By Pat Hottel It is estimated that in the U.S., about 40 percent of all food produced is wasted. It makes both environmental and economic sense to find alternative uses for our food wastes to reduce this high percentage. For commercial food facilities, this can include repurposing of certain types of food. Food that is [...]
By Jay Everitt With people living longer, the age of retirement increasing and most adults working outside the home, many different generations occupy the workforce today. However, millennials, or those aged 22-37, account for the largest population, or about 35 percent, of U.S. workers. In our business, we have had to make adjustments in the [...]
By Shane McCoy A sign at our Wil-Kil Pest Control Menomonee Falls office reads “Sanitation is Pest Control.” I asked our regional manager why the sign was there, and he said it is intended to be a constant reminder that many pest problems, especially small flies, are because of poor sanitation. Every time someone enters [...]
Photo Credit Rutgers Coop. By Jim Nase One of the ways in which you can change up your current core training and provide your technicians with another tool to be incorporated into your pesticide safety program is the use of fluorescent tracer materials. Fluorescent tracers are used by pesticide safety educators to show workers safe [...]
By Caroline Kirby As younger generations continue to join the workforce, there is increasing pressure to include digital learning within training programs. For years, the use of technology within corporate learning centered around a single platform: the learning management system (LMS). Now, as technology becomes more integrated into the workflow, additional digital learning strategies are [...]
Photo courtesy of Jeff Weir By Jeff Weier One of the first facts I learned when I started my career in the pest management industry was that rats are neophobic and mice are not. The belief was that rats are wary of new objects in their environment while mice are more inquisitive and tend to [...]
By Shane McCoy, ACE If there is one thing we can all agree on in the pest management industry, it’s that managing pest problems in apartment buildings is not easy. Pests thrive in apartment buildings because of easy access to food, water, shelter and the added bonus of adjoining walls and shared utilities. If resources [...]
By Pat Hottel Clients will, and must, play an important role in the success of the pest management program at their food plant. Their assistance is necessary in pest prevention, and it often helps in solving pest problems that occur. Pest prevention starts with proper facility design, and whenever possible, the PMP should be consulted [...]
by Shane McCoy, ACE Documentation has always been an important part of a food-processing facility’s operations, but now the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) mandates documentation be even more organized, detailed and accessible. A food-processing facility’s documentation must produce the following trail of information for auditors and inspectors: Show that a pest management program is [...]
By Bennett Jordan, PH.D., B.C.E. Food plants, pharmaceutical facilities, schools and health-care facilities are the most sensitive accounts we service. These specialized accounts also bring increased expectations of us, the pest management professional (PMP), from our clients, auditors and regulatory bodies. Our responsibilities go beyond traditional pest management, and we must consider how our actions [...]
