“It’s something that is vitally important to all of the Ball facilities, and especially to us here at Richmond.”
As part of its clean practices protocol, since 1986 the Richmond plant Ball has maintained a close working relationship with Orkin PCO Services Inc., Atlanta, Ga.-headquartered pest control specialists with more than 400 worldwide locations serving over 1.7 million customers in the global food-and-beverage, foodservice, hospitality, healthcare, retail, warehousing, property management, school and institutional industries.
“We don’t look at this type of service as being guilty by association, as we have always run a very clean manufacturing facility,” Friend asserts. “But it has only been enhanced by us following Orkin’s seven-stage protection program.”
Comprising facility inspection, facility layout analysis, pest identification, sanitation consultation, treatment strategies, and an ongoing monitoring and maintenance steps, the Orkin IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program provides perfect support to the Richmond’s plant stringent HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) workplace environment, according to Friend.
“The ongoing monitoring and maintenance program supplied by Orkin is what makes the IPM such a success,” reveals Friend.
“This part includes an accurate reporting of any pest sightings by our staff and proper documentation for our clients and regulatory agencies,” he says, adding that strict adherence to the IPM has enabled the plant to remain pest-free without the use of any potentially harmful and toxic pesticides.
Some of the specific IPM measures implemented at the Richmond plant include maintaining a 100-percent vegetation-free area at least two feet away from the building’s exterior walls; positioning UV (ultraviolet) light traps near all doors and shipping/receiving docks; and the placement of bait traps on either side of every door in the building.
The Richmond facility has achieved such impressive pest-control performance, Friend relates, that the plant was a 2008 recipient of the Gold Medal award in annual, Orkin-sponsored IPM Partners competition, whose past Canadian Gold Medal winners include Danone, Inc., H.J. Heinz Company and Red Zoo Marketing.
While Friend says the Richmond plant is flattered by the recognition, it is by no means a reason to relax its vigilance in the area of pest control.
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