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Validation and Verification
If there are no clear and defensible records documenting that something
was done, then it is as if that something was not done. Commercial conflict
of interest allegations are hard to defend against unless provisions are made
to establish a defensible claim of independence.
Validation is evidence that the right things have been done. Verification
is confirmation that things have been done right. Validation and verification
is defensible only to the extent that it is demonstrably independent of
commercial conflicts of interest that so often drive choices for water
treatment chemicals and/or devices used in building water systems.
Effective program implementation with independent validation and
verification provides the best defense against an allegation of negligence.
Validation
Validation is evidence that hazards have been controlled in the building
water system. It is evidence that the right things have been done. It is Quality
Control. For building water systems, validation is typically established from
three sources of test results:
1. Testing at sentinel points in the facility to measure the physical/
chemical parameters that control microorganisms in the system (for
instance, the chlorine residuals measured at a distal tap or the water
temperature at a showerhead).
2. Testing to detect the presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria such
as
Legionella
3. Disease surveillance (have their been any disease cases associated
with the building?)
