Pest control used to mean a technician, a clipboard and a service slip. For a food, beverage or pharmaceutical facility, that is no longer enough. Certification bodies and retailer auditors expect your pest programme to produce evidence: mapped stations, dated readings, trend analysis, corrective actions and legal documents, all retrievable in minutes. A pest management platform is how you get there. Choosing the wrong one, however, simply digitises the same gaps.
This guide sets out what a platform should do and ten questions to ask in any demo, including ours. It draws on how we run myASConline, the platform built in-house by ASC Pest Control, and on what auditors look for under BRCGS, FSSC 22000 and SANS 10049.
Key takeaways
- A pest management platform is only as good as the audit pack it can produce on demand.
- Insist on station-level records, trend analysis with thresholds and a corrective action log, not just visit reports.
- Ask every vendor the same ten questions, and ask to see the answers live, not on slides.
What a pest management platform should actually do
Strip away the dashboards and a platform has six jobs: capture every service visit and reading at station level; keep the site map current; analyse activity over time; track each finding to a documented close-out; hold the chemical register, safety data sheets and operator certificates; and compile all of it into an auditor-ready pack. If a demo skips any of the six, you have found the gap.
10 questions to ask in every demo
Can it generate a complete audit pack on demand?
Why it matters: Ask to see it done live. Your auditor will not wait while someone assembles PDFs.
How myASConline answers: myASConline compiles the risk assessment, station map, 12 months of records, trend graphs, SDS files and PCO certificates into one document in one click.
Is every record captured at station level?
Why it matters: Evidence is only as good as its detail. A visit note saying “all OK” will not satisfy a certification body.
How myASConline answers: Every visit and reading is logged digitally against mapped monitoring points.
Does it show trends, not just records?
Why it matters: Auditors expect pest data to be analysed, with thresholds that trigger action.
How myASConline answers: myASConline shows activity trends per zone, so corrective action can start before an audit finds the problem.
How are corrective actions tracked to close-out?
Why it matters: A finding with no root cause and no close-out is the classic non-conformance.
How myASConline answers: The corrective action log is part of the audit pack, from finding to documented close-out.
Does it hold the chemical register and safety data?
Why it matters: In South Africa, products must be registered under Act 36 of 1947, and the file must prove it.
How myASConline answers: The chemical register, SDS files and L-numbers sit in the same pack.
Are operator registrations and certificates on file?
Why it matters: Certificates that live in a drawer are certificates you cannot show.
How myASConline answers: PCO registration certificates are included in the audit pack. ASC is a SAPCA member (ASC797).
Can group managers see every site from one login?
Why it matters: Multi-site operations need one standard, not a different folder per factory.
How myASConline answers: Multi-site dashboards let group quality managers see every facility and region from a single login.
Who owns the data, and can you take it with you?
Why it matters: Ask this of every vendor. The answer should be clear and in writing.
How myASConline answers: Ask us in the demo; we would rather you hear the answer from a specialist than read a promise on a web page.
Was it built by people who audit?
Why it matters: A platform designed around the audit reads the way an auditor reads.
How myASConline answers: ASC Pest Control is owned by ASC Food Safety Consultants, accredited auditors and HACCP specialists, and myASConline was built in-house around one demand: audit evidence in one click.
What does it cost, and what is included?
Why it matters: Platforms sold as add-ons can double the real price of a contract.
How myASConline answers: myASConline is included on every ASC commercial contract at no extra cost.
Red flags to watch for
- Slides instead of software. If the vendor cannot generate a pack live, assume it takes hours.
- Reports without trends. A list of visits is not analysis.
- No link to the law. Records that never mention registered products or operator registration are incomplete in South Africa.
- Per-site or per-user surcharges that surface after you sign.
- A platform built by people who have never been audited. It will show; the pack will not read the way an auditor reads.
See myASConline for yourself
The fastest way to compare is to watch it work. Book a demo and a specialist will walk you through the platform using your sector and certification scheme, online or at your facility, including an audit pack generated live. Book a myASConline demo, or, if you are already a client, open the web Hub or get the Android app.
Frequently asked questions
What should a pest management platform include for a food facility?
At minimum: a station map, digital service records, trend analysis with thresholds, a corrective action log, a chemical register with safety data sheets and Act 36 of 1947 references, and operator registration certificates, all exportable as one audit pack.
How long should a pest management platform demo take?
Long enough to see an audit pack generated from real-looking data, a trend view and a corrective action close-out. Ask the vendor to show those three things live rather than slides.
Does ASC Pest Control offer a demo of myASConline?
Yes. ASC arranges demos online or on-site, built around your sector and certification scheme, such as BRCGS, FSSC 22000, SANS 10049 or Regulation R638. Book one at ascpestcontrol.co.za/#demo.
