Different FOD Control Areas

Many organizations have adopted the three levels of FOD control approach. These three areas are FOD Awareness Area, FOD Control Area, and FOD Critical Zone. Although this technique was put together with the best of intentions, it only serves to convolute a FOD Program. The reason is simple, if you make everything a FOD area then nothing is a FOD area. What this means is, if you make FOD control everywhere, then employees tend to be less vigilant when they are in a critical area. The critical nature of FOD control is lost because everywhere is now FOD controlled.

Keep a FOD Program simple. When someone enters an FCA that is when they need to be vigilant. These different zones only water down FOD control. When someone enters a FOD controlled area they should know. When they leave, they should know. There is no reason to have varying degrees of FOD control. It is either an FCA or it is not.

If the three levels of FOD approach is working for your organization, then keep it, but bear in mind that this concept is convoluting and may be detrimental to an organizations FOD Program. The responsibility of finding what works best for an organizations FOD Program is the FOD Managers.