New information from Department of Pesticide Regulation in regards to applying to Agriculture Continuing Education hours, click here.

I wanted to send a shout out to all those districts who participated in the Inaugural PCOC Day of Giving this past month. As a lot of you already know, the opportunity to assist those in need in your respective communities is important. Many of you have been helping out in your communities for a long time so this is nothing new. What this special month allows for is people to recognize what PCOC is and what it  stands for.  As an industry that protects people, property and our food supply on a daily basis we have a lot to be proud of. It is my hope to build on this year’s activity and to make this bigger and better in the coming years. 

Chris Reardon
PCOC's Executive Vice President

PCOC Golf Tournament – December 7, 2017
Escena Golf Club, Palm Springs, CA
Click here for the Golf/Sponsor Registration Form

Board of Directors Meeting – December 8-9, 2017
Hilton Palm Springs, Palm Springs,California
Click here to make your hotel reservations ***Please note that the room block for our group is SOLD OUT. There may still be rooms available, but the price will be up to the hotel. 

Pest Ed 2018 – January 16 & 18, 2018
Southern California - Quiet Cannon, Montebello, California – January 16, 2018
Northern California – Scottish Rite Center, Sacramento, California – January 18, 2018
Click here for the PEST ED Registration Form
Would you like to sponsor Pest Ed?? Click here for the sponsorship form

Legislative Days & Board of Directors Meeting – April 16-18, 2018
Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sacramento, CA
Information to Follow

PCOC 2018 Expo – June 20-22, 2018
Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel & Casino, South Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Exhibitor Registration Form
Attendee Registration Form
**Please note that the hotel reservation information will not be released until your registration has been received and full payment has been made. 

Allergy Technologies’ western states representative, Tom Nishimura, comes with a wealth of experience within the pest control industry, having spent 29 years at BASF, most recently in Market Development, holding the title of Global Technical Training Manager. 

Nishimura is well-known for working in highly scientific environments while having the ability to present findings in an innovative, clear and easily understood way to end-users. He is well respected in the industry for both his lab and field research including seven years working for DuPont in Field Research and Product Development.  

Nishimura said, “I am excited to work with Allergy Technologies and their talented team. Bed bugs are a pest that has intrigued me over the years. ActiveGuard has a unique fit in perfecting both active remediation and preventive strategies, and I look forward to working in the field alongside pest professionals to watch this product perform.” 

To find out more about Allergy Technologies/ActiveGuard®, please click here.

You can reach Tom at tom.nishimura@allergytechnologies.com or by cell at (360) 567-7617.

Tom Nishimura
Western Representative
Allergy Technologies/ActiveGuard®
tom.nishimura@allergytechnologies.com
Cell Phone Number: (360) 567-7617

Ergonomics Myth Buster

Do exercise balls and treadmill desks really improve posture and help people get the periodic physical exercise they need? Not according to experts quoted in a recent Business Insurance article.

“We’d love to believe that a $30 (stability) ball will replace a $750 task chair, but it doesn’t,” according to Tom Hilgen, Charlotte, North Carolina-based senior vice president and ergonomics practice leader at Willis North America Inc. To be ergonomic a chair needs to be adjustable, not just roll around on the floor.

Physical therapists and fitness coaches often recommend these solutions but they can expose workers to musculoskeletal disorders, says Hilgen. To use your keyboard without stressing your back, either the desk or the chair has to be adjusted to the proper height. Getting a desk that can be raised or lowered can cost more than an ergonomically designed chair.

Another problem with exercise balls is that “most workers don’t have the core strength to maintain the necessary balance and posture to use [it],” says Rachel Michael, Midway, Utah-based senior consultant at Aon Risk Solutions. Exercise balls were developed in “response to the obesity epidemic.”  Thus, experts like Ms. Michael say that exercise balls should be banned from the workplace altogether!

Ms. Michael doesn’t recommend treadmill desks either, citing an instance where a woman filed a claim because she was injured on a treadmill while wearing high heels. Treadmill desks, she says, should be used only for short intervals of 15 to 30 minutes — while wearing “reasonable shoes.”

The key here is to engage an ergonomics expert to assess your employees’ realistic needs. “Realistic” is the watchword as you do not want to fall prey to trendy feel-good solutions that are ultimately ineffective.

For tips on ergonomics—challenges and solutions, please contact the PCOC Insurance Program department of EPIC at (877) 860-7378 or, email us @ ProPest@epicbrokers.com.  Also check out our website: www.pcocinsurance.com.

Paul Lindsay
Senior Vice President 
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our members!! 

There has been a lot of action this month taken at both the governor’s office, as well as the Structural Pest Control Board (SPCB). A few bills that were sponsored by the SPCB that got signed by the governor are AB 593 (Gloria), AB 1590 (Chen), and SB 800. 

