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Polin

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Posted 28 March 2016 - 12:05 PM

hello everyone! 

 

I am Quality Manager (a year now, with no relevant experience :wacko: ) in a site of converting flexible food packaging. We printing, laminating and slittering films of Polypropylene, Polyester etc. We have PRPs and no CCPs.

Based on our Personnel Training procedure, each employee has a personal training card, where reported the skills and qualifications and each training that the employee attending. Ιn the case of a group training, Quality Manager report in a training card the participant names with their signs and the subject and trainer of the course (group training card). All training cards are kept as a record indefinitely. In annual base the Quality Manager evaluate personnel training level with multiple choice questionnaires. By the annual management review is decided the training needs and is exported the training programme of the year.

  1. In your opinion, is our documentation process ok ? 
  2. Except from those that mentioned on paragraph 6.1.4 of BRC/IoP Issue 5, is anything else that should a training card (personal or group) includes ? 
  3. Which should be the basic topics of our annual training (except from those on pgr 6.1.2), for the existing staff (no temporary employees) ?
  4. What kind of training should we undertake to our contractors  and in what way ????

 

  :headhurts: Any relevant example is welcome !!!!

 

PS. I found in a previous post a very usefull training shedule matrix, by user WyldIce! 

 

Thank you in advance for your help !!!  :helpplease:

Polin



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QAGB

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Posted 31 March 2016 - 01:45 PM

 

hello everyone! 

 

I am Quality Manager (a year now, with no relevant experience :wacko: ) in a site of converting flexible food packaging. We printing, laminating and slittering films of Polypropylene, Polyester etc. We have PRPs and no CCPs.

Based on our Personnel Training procedure, each employee has a personal training card, where reported the skills and qualifications and each training that the employee attending. Ιn the case of a group training, Quality Manager report in a training card the participant names with their signs and the subject and trainer of the course (group training card). All training cards are kept as a record indefinitely. In annual base the Quality Manager evaluate personnel training level with multiple choice questionnaires. By the annual management review is decided the training needs and is exported the training programme of the year.

  1. In your opinion, is our documentation process ok ? 
  2. Except from those that mentioned on paragraph 6.1.4 of BRC/IoP Issue 5, is anything else that should a training card (personal or group) includes ? 
  3. Which should be the basic topics of our annual training (except from those on pgr 6.1.2), for the existing staff (no temporary employees) ?
  4. What kind of training should we undertake to our contractors  and in what way ????

 

  :headhurts: Any relevant example is welcome !!!!

 

PS. I found in a previous post a very usefull training shedule matrix, by user WyldIce! 

 

Thank you in advance for your help !!!  :helpplease:

Polin

 

 

Hi Polin,

 

I'd say your training system is great. It's similar to what we do for individual job training. I like the fact that you are using questionnaires annually to evaluate personnel. This appears more related to job specific training than food safety training; so I will comment based on job specific training.

 

 

Questionnaires might be a little difficult if you are a larger company though, and perhaps evaluation could also be based on performance records for the year. Some of the questions could include: Has the employee been the subject of complaints? Any non-conformances due to lack of experience in the area? Was the employee required to have re-training due to non-conformances? I'd also think that production performances should be done by the employee supervisors, and not so much the QA Manager unless you work directly with production.

 

In regard to your 4th question, you can give contractors a document they must read and sign when they sign-in to carry out their services, and make the contracting company sign an agreement listing all of your necessary GMP and contractor policies prior to beginning any work.

 

Questions 2 & 3 are better answered by someone with more experience in packaging, so hopefully they can help you with that.

 

 

QAGB



Anika

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Posted 31 March 2016 - 05:59 PM

Allergen, GMP, Defense, Pest control, HACCP.

 

I agree with QAGB regarding question 4. We have something similar to that. A questionnaire stating our GMp and food safety/defense rules and regulations and allergen policies and contractors have to sign that initially which is reviewed if contractors change or annually. I've also been keeping a copy of their WSIB, license if applicable, contract (if any at all), liability insurance on file but it's been hard getting the managers for example maintenance manager or supervisor to initiate the effort to get these documents signed and Quality is ending up pushing to get this necessary evils out of the way.

 

I like your idea, Polin of using a card for training by the way!



Polin

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Posted 01 April 2016 - 06:49 AM

Thank you QAGB!!!!

 

This appears more related to job specific training than food safety training; so I will comment based on job specific training.  

Questionnaires might be a little difficult if you are a larger company though, (production personnel consists of 25 employees, so for the moment it is not difficult to manage the number of the questionnaires. also i should mention that we have 3 basic production stages. The questions are differ per production stage) and perhaps evaluation could also be based on performance records for the year (could you explain the "performance records" do you mean the trainings for the year?). Some of the questions could include: Has the employee been the subject of complaints? Any non-conformances due to lack of experience in the area? Was the employee required to have re-training due to non-conformances? (thank you :-)) I'd also think that production performances should be done by the employee supervisors, and not so much the QA Manager unless you work directly with production.

 

In regard to your 4th question, you can give contractors a document they must read and sign when they sign-in to carry out their services, and make the contracting company sign an agreement listing all of your necessary GMP and contractor policies prior to beginning any work (we already apply this to our conveyors, but I wonder if there is anything more that we should do based on BRC - I hope there isn't!!).

 

Thank you again!!



Polin

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Posted 01 April 2016 - 07:10 AM

Anika thank you!!

Allergen, GMP, Defense, Pest control, HACCP.

 

I agree with QAGB regarding question 4. We have something similar to that. A questionnaire stating our GMp and food safety/defense rules and regulations and allergen policies and contractors have to sign that initially which is reviewed if contractors change or annually. (We have these declarations which contractors should sign annually, for example our conveyors. Should we do the same for the other contractors, for example laboratories or mechanicals ????) I've also been keeping a copy of their WSIB, license if applicable, contract (if any at all), liability insurance on file but it's been hard getting the managers for example maintenance manager or supervisor to initiate the effort to get these documents signed and Quality is ending up pushing to get this necessary evils out of the way ( :roflmao:  In our companie I should do all this dirty job from the beginning due to the small number of the supervisors).

 

I like your idea, Polin of using a card for training by the way! (thank you)



Anika

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Posted 01 April 2016 - 01:34 PM

Anika thank you!!

For contractors, we introduced a category system too last year. Unfortunately we had nothing before that for contractors.

All contractors are required to fill out a basic form kind of like a supplier approval form that has their name, address, policy, license, audit information if applicable.

 

High risk/on site contractors or contractors working on equipment that could effect food safety are required to fill out that extra form that has allergen/gmp info.

 

Even though external lab is under high, we didn't get them to sign the contractor gmp/allergen questionnaire since that only applied to contractors coming into the plant.

 

Mechanicals such as metal detector maintenance which is a CCP for us, overhead lights or other contractors who would have to work in the processing area close to food contact surfaces were categorized high too and had to sign off on the questionnaire.

Other services under high were pest control and laundry.



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QAGB

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Posted 01 April 2016 - 06:08 PM

 

Thank you QAGB!!!!

 

This appears more related to job specific training than food safety training; so I will comment based on job specific training.  

Questionnaires might be a little difficult if you are a larger company though, (production personnel consists of 25 employees, so for the moment it is not difficult to manage the number of the questionnaires. also i should mention that we have 3 basic production stages. The questions are differ per production stage) and perhaps evaluation could also be based on performance records for the year (could you explain the "performance records" do you mean the trainings for the year?). Some of the questions could include: Has the employee been the subject of complaints? Any non-conformances due to lack of experience in the area? Was the employee required to have re-training due to non-conformances? (thank you :-)) I'd also think that production performances should be done by the employee supervisors, and not so much the QA Manager unless you work directly with production.

 

In regard to your 4th question, you can give contractors a document they must read and sign when they sign-in to carry out their services, and make the contracting company sign an agreement listing all of your necessary GMP and contractor policies prior to beginning any work (we already apply this to our conveyors, but I wonder if there is anything more that we should do based on BRC - I hope there isn't!!).

 

Thank you again!!

 

 

 

Hi Polin,

 

As you're in a smaller facility, your training card method and questionnaire should work wonderfully. It's a really good way to measure on-the-job knowledge and create extra training for those who don't pass the assessment and need a refresher.

 

The performance records I was referring to were: Has the employee been the subject of complaints? Any non-conformances due to lack of experience in the area? Was the employee required to have re-training due to non-conformances? There are additional ways to measure performance: reliability, attendance, documentation presentation, etc. However, your current training card method works since you are in a smaller company, and you may not need to supplement or replace your current method with what I just described above.

 

BRC wants to make sure your suppliers of service are following the written agreements which indicate they will comply with safety, quality, and legality. You can totally choose how you set it up (Anika's method is very good), but make sure contractors and any other visitors are following the policies you set forth.

 

 

QAGB



Polin

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Posted 04 April 2016 - 10:29 AM

Anika and QAGB thank you guys!!!

 

I prepared an excel which include, training matrix, annual training schedule and the evaluation. I attached it and I would be very happy if you could check it and tell me your opinion about!

 

training matrix : (this is the matrix I found in a previous post) includes the basic training categories for all departments. When an employee trained on each subject concerning him Quality Manger enters to the field the appropriate symbol. I was wondering if this matrix is useful and meaningful for our training system ???? Also which the adittional training subjects that we can add to our training system as basic ??

 

annual training schedule : it is exported by the annual management review, and mentioned the date of the completion. If any training subject arises, add to the Schedule and to the matrix too.

 

personnel evaluation : based on this record Quality Manager evaluate annually each employee taking into account some criteria. 

 

Also I attached the training card that we use in hard copy. Do you think that we should hold the record electronically ?? What happens with the Instructor sign ???

 

Thank you in advance!! 



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Polin

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Posted 04 April 2016 - 10:34 AM

Attached File  example of training card.doc   46KB   697 downloadsAttached File  example of training matrix-schedule-evaluation.xlsx   35.18KB   802 downloads



Anika

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Posted 04 April 2016 - 06:24 PM

Hi Polin,

 

The matrix IMO is enough for BRC issue 7.

 

We are trying to go paperless as much as possible and have a soft copy in place too but I say, any one, hard copy or soft copy would be sufficient.

we have the following and I copied it here as way of an example: (we have 200-300 employees I believe)

QA maintains the matrix and updated the spreadsheet with the date the training took place and we also have a sign off sheet during the training itself.

department employee # name status job title annual GMP, HACCP, allergen control and food security refresher metal detector ccp cleaning and sanitation allergen

BRC issue 7 internal audit training

 

new employee training label verification training allergen test whims                          


Anika

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Posted 04 April 2016 - 06:26 PM

table

Attached Files



QAGB

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Posted 05 April 2016 - 11:57 AM

Anika and QAGB thank you guys!!!

 

I prepared an excel which include, training matrix, annual training schedule and the evaluation. I attached it and I would be very happy if you could check it and tell me your opinion about!

 

training matrix : (this is the matrix I found in a previous post) includes the basic training categories for all departments. When an employee trained on each subject concerning him Quality Manger enters to the field the appropriate symbol. I was wondering if this matrix is useful and meaningful for our training system ???? Also which the adittional training subjects that we can add to our training system as basic ??

 

annual training schedule : it is exported by the annual management review, and mentioned the date of the completion. If any training subject arises, add to the Schedule and to the matrix too.

 

personnel evaluation : based on this record Quality Manager evaluate annually each employee taking into account some criteria. 

 

Also I attached the training card that we use in hard copy. Do you think that we should hold the record electronically ?? What happens with the Instructor sign ???

 

Thank you in advance!! 

 

 

Hi Polin,

 

I'd also say that what you have should be more than enough for BRC Issue 7. Your matrix is extremely detailed, and I really do like your training card.

 

Soft copies are always nice, but it's also very good to have hard copies; especially when your network goes down (been there a few times) and you can't retrieve your records. As far as the instructor signature, you can use Adobe Acrobat to electronically sign documents, but I'm not absolutely certain if more than one individual can sign a document. There may be other ways of signing, such as stamping approvals by different individuals on Adobe, but I can't be certain it will work either, as I've never had to have more than one individual sign or stamp a document (it's usually me approving items).

