NPMA LIBRARY UPDATE
[Trend analysis] combines the history of a location in a way that gives a timeline of pest activity, as well as the severity of the infestation of pest activity.
coding and shapes, with each color or shape representing a different trap, pest, or severity of activity. However, there is no standard form for the presentation of this information. The customer will usually provide guidance to the PMP in the presentation and communication of this information as to their preferences and/or requirements. The idea of “trend” has different meanings to different people and organizations. It has been present-
ed from the auditing community as a whole that a trend is either a single station or device that reaches an established threshold of activity over three consecutive services. This would mean that there is a given location or station that is having consistent pest pressure, and corrective actions must be taken to address that pest activity, breaking the trend. The auditing community has also presented that a trend may be three consecutive or adjacent stations or devices that reach an established threshold of pest activity in the same service. This would show that a large influx of pests is occurring, and that actions must be taken to prevent and/or correct this population from causing damage to the product. While the auditing commu- nity may have significant impact on the operations of our customers, the facility and the pest manage- ment provider ultimately must come to an agreement on the definition of a trend, established action thresholds, and responsibility for assigned corrective actions. Once the trend is established, corrective actions must be established, completed, monitored, and doc-
umented. The threshold will determine at what limit actions are taken and then moved up an escalation process. This threshold could be one, or any given number, but it must be established and held as the standard. Once the threshold is reached, corrective actions need to be taken. The goal of this is to break the trend: not just make the numbers look good, but actually provide treatments that will manifest in lower pest pressure. The NOP also has an escalation process built into it. Each treatment must be imple- mented in a specific order (with approval from the customer and the auditor) that gives each interven- tion time to take effect. If there is not the luxury of time, the auditor must approve any action taken that would be considered a deviation from the established standards. Moving along, this escalation process will consist of a more invasive and dramatic treatment (not unlike the escalation process of GreenPro). Each step is monitored and watched very closely by all parties involved. The involved participants will have a goal in mind with regard to mitigating pests: the facility does want any product contamination, the PMP wants the client’s problem solved, and the auditor wants to ensure compliance with the audited standards. Trend analysis will help guarantee that all of the parties’ goals are being met by monitoring progress and recording interventions. It has become more common for the auditors to review the trend analysis reports and supporting documentation (corrective actions and evaluations) in their audits, to ensure that the standards are being met and the thresholds are not being exceeded. The most important part of the treatment process is the documentation associated with any actions
that are being taken, by any of the involved parties. This documentation will allow for expectations if necessary, or by a lack of the required documentation, which can result in a facility losing its Organic certification or worse (e.g., buying back product where the certification was revoked).
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