Inspection Basics

The ISPM-15 Standards require monthly inspections of all facilities that manufacture wood packaging materials (WPM) used to ship products overseas by an agency accredited by the American Lumber Standards Committee.
NOTE: Our inspectors conduct heat treat inspections only.

During the monthly inspection, our inspectors will:

1. Check in with the facility representative, review records, and inspect heat treated lumber and WPM.

2. Periodically review and update facility’s Process Manual to ensure that contact information, plant processes, facility map, standards and regulations are up-to-date.

3. Periodically inventory facility’s stamps, brands and stencils and designated storage area. Remove and replace “worn” stamps, brands and stencils as needed.

4. Review kiln charts for every load of lumber and WPM heat treated by the facility to ensure that it reached a core temperature of 140 degrees F for at least 30 consecutive minutes*.

5. Review records of the amount of lumber used to produce heat treated lumber and WPM. Each facility has two options when purchasing lumber:

6. Inspect kiln (if applicable) for properly maintained probes and heat treating procedures. Each probe must be sealed properly using a non-heat conducting substance.

7. Inspect designated storage area to ensure that heat treated lumber and WPM is kept separately from untreated products.

8. Inspect a representative sample of heat treated lumber and WPM to ensure compliance with all applicable heat treat standards and regulations. These items will be specifically checked by our inspectors: