Smarter Monitoring to Secure Food Safety

Any pest control provider can check traps. That doesn’t mean they’re controlling pests.

“For years, our industry has sold trap checking as a service,” said John Moore, technical director in charge of commercial IPM strategy at FSS Inc., a fumigation and pest management company founded in 1981. “Trap checking is not rodent control. It’s not IPM. It’s not brand protection. It’s a commoditized task.”

Moore joined FSS six years ago with a mandate to modernize its commercial pest management approach. The company had long specialized in fumigation for large agricultural and food manufacturing operations, but Moore saw an opportunity to build something more proactive, strategic and aligned with food safety.

“We made a commitment early on that we were going to be a technology-driven service company, not because technology is flashy, but because it allows us to stop doing low-value work and start doing high-value work,” he said.

That shift led Moore to remote monitoring and ultimately to Skyhawk.

A True Partnership, Not Just a Platform

Moore began working with Skyhawk about three years ago. “The technology matters, and Skyhawk solved a lot of performance issues we’d experienced with other systems,” he said. “But the real reason I chose Skyhawk was the relationship.”

Instead of selling him a finished product, Skyhawk invited Moore into the development process. “We were giving them feedback as they were building,” he said. “We worked together on things like where to mount devices on multi-catch traps so false alerts disappeared. It was constant collaboration.”

That collaboration extended beyond calls and emails.

“[Skyhawk Vice President of Customer Acquisition and Success] Mitch Goldstein came out into the field with us,” Moore said. “He traveled across the country, spent days on sites, saw real problems. That matters.”

Too often, Moore said, technology is built by people who don’t understand how pest management actually works. “I don’t need an engineer to tell me what I need,” he said. “I need a partner who listens.”

Technology as a Service Strategy

Today, FSS has 40,000 to 50,000 smart devices deployed across its customer base. Skyhawk remains Moore’s preferred platform.

“It costs less than systems I’ve used before, performs better and is constantly improving,” he said. “And Skyhawk is just as committed to our success as we are.”

More importantly, remote monitoring has transformed how FSS sells its services. “We don’t sell devices,” Moore said. “We sell a better way to do pest management.”

This includes higher-impact risk reduction, stronger brand protection for food manufacturers and better use of technicians. The net result is a measurable improvement in food safety outcomes.

Moore summarized his partnership with Skyhawk simply. “Skyhawk solved performance problems other systems couldn’t,” he said. “And they work with us, not just for us.”

Moore believes Skyhawk is helping redefine what’s possible in food safety and quality insurance. “We’re finally moving beyond compliance, and that’s where real food safety begins,” he said.