• AB 593 (Gloria): This bill extended the structural fume enforcement for another five years to 01-01-2023. This is an extension of the current fumigation enforcement in LA, Orange, San Diego and Santa Clara counties. 
• AB 1590 (Chen): This bill extends the time that the SPCB has to deal with a consumer complaint from 12 months to 18 months. This bill enhances the ability for the SPCB to protect consumers against fraudulent pest control operators.
• SB 800: This bill takes effect on 01-01-2018 and is a broad bill covering many aspects of the Department of Consumer Affairs. There is a section in this bill that allows pest control companies to remove a licensee that has dissociated with them from their listing on the SPCB website. That means that when a person who is no longer employed at a pest control operation, the company can remove them from the SPCB website. This is a huge victory for the industry, as industry has been asking for this for years from the SPCB.

There have also been some regulatory changes as well. California Code of Regulations Title 16 Section 1914 has been amended to state that if a company has been surrendered to the SPCB, that name and phone number are no longer allowed to be used in the future. Sections 1993.2, 1993.3 and 1993.4 have clarified the definitions of an in-ground termite bait station and how they can be used. It is recommended that those code sections be looked up for further clarification if needed.

The SPCB has also recently taken action on the updating of continuing education in regards to IPM. Changes to section 1950 and 1953 will be coming in the future. Please keep an eye for what these changes are. These changes will be sent to the Department of Consumer Affairs for review before any action is taken. Take a look at the materials for the most recent SPCB meeting for details as to how these regulations will change. These will go through many steps before they are enacted. So, if you would like to submit comments on them, keep an eye out for when that comment period is open so you can make your voice heard if you have any issue with these changes.

Darren Van Steenwyk, BCE
LEED Green Associate
Technical Director
Clark Pest Control 
PCOC Legislative Committee Chair
SPCB Vice President
darrenv@clarkpest.com

ATTENTION ALL OPERATORS, FIELD REPS AND APPLICATORS:

Division 19, Title 16, California Code of Regulations has been amended to add Section 1960 and now requires all licensees due to expire on June 30, 2016, or after, who have never been fingerprinted, to complete the fingerprint (Livescan) process as a condition of renewal. Please click here to see the full notice and the form needed. PLEASE NOTE: LICENSING WILL BE CONSIDERED EXPIRED IF THE PROCESS IS NOT COMPLETED.

QualityPro Manager Training exclusively available for free to QualityPro certified companies

Great managers make for a great company! QualityPro is excited to announce the first ever, supervisor training specific for pest management professionals. The interactive QualityPro Manager Training, an animated course with a completion certificate, is now part of the set of valuable resources exclusively available to certified companies at www.qualityprotools.org/manager-training.

Click here for more information

NPMA Benefits

As a member of PCOC, you’ve got the benefits of a full NPMA membership in your corner. There are many benefits to membership, and we’re listing 10 of them here:

• Targeted education • Keeping your workforce’s continuing education requirements to maintain licenses can feel like a herculean task. Let us help you with our specialized educational tools.
• Free human resource counseling • The human dimensions of doing business often aren’t easy to balance. As a member, you have access to complimentary human resource counseling as part of your membership.
• Employee recruitment tools • When you’re looking to recruit qualified Pest Management Professionals or other staffers, put our expertise to work for you. We have the tools to help you bring in just the right people.
• Fleet management • Whether your company is running one route, two routes, or many more, you depend on your vehicles to get the job done. Your membership gives you access to tools that can make that task easier.
• Royalty-free professional pest pictures at no charge • Don’t worry about getting the right pest photographs for your company’s website or promotional publications. As a member, you can put our professionally photographed pest library to work for you.
• Background screening • Hiring the right people can be expensive and time-consuming. NPMA is an industry leader with its QualityPro certification program, which requires a background-checked workforce for compliance. Let us help you screen your prospective employees.
• Collection services • You can’t run a business without getting paid, and most of your accounts honor that responsibility. For those who don’t, we can help you recover what you’re owed.
• NPMA community website • Digitally collaborate with other NPMA members. Post and share your questions and get the answers you need.
• Online training • Pest management is an evolving science, with new breakthroughs happening all the time. New regulatory requirements also can be complicated and hard to stay on top of. We’ve got tools that can help you.
• NPMA health insurance exchange • Now small and mid-size PMP companies can enjoy the same benefit options accorded to larger firms, with cafeteria-style choices rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Beginning in October 2017, the NPMA health insurance exchange is available for you to find the right products to meet your company’s health insurance needs.

With NPMA membership and benefits accessible when you join PCOC, you’ll have a wealth of advantages at your fingertips.

*NEW* NPMA LOGIN FOR JOINT MEMBERSHIP

LOGIN: Email or Personal ID

PASSWORD: npma

Frequently Asked For Websites

Department of Fish & Game
https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/

Department of Food & Agriculture
www.cdfa.ca.gov

California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)
www.cdpr.ca.gov

DPR on Facebook
www.facebook.com/capesticideregulation

DPR on YouTube (see "playlists" for videos pertaining to new surface water regulations)
www.youtube.com/user/californiapesticides

DPR on Twitter
twitter.com/ca_pesticides

DPR LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/company/california-department-of-pesticide-regulation

Healthy Schools Act
http://apps.cdpr.ca.gov/schoolipm/

Structural Pest Control Board
www.pestboard.ca.gov

Find Your Legislator
www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html