Food Safety Audits: the preparatory process
A case study
In late 2014, Global Distribution & Warehousing, a Mississauga based contract warehouse, decided to become certified through BRC (British Retail Council) under the GFSI quality umbrella. The move was completely proactive, as no existing customer mandated formal certification. Global’s objectives in the venture were to display its commitment to quality for existing customers, and to attract business under that niche in the storage and distribution market. The following discusses the process and Global’s experiences in attaining the BBRC certification.
Paul Kurrat, CCLP, Director of Operations at Global Distribution & Warehousing, Logistics and Supply Chain, details the process of preparing to be audited toward a food grade certification under GFSI, namely the BRC certification.
The end result, achieved in August 2015 does allow the facility to store food grade materials (but not food).
According to Kurrat, the process was onerous.
Paul Kurrat, CCLP, Director of Operations at Global Distribution & Warehousing, Logistics and Supply Chain, details the process of preparing to be audited toward a food grade certification under GFSI, namely the BRC certification.
The end result, achieved in August 2015 does allow the facility to store food grade materials (but not food).
According to Kurrat, the process was onerous.
Group/management buy-in:
“The process started with discussions and consensus on why, when and how we would proceed. Without a basic plan and without full management commitment, the project would fail.
As consumers we recognize that need and application of quality standards to products. Nowhere is that more important than in the food industry, and by food industry, we mean anything that comes in contact with something that we eat or drink, including packaging and machinery. In order to remain sustainable, and in order to maintain a brand, firms are moving to achieve formal certification. They are also calling on supply chain partners to maintain suitable standards for their portion of a products movement from producer to consumer. Suitable standards may not always mean a mandate to certification,” he said.
“The process started with discussions and consensus on why, when and how we would proceed. Without a basic plan and without full management commitment, the project would fail.
As consumers we recognize that need and application of quality standards to products. Nowhere is that more important than in the food industry, and by food industry, we mean anything that comes in contact with something that we eat or drink, including packaging and machinery. In order to remain sustainable, and in order to maintain a brand, firms are moving to achieve formal certification. They are also calling on supply chain partners to maintain suitable standards for their portion of a products movement from producer to consumer. Suitable standards may not always mean a mandate to certification,” he said.
Networking our intentions:
“I knew some colleagues directly in the food business. They were certified through various bodies for different food grade areas. They passed me to their quality people, who in turn listened to our proposal and gave us great ideas for how we should pursue the designation and what we should expect during the process and the inspections.”
“I knew some colleagues directly in the food business. They were certified through various bodies for different food grade areas. They passed me to their quality people, who in turn listened to our proposal and gave us great ideas for how we should pursue the designation and what we should expect during the process and the inspections.”
Pre-audit:
“In order to benchmark where our existing processes stood, we had the facility pre-audited by an outside firm. It gave us a solid footing on where we had to dedicate more of our resources.”
“In order to benchmark where our existing processes stood, we had the facility pre-audited by an outside firm. It gave us a solid footing on where we had to dedicate more of our resources.”
Core competence:
“Our only experience in inspections was from customer audits of our facility. We had no experience in preparing ourselves for a formal process. We chose to use a consultant to help us. It was one of our best decisions in the process. Make sure that the consultant is fluent in the specific designation that you are pursuing,” said Kurrat.
Day 1: Assemble a team. This should include someone from IT, a senior manager in operations and operations supervision. This project cannot be done by one person. First of all, the formal audit will mandate a team; secondly, you don’t have time to prepare for this on your own. Assign key responsibilities to the team members, and set timelines for project work.
“From that point, we entered into a process that combined meetings, changing procedures, writing procedures and focusing on the physical conditions on the building and the ability to comply with a higher standard of quality.”
“Our only experience in inspections was from customer audits of our facility. We had no experience in preparing ourselves for a formal process. We chose to use a consultant to help us. It was one of our best decisions in the process. Make sure that the consultant is fluent in the specific designation that you are pursuing,” said Kurrat.
Day 1: Assemble a team. This should include someone from IT, a senior manager in operations and operations supervision. This project cannot be done by one person. First of all, the formal audit will mandate a team; secondly, you don’t have time to prepare for this on your own. Assign key responsibilities to the team members, and set timelines for project work.
“From that point, we entered into a process that combined meetings, changing procedures, writing procedures and focusing on the physical conditions on the building and the ability to comply with a higher standard of quality.”
Processes and progress:
“We began with meetings with the quality team to address scope of work.
We compared existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to what was required per the BRC standards for storage and distribution.
We held bi-weekly status updates with the team, with our warehouse staff and with the owner. From that we re-assessed our progress and made adjustments to the completion schedule.
Once we had a critical mass of newly written SOPs, we began to administer them to the warehouse staff. During that time, we also discussed why we were doing what we were, so that we could get buy in to the new quality standard.”
The many procedures, standards and reporting measures were collated into a binder. That binder was divided into the sections that corresponded with the BRC audit questions.
“We performed a mock audit with our consultant. It gave us a final demonstration of how we stood in preparation for the real audit, and we corrected any shortcomings accordingly.”
It’s difficult to describe seven months’ work into a few paragraphs. Achieving BRC certification requires a strong commitment from senior management, both in money and in human resources. It must involve all staff at all levels to garner buy-in, and it must include training everyone involved to the new standards and procedures that will maintain a quality based workplace,”Kurrat noted.
Global Distribution and Warehousing was certified as meeting the BRC Global Food Safety Initiative in August of 2015.
“We began with meetings with the quality team to address scope of work.
We compared existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to what was required per the BRC standards for storage and distribution.
We held bi-weekly status updates with the team, with our warehouse staff and with the owner. From that we re-assessed our progress and made adjustments to the completion schedule.
Once we had a critical mass of newly written SOPs, we began to administer them to the warehouse staff. During that time, we also discussed why we were doing what we were, so that we could get buy in to the new quality standard.”
The many procedures, standards and reporting measures were collated into a binder. That binder was divided into the sections that corresponded with the BRC audit questions.
“We performed a mock audit with our consultant. It gave us a final demonstration of how we stood in preparation for the real audit, and we corrected any shortcomings accordingly.”
It’s difficult to describe seven months’ work into a few paragraphs. Achieving BRC certification requires a strong commitment from senior management, both in money and in human resources. It must involve all staff at all levels to garner buy-in, and it must include training everyone involved to the new standards and procedures that will maintain a quality based workplace,”Kurrat noted.
Global Distribution and Warehousing was certified as meeting the BRC Global Food Safety Initiative in August of 2015.
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