Quality Control and Conflict Of Interest In The Restoration Industry
By Sanjay Gupta, Marketing Director
On May 4th, 2015, we published an article: Is Quality Control A Conflict of Interest?.
This article seems to have touched a nerve with some of our readers.
On January 27th, 2016, Kristine Davison Allcroft, PhD, the Inbound Marketing Specialist of the PuroClean franchise servicing counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey wrote an article in response to our CEO, Michael Pinto’s original article:
OP ED: Ethical Mold Remediation and Third Party Testing
The team at Wonder Makers encourages open debate about industry issues.
Below is Michael’s response to Dr. Allcroft.
I am appreciative that Kristine Allcroft, PhD from PuroClean Emergency Recovery Services reached out to me to share a response to one of my articles. The true measure of a vital industry is open and honest discussion about industry practices. However, I am concerned that some of my main points were mischaracterized.
The thrust of the response seems to indicate that I am not in favor of third party testing for mold remediation. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are many situations where an objective look at the quality of the work should be done by someone who is not directly involved in the project. Nevertheless, the focus on third party testing can be detrimental to the mold remediation industry in a number of ways.
One of my biggest concerns is that the industry in North America has not come close to settling on a basic endpoint for mold remediation projects which represents a consensus opinion on appropriate cleanliness levels. As such, every third party consultant is left to their own devices to determine what is an appropriate end for a mold remediation project. In an effort to improve the contractors overall performance, I am a strong proponent of them conducting some form of post-remediation inspection and sampling that is consistent from project to project. Only in this way will they be able to truly gauge the performance of their various crews, processes, and equipment.
A second concern is that there is a wide variation in the size and scope of mold remediation projects. Without the benefit of a national or state standard that the third party is measuring, does it really make sense to spend the resources for an independent look at the project? That is why I used a medical analogy in my original article to suggest that honest, trained, professionals can do investigation and remediation properly without always having to rely on a third party. While the OpEd piece went to some considerable length to talk about the number of people involved with a tumor, they made the assumption that all of those various steps in the healing process were conducted by independent third parties. The reality is that many of the medical communities have found it to be most helpful to the patient to have those services that she listed as independent checks and balances captured within the same organization. In essence, she is making my point that internal quality control is more important than a third party.
Reality is that there is a place in every industry where third party verification makes sense. Mandating it for every project may not make sense for mold given the multitude of situations where cost, availability of the services, and expected outcomes all have to be balanced. To that end I stand by my primary assertion that you cannot legislate or regulate honesty. I would also go further and argue with the statement made in the OpEd that you can “legislate ethical behavior”. Dishonest, unethical people will find a way to circumvent the best intended rules.
Dr. Allcroft and the team at Wonder Makers look forward to your comments. Please comment below. 🙂
Letter to the Editor in Response to a Posting Entitled "Ethical Mold Remediation and Third Party Testing"
Posted by Remediation for Sensitized Individuals on Friday, February 12, 2016
Quality Control and Conflict Of Interest In #Mold Remediation! https://t.co/1UCJvSuLyM PLEASE RETWEET pic.twitter.com/tukCdIUiGP
— Mold Sensitized (@moldsensitized) February 12, 2016