A Scientific Approach to Identify Pests
For more than 10 years, Orkin has partnered with a leading pharmaceutical company specializing in injectable medicines. Orkin helps support the company’s commitment to the health and safety of consumers and employees by implementing a proactive Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program in each of its facilities, totaling nearly 150,000 square feet.
Overseeing each aspect of the manufacturing process, including pest management, allows the company to guarantee the purity and composition of all its products. To learn more about their pest management program, we spoke with their Senior Manager of Engineering and Maintenance. Below is an edited transcript of that interview.
Why is pest management so important to your business?
In pharmaceutical manufacturing, proper pest management is a requirement. Orkin helps ensure the purity of our products by making sure contaminants caused by pests aren’t introduced. We are audited frequently by regulatory agencies and hold ourselves to the highest standards. Pest control is always a big part of our audit process, so it’s crucial that we can pull records online and discuss and assess our pest management program at any time.
What aspects of Orkin’s service are the most important to you?
Orkin’s scientific approach helps us tremendously when it comes to pest identification. We need to know the root cause of any pest threat. Orkin is able to quickly and correctly identify the pest species and potential introduction point in order to find the most effective solution. It’s not uncommon for pests to hitch a ride on incoming shipments. That’s why we thoroughly inspect shipments before accepting them. In one scenario, Orkin identified a beetle native to another region. As a result, we were able to notify the supplier of the issue and have them inspect the shipment on their end as well. Locating the source of pests makes all the difference in establishing solutions and best practices that work for us.
What sets Orkin apart from other pest control companies?
The data Orkin collects is a key distinguishing feature from the competition. It not only keeps us audit-ready, but measures and communicates the effectiveness of our pest management program. Before Orkin, we struggled with flying insects outside. That’s not an issue anymore after Orkin introduced changes to our IPM program. I’m able to access the data and trends directly to show the quality of our program and make changes instantly if a problem arises.