FOOD, POOLS & LODGING SERVICES SECTION
FIELD OPERATIONS UNIT
Supervisors:
Blake Nordin – North Field Operations
Wendy Spanier – South Field Operations
2008 to Present
• Management analysis
- decrease staff to supervisor ratio
- suggested restructuring
• Fee increase
- approved by the Governor
- passed by the legislature
Current Structure
Field Operations
• 48 staff in the north and south field operations
• 43 are registered sanitarians/environmental health specialists
• 16 are currently FDA standardized
• Average territory size – 255 establishments
2009-2010 Self - Assessment
Areas identified for improvement:
• Frequency
• Employee illness awareness
• Complaint tracking
• Consistent enforcement
• Report writing
Inspection Frequency
• Prior to 2008 – more than 2,000 establishments were past
due at any given time, territories were unmanageable
• Hiring additional staff, refocusing priorities on statutory
requirements
• ACES data base enables us to continuously monitor
frequency
Current MDH Frequency For All Program Areas
Employee Illness Awareness
• Increased emphasis by management
• Employee training
• Handouts
Complaint Tracking
Complaint Tracking
• Centralized database of complaints received
• Built into licensing database
• Track complaint resolution
Consistent Enforcement
• Follow-up inspections
• Development of an enforcement grid
• Training on the use of the grid and ongoing one-on-one
field training
• Training on the 10-day letter and administrative penalty
orders (APO) process
Inspection Report Writing
• Accurate citations
• Compliance dates
• Clear comments
• Risk Based Inspections
• Employee Illness, Bare-hand contact, CFM self-inspections
Ongoing Monitoring
• More accountability
• Data base makes it easy to identify areas that need
improvement
• Report reviews at staff meetings and on an individual
basis