September 2022 Resource Rambler

Not “Just a Lab.” We’re Your Partner.

One thing we are most proud of at ARA is our commitment to customer care. Our clients often say that they love having a partner like ARA on their projects, because of our dedication to providing the best possible experience for them, no matter how mundane or complex the job.

Here are a few examples of how little things we do at ARA can make a big difference on your projects:

Oops Wrong Box! A customer sent in a VOC project, with the VOC Groundwater Method checked off on the Chain of Custody (CoC) form. The login staff thought that the sample IDs were more indicative of residential addresses, and historically this customer’s samples had always been run by drinking water methods. Following the hunch, we called the client and confirmed that he had accidentally checked the wrong box on his CoC. This catch helped the customer identify a discrepancy on the front end of his sample submittal, and made for smooth sailing through the lab and final reporting.

A Blast from the Past. Some job sites are quite complex, involving various project managers, samples, parameters, and matrices over a long period of time, and at no regular frequency. While other labs might just follow the CoC instructions and run the samples, the analysts at ARA have developed the habit checking project history in our LIMS system prior to analyzing samples on these types of projects. This extra step takes a little extra effort, but has saved our customers time, money and stress on many occasions. One example of this was the customer who submitted an aqueous sample for chlorophyll-a when his project history indicated that he always ran additional analyses on his samples. A quick call confirmed that he did indeed need his usual full panel of tests, and he was extremely grateful for the catch on our end.

No Testing Needed. A customer called in about suspected asbestos in her attic. Whenever possible, prior to booking a visit, our Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) staff will ask the customer a series of questions in order to assess how we can best help them within their time and budget constraints. We were the third firm called. The first company agreed to come out to her home the next day, with payment required up front for inspection and lab fees. The second firm gave her a quote to do both the inspection and asbestos remediation, which some don’t realize is a big conflict of interest in the IAQ industry.

When ARA’s IAQ Manager spoke to the customer, he learned that her insulation contained vermiculite, which unbeknownst to her, is assumed to contain asbestos. Not only did she not need to test the material, she was also entitled to a rebate for the remediation, saving her about $4,000. Neither of the other companies had shared this information with her. This client didn’t need to hire ARA after all, but the referrals we gain by standing by our commitments to reliability, trust, communication, and honesty will always be worth so much more.

FMI about the asbestos abatement rebate program check out our Blog Post on this topic.

Safety Surge

ARA has always been committed to keeping employees, customers, and contractors safe, but there has been a recent surge of safety-related activity throughout our facility, thanks to the dedication of our awesome Safety Committee.

ARA’s Safety Committee has implemented plans for both additional equipment and educational opportunities to enhance our safety program throughout the year. Here are a few examples:

This spring, staff members participated in fire extinguisher deployment training.
This summer, we received Active Shooter Response training from the Portsmouth Police Department.
As a result of these trainings, security upgrades have been made at ARA to further improve emergency preparedness.
We have expanded and improved our PPE inventory, with new chemical resistant aprons and face shields, and additional extra length gloves.
Chemical storage cabinets were replaced as needed.
Convex mirrors were installed to facilitate safer flow of foot traffic.

ARA staff members also participated in OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week initiative last month, as a way to continue to energize our safety program. OSHA’s Safe + Sound Week is a nationwide initiative held each August that recognizes the successes of workplace health and safety programs, and offers support and ideas for keeping America’s workers safe. For our part in this year’s event, ARA participated in both the Eyes on Safety Challenge and the Take 3 in 30 Challenge. The three new actions ARA has undertaken for the 30 day challenge are as follows:

ARA staff members will be reading two works related to safe culture in the workplace (A. Edmundson’s “The Fearless Organization” and D. Coyle’s “The Culture Code”)
In a dedicated focus on mental health awareness in the workplace, various confidential & supportive resources have been made available to staff in the event that they should need support of this type.
We are re-evaluating our chemical and waste labeling and storage systems and will make upgrades accordingly.

Of course, we will continue to keep a critical eye on all things safety related at ARA well beyond the completion of this year’s Safe + Sound Week activities. Maintaining a physically and mentally safe workplace is not just a commitment to our team, it is a commitment to you, our customers, as we strive to maintain the level of service and excellence that you have come to appreciate and expect from us over the years. To learn more about what goes into implementing a Safety Program at an Environmental Lab, read our Blog Post on this topic.

Did You Know? ARA Provides Services to the Medical / Healthcare Industry

Maintaining a safe, sterile environment is crucial to all healthcare providers. ARA provides IAQ assessments, routine testing & other IAQ services to many healthcare facilities in New England:

WAG
OSHA requires semi-annual testing for Waste Anesthetic Gases (WAG) in medical facilities. ARA can assess your facility for Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) and Threshold Limit Value (TLV) exceedances for a variety of anesthetics gases.
Legionella
Legionella contamination in healthcare environments is a very serious concern. To have your facility evaluated or put on a regular testing program for legionella & other concerns, give us a call.
Other IAQ Issues
To learn more about how our certified IAQ Team helps Medical Facility Managers keep employees, customers, and patients safe, click here.

3 Weddings and a Baby!

Our ARA Family is growing and we have much to celebrate this Fall! We are thrilled to extend warmest congratulations to Erik, Alison, and Sarah B, who will all be tying the knot in the coming weeks, and to Tori and her partner Connor, who are expecting their first baby any day now! Congrats to all!