WEC QA Registration

• You will be provided materials on how to conduct WEC.
• Successful participants will be promoted to industry:
  • Your business contact details can be listed on the WormBoss Service Providers page.
  • ParaBoss will conduct ongoing promotion of the collective ParaBoss-endorsed participants.
  • ParaBoss regularly responds to requests for WEC services by directing people to the WEC service providers page.
  • You will receive branding to use on your promotional materials to promote your successful participation.

If unsuccessful, you will be provided with suggestions on what may have gone wrong and where to seek additional training or assistance.

• One registration is completed for a single business where the samples are all sent to the one location.
• Where one business requires samples to go to multiple locations, separate registrations must be completed for each location.
• Note: cost depends on the number of operators (see costs below).

• The program operates on a user pays basis for the participating laboratories and operators, but with fees set as low as possible by ParaBoss to cover all operational costs.
• The program development costs were funded by AWI, MLA and UNE.
• Your cost is calculated on your location, the number of operators, plus the number of sample sets required.
• As with many laboratory QA programs, ParaBoss accreditation and endorsement is valid for one year.

WEC QA fees

Example 1:

Business with 2 operators in NSW
First   set of samples: $350
2 operators: 2 x $20 = $40
Total = $390

Example 2:

Business with 6 operators:
First set of samples: $300
Extra set of samples: $30
6 operators: 6 x $20 = $120
Total = $450

The number of sets depends on how many people you can gather to count at the same time.

Once a sample is mixed with salt solution it must be counted immediately (within about 45 minutes).

You must consider the logistics of having all of your staff present at the same time and not interrupted by other duties.

One set can be used by 5 people IF THEY ARE ALL AVAILABLE at the same time.

This may not be possible at your location.

Obviously, where there is only one person doing WECS, it will be just that one person.

But in businesses where a number of staff conduct WECs for customers and clients, then every person in that business who does worm egg counting should participate.

The program accredits a business, so it is no point only your "best" operators participating, but then letting your "other staff" provide WEC services to customers/clients.

Each operator attracts only a $20 fee.

Each of the 13 samples provided will be mixed (one at a time) by a single participant in the team. Ensure you all agree how it should be done.

From the mixed solution for each sample, up to 5 people can each take an aliquot from it and do their own count. This should be repeated by all operators for all 13 samples.

Each operator must start at the aliquotting stage and prepare their own slide for each sample.

This is time consuming and where there are more than 3 staff, the logistics need to be carefully managed so all operators complete counts for one sample within about 45 minutes. This can be harder than you think, especially if staff are being interrupted (such as in an on-call vet clinic).

It is not acceptable to prepare one slide for each sample and then a number of people count that single slide —it is obvious when this has been done.

As close as possible to your own process!

While the principles of conducting a worm egg count are the same across laboratories, there are many slight differences from laboratory to laboratory and between operators at the same laboratory, from the equipment that is used, to how you stir a sample.

These differences, if not carefully managed, can result in counts that are not accurate or precise, and this is what we test in the program.

You will likely need to modify your process a little just at the initial stage to accommodate our samples, but thereafter you should follow your normal process.

What is the difference?

We provide uniform sets of 13 samples to 50 laboratories. To greatly reduce variation we cannot use field samples that have the worm eggs throughout the faeces.

Each sample is in a small plastic container and contains 2 grams of worm-free faeces, onto which we have pipetted 3 ml of one of the varied concentration egg solutions.

This means that you must use the entire sample provided, not a subsample.

During transit, the egg solution will have run around inside the container and eggs could be on the container sides and inside the lid, not in the faeces.

Therefore, your first step will be to recover all the eggs from the container and combine them with all of the faeces.

From here you can transfer/wash the solution into your own container and then complete the dilution and mixing process, then continue with your normal steps.

Once a business registers there will be resources to allow you to review your own processes, and which explain everything that is involved.

* Delivery time depends on the Australia Post parcel services.

When freight times are normal all parcels have arrived by Friday when sent on Monday. Samples arriving the following Monday have also been shown to be suitable.

Unfortunately, freight times are out of our control.