T-CERT Macedonia

TUV NORD Bulgaria has become the only company in the territory of N. Macedonia with auditors authorised by the CEPA Organisation to carry out audits according to EN ISO 16636 for pest management (Pest Management)

EN ISO 16636 Pest Management

The standard EN 16636: 2015 "Pest management services. Requirements and competences", is the reference standard for companies in the pest control sector.

The regulatory evolution due to the application of the European Regulation on "biocides" and the new provisions for rodent control, together with the greater sensitivity on the part of companies requesting this type of service, have contributed to the evolution of the simple "pest control" service. intended as the elimination of pests into genuine pest management.

In the food sector, the emergence of voluntary standards such as BRC, IFS, FSSC 22000 has required a new approach to "pest control"; in fact, operators in the sector are required to have a high standard of service by defining specific requirements for carrying out pest control applied to transformation processes and production environments.

At European level, the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA) and its associates have actively cooperated in the development of the EN 16636 standard. A competitive advantage for operators joining this programme, since they can demonstrate their professionalism and the level of service offered, as well as being registered in an international database. TÜV NORD Bulgaria can provide the certification service according to the CEPA Certified protocol.

The key points of the standard

The standard takes into account all aspects and all phases in the delivery of the services:

• first contact with the client,
• design of the service delivery method,
• budgeting,
• actual management and monitoring of pests (pest control or rodent control), arriving at an evaluation of the effectiveness of the interventions and, if necessary, a new design of the service,
• competences of the personnel involved, whether it be a technical manager, an operator, a sales person or an administrative officer.

Advantages

Adopting the pest management service management system enables companies to:

• create and operationalise a pest monitoring management system, providing an ad-hoc service designed for clients on the basis of an assessment of each client's specific risks;
• create tools to ensure that pest control is carried out in accordance with the legislation in force, thereby reducing the risk of affecting non-target species of the interventions;
• demonstrate compliance with the restrictions imposed by legislation and the requirements of the standard;
• transparently communicate the results of the activity to its clients and give useful advice in order to reduce or eliminate the associated risk.

Certification process

The main phases of the certification process include:

• Certification Audit: aims to assess and evaluate the organisation's compliance with the requirements of the standard and, in the case of a positive outcome, the issuing of the certificate
• the (annual) surveillance visits which aim to confirm compliance with the standard and continual improvement