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Batzner Pest Management, Inc.'s 2006 Strategy
Strategic Approach
Batzner Pest Management is a solutions based service organization that customizes pest management services provided by expert technicians to meet customer needs. Over ten years ago, we implemented our Balanced As Nature (B.A.N.) System™ of pest management, built around our IPM-focused Five Steps to Elimination™. We continue this initiative through on-going education for current staff (most technicians averaging a minimum of 50 hours of training per year, many also having completed Purdue University Pest Control Technology, Food Plant Pest Management, or Pest Management Advanced Level correspondence courses) and a rigorous month long training program for new staff.
Pest management is a science, and thus each of us in pest management is a scientist-practitioner. Our strategic approach is to use the scientific method to further two goals. First, we will identify services we provide where we can reduce pesticide usage. Second, we will identify new products and protocols that will allow us to reduce pesticide usage or move to reduced-risk products.
We recognize that performing additional service calls for an account often results in additional product usage. We are putting together a three year study to identify which services produce the majority of additional service calls. The we will focus training, protocol modification, and product usage modifications on reducing additional service calls for the services identified.
Second, reducing pesticide usage or using reduced-risk products can be achieved through selecting the best products and protocols. We will statistically analyse the number of additional services performed using alternative products and protocols to determine how we can provide the most effective service with the most environmentally conscious applications.
Activities for the Coming Year
Activity 1
Reducing Additional Service Calls: Methodology
First, in 2006 we will tabulate origins of additional service calls by pest
and by technician. By the end of the year, we should be able to analyse our
data and interview technicians to determine which services produce the majority
of additional service calls and the reasons for these additional service calls.
In 2007, we will be able to focus training, service protocol modifications,
and product usage modifications to the specific services we target. We will
continue to tabulate the additional service calls and compare to 2006. Due
to the seasonal nature of our business, we may not see significant results
until 2008.
How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?
There is a direct correlation between additional service calls and additional product usage, thus reducing additional service calls will reduce pesticide usage and pesticide risk.
How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?
Once we have identified specific services that produce the majority of additional service calls, we will tabulate the number of additional service calls between 2006, 2007, and 2008 and statistically analyse the data to see if a significant reduction in additional service calls for these services is achieved.
Activity 2
New Product and Protocol Selection: Methodology
First, we will need to determine which technicians are interested in trialling
new products and protocols. The ideal technician will have multiple years
of experience and will have a territory that has more than an occasional need
for the services these product or protocol changes address. Then we will identify
areas within each territory where we can generate data on additional service
calls. We will determine which of these areas will use the new products or
protocols and which will use the old. In some cases, if a new product or protocol
provides substantially better results, it may be implemented company-wide
without a formal data analysis.
How does this activity reduce pesticide risk?
Proper product selection will result in reduced additional service calls and reduced pesticide usage.
How will you measure the risk reduction gained from this activity?
We will analyse the number of additional service calls, per technician involved in the study, by treatment performed. It is important that we look at variation in additional service calls by individual technicians so that our data does not become diluted by inter-technician variation. Products or protocols that reduce additional service calls can then be unrolled to the entire company.