Which Supplier of Services should be controlled?

I know this may sound strange but I wanted to make sure I had this correct. I know our pest control, laudry service and waste management service are all suppliers of services. But what about the plumber we call when we have a problem or what about the electician we hire for a job weather it takes a day or two weeks or the refrigeration company that comes in to repair our freezer system. Are these considered suppliers of service? They are here for a job to job basis where the pest control company is here more on a schedule. Thanks

They are still suppliers of services IMO and should be controlled. They should sign in, read and sign all quality, health and safety related material and be badged to identify them as contractors. Anyone coming in externally is a potential threat to food safety and quality and needs basic training which could only take minutes - you want them garbing correctly and washing their hands, and not touching product, not leaving tools lying around, making sure they clean tools before entry etc - you dont know where those tools have been!!!

I believe they need control if they are doing anything "product-related". Dairy has mentioned visitor controls but if you meant "management of services" (3.5.3) you need to think about assessing competence and performance which you might do if the electrician was coming in to modify the wiring on the freezer but probably not needed if the plumber is coming in to fit a shower in the changing room...

Any supplier that is providing product or service should be included on your supplier register. You can then risk assess them for potential issues. Service suppliers can include air-conditioning, refrigeration mechanics, contract cleaners, waste removal, certification bodies, laboratories, mootor mechanics, provider of gloves, hats, aprons, laundry services, water treatment agency (to name a few). All of these suppliers can have an impact on your food safety system in one way or another.

Sorry to add to the growing list - we use the services of a couple of transport companies - they provide a transport service and so are also included in our service suppliers list.
Tend to agree with the experts above - we risk assess everyone that comes on site for whatever reason based on opportunity to impact food safety, food quality or regulatory compliance and visit frequency so you can categorise folks by relative risk rather than their function.



Hope this helps,



Graham