 

QAGB



Polin

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Posted 05 April 2016 - 01:13 PM

 

Hi Polin,

 

The matrix IMO is enough for BRC issue 7.

 

We are trying to go paperless as much as possible and have a soft copy in place too but I say, any one, hard copy or soft copy would be sufficient.

we have the following and I copied it here as way of an example: (we have 200-300 employees I believe)

QA maintains the matrix and updated the spreadsheet with the date the training took place and we also have a sign off sheet during the training itself.

department employee # name status job title annual GMP, HACCP, allergen control and food security refresher metal detector ccp cleaning and sanitation allergen

BRC issue 7 internal audit training

 

new employee training label verification training allergen test whims                          

 

 

Anika,

 

Thank your answer and the thumbnails!!! As we are converters of flexible packaging, we have BRC/IoP Issue 5 and not Issue 7 for food safety. To be honest I don't know the difference between hard and soft copy of a record :oops2: . 

 

Sorry!! could you please explain ??

  

 

Hi Polin,

 

I'd also say that what you have should be more than enough for BRC Issue 7. Your matrix is extremely detailed, and I really do like your training card.

 

Soft copies are always nice, but it's also very good to have hard copies; especially when your network goes down (been there a few times) and you can't retrieve your records. As far as the instructor signature, you can use Adobe Acrobat to electronically sign documents, but I'm not absolutely certain if more than one individual can sign a document. There may be other ways of signing, such as stamping approvals by different individuals on Adobe, but I can't be certain it will work either, as I've never had to have more than one individual sign or stamp a document (it's usually me approving items).

 

QAGB

 

QAGB thank you!

 

I agree with you, that it is more complicated to sign electronically because it is most common to have more than one person per training.  



QAGB

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Posted 05 April 2016 - 01:23 PM

Anika,

 

Thank your answer and the thumbnails!!! As we are converters of flexible packaging, we have BRC/IoP Issue 5 and not Issue 7 for food safety. To be honest I don't know the difference between hard and soft copy of a record :oops2: . 

 

Sorry!! could you please explain ??

  

 

 

QAGB thank you!

 

I agree with you, that it is more complicated to sign electronically because it is most common to have more than one person per training.  

 

Hi Polin,

 

I can't comment as to what all you need for IoP Issue 5, but pending the IoP version is as detailed as Issue 7 for Food, I'd say you have what you need.

 

A hard copy is a paper version, and a soft copy is an electronic file of the paper version.

 

QAGB



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Posted 05 April 2016 - 01:51 PM

Hi Polin,

 

I can't comment as to what all you need for IoP Issue 5, but pending the IoP version is as detailed as Issue 7 for Food, I'd say you have what you need.

 

A hard copy is a paper version, and a soft copy is an electronic file of the paper version.

 

QAGB

 

Hello QAGB,

 

oh it was obvious!! I had to understand :headhurts: 

 

I think that there no so many differences between IoP and Food. So thanks a lot for all your Quotes 



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Posted 07 April 2016 - 12:47 PM

Allergen, GMP, Defense, Pest control, HACCP.

 

 

 

Hello,

beside the topics Anika was talking of we add topics like 

- proper hand washing

- illness/infection  protection (needed by law)

- certification specialities (some insist on special yearly trainigs like for religious or sustainable certifications)

- proper filling of forms (to ensure tracebility)

 

people working on CCP get extra training for the CCP

 

Contractors are reading and signing our house rules, get introduced into the work they have to do and and the work order the restrictions/precautions are specially mentioned / marked depending on the area they are working on.

 

Yours

Werner



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Polin

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Posted 12 April 2016 - 08:29 AM

Hello,

beside the topics Anika was talking of we add topics like 

- proper hand washing

- illness/infection  protection (needed by law)

- certification specialities (some insist on special yearly trainigs like for religious or sustainable certifications)

- proper filling of forms (to ensure tracebility)

 

people working on CCP get extra training for the CCP

 

Contractors are reading and signing our house rules, get introduced into the work they have to do and and the work order the restrictions/precautions are specially mentioned / marked depending on the area they are working on.

 

Yours

Werner

 

Thank you w.weber!!





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