Passing a Survey Is Not the Same as Controlling Risk

For many healthcare facilities, survey readiness has become the unofficial benchmark for success in water management.

If the survey goes well, the program must be working. If there are no findings, risk must be under control.

But passing a survey and controlling Legionella risk are not the same thing.

At Legionella Specialties, we work with facilities that have strong teams, good intentions, and recent survey success. Yet many of those same facilities still experience recurring water quality issues, inconsistent control measures, or unexpected positive results.

The gap is not effort. It is how risk is managed between surveys.

Surveys measure documentation. Risk lives in daily operations.

Surveys are designed to evaluate whether required elements are in place. They review plans, policies, logs, and corrective action records.

Legionella risk does not care about binders, folders, or checklists. It lives in:

• Temperature drift

• Disinfectant decay

• Stagnation in low use areas

• Construction tie ins

• Missed monitoring

• Delayed responses

A program can look complete on paper and still allow risk to persist quietly in the system.

The danger of “survey driven” water management

When water safety programs are built primarily around passing surveys, several things tend to happen.

1. Monitoring becomes performative

Readings are taken because they are required, not because they are being actively evaluated.

When values drift but do not trigger action, monitoring becomes a checkbox instead of a control.

2. Corrective actions are reactive, not defined

Many facilities wait until an abnormal result occurs to decide what to do next.

By then, time has already been lost.

Effective programs define corrective actions in advance, so responses are immediate, consistent, and documented.

3. Risk is reviewed periodically, not continuously

Surveys happen every few years. Water systems operate every day.

If risk is only reviewed during formal assessments or committee meetings, opportunities for early intervention are missed.

4. Success is measured by outcomes, not trends

A negative result today does not mean the system is stable.

Trends matter. Repeated near misses matter. Small fluctuations matter.

Programs that focus only on outcomes miss the early signals that lead to larger failures.

What controlling risk actually looks like

Facilities that truly control Legionella risk treat water management like any other patient safety function.

That means:

• Clear control limits with assigned ownership

• Monitoring that triggers action, not just documentation

• Predefined corrective actions

• Verification that actions worked

• Continuous review and improvement

The question shifts from “Will this pass a survey?” to “Is the system under control today?”

Where Legionella Specialties fits in

At Legionella Specialties, we help facilities move beyond survey readiness and toward operational control.

We focus on:

• Identifying where real risk lives in the system

• Defining control limits that actually drive action

• Building response workflows teams can execute consistently

• Creating documentation that tells the full story, not just part of it

• Validating that control measures are working between surveys

Passing a survey is important. Controlling risk is essential.

If your water management program feels solid on paper but fragile in practice, it may be time for a deeper look.

Reach out to Legionella Specialties to review your program and strengthen control before risk becomes reality.