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Tip Sheet: Don't Ignore The Food Protection Business
1 Oct, 2007 By: Greg Baumann Pest Management ProfessionalFood plant accounts are reserved for the best of technicians. The food industry, at nearly $1 trillion in annual sales in the United States alone, is required to keep its facilities and food pest-free.
Servicing a food plant is really a "specialist's specialty." Nowhere are we more visible, and nowhere is so much at stake for both our industry and the food industry. Let's take a look at four tips for servicing food plants.
1. Look the Part
We hear about this all of the time, but we are still scrutinized by our appearance when we arrive at a plant. Uniforms must be clean, and all plant rules must be followed. This includes Current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs). If an effective hair restraint in the plant means a hair shroud, then it must be worn. Also, any potential contaminants in unsecured pockets must be removed.
One plant dealt with a situation where a contractor (not a pest management technician) leaned over a large vegetable grinding bin. His eyeglasses accidentally dropped into the bin and were pulverized into 20,000 pounds of powdered product. That shut down production in that area for three days. That is every technician's nightmare, and you and your company don't need that type of publicity.
2. Inspect, Inspect, Inspect
Inspection should occupy the majority of time spent in a plant. Most people have a tendency to look down when inspecting, but look up as well. Think in 3-D to find potential pest pressures. Don't hesitate to ask for access to the roof. Insects can get pulled into heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems from the roof and end up in the product.
When inspecting, mix it up. Follow the flow of product one time; start in warehousing the next time. Turn to the right to inspect one time; turn to the left the next time. It's amazing how much more you will observe if you don't fall into a set routine. After strong inspections, the pest management part follows rather easily.
Having a problem with a persistent night flying pest? Try driving around the plant after hours and look for doors that are propped open by the employees after plant managers have gone home. You will observe how some plants take on a whole new culture after hours.
3. Attention: Management
Owners and managers can learn much about the account by going to the job site with the technician periodically. Make sure that the work done in the plant is what was sold. See whether the technician is representing the company the way it should be represented.
Technicians move routes, get promoted and shift to other company responsibilities, so the owner or manager is the constant contact in the process. Such a relationship will help you keep the account for many years.
4. Industry Standards
Last, but perhaps most important, follow the National Pest Management Association's (NPMA's) Pest Management Standards for Food Plants. The 2008 version is being released at PestWorld 2007 in Orlando, Fla., this month. Audit groups are embracing applicable parts of the standards.
Each October, the revisions will be released for the upcoming year. For further information, visit www.npmatesting.com.
By paying attention to this important share of the market, companies whose focus is on food plant accounts will continue to show value as protecting the world's food supply. After all, protection of food is one of the most visible roles of our industry has, and it's one that should be highlighted more often for consumers.
(See Hometown Heroes to see a project that emphasized our industry's role in food-supply protection.)
Baumann, Pest Management Professional's Tip Sheet columnist, is vice president (and former technical director) for the NPMA. You can reach him at 919-846-2771, or e-mail him at
gbaumann@pestworld.org.
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