the pest. What does the facilities sanitation schedule look like? Is there equipment that may create pest harborage? Does the handling of products create a cross-contamination concern? How long does a certain product/commodity sit before getting packaged? Most of these questions will go unanswered or get overlooked because some IPM technicians may not be aware, or it is assumed that it’s solely the facilities job. A good IPM program works synonymously with the facilities safety/FSQR/quality control team.
Aesthetic Concerns: When the appearance of something is degraded, then that prompts an aesthetic concern. For example: bird or rodent droppings on pallets, or defoliation of landscape plants.
Legal Requirements: The type of facility will determine how strict the laws and regulations are. For example, there is virtually no tolerance for mice, rats, flies, cockroaches, or any other pests in food facilities. However, in seed warehouses, building codes and standards may determine what a pest management professional (PMP) can or cannot do to alleviate pest pressure.
Action Threshold: This is a pest or damage level at which control is initiated to avoid significant damage or loss of property.
Economic Threshold: The pest density at which a control tactic must be implemented to avoid an economic loss.
What should I expect from a site assessment conducted by FSS?
A good site/risk assessment has an FSS, Inc. trained and experienced pest management professional (PMP) to evaluate a facility and identify all the potential risks associated. They will begin by identifying the types of pests/pest pressure, best control strategies, health and safety concerns, aesthetic concerns, legal requirements, and what the economic/action thresholds should be. After the assessment, the PMP will create a DynamicIPM program to mitigate the risks that are present and where they are likely to arise in the future. The Dynamic IPM program is designed to provide brand protection and consumer safety and, as such, is dynamic in nature and evolves to meet ever changing risks and challenges. The customer can decide what solutions will bring the most value to their business. The PMP will help identify every risk and solution, not just those with immediate concern. Depending on the type of facility and the facility needs, a site/risk assessment will be conducted on a yearly basis. This keeps our action plans up-to-date and ensures that the most effective IPM plan is being implemented.