BRC Packaging Audit Plan - How do you do it?

Hi, I am wondering how packaging manufacturers operate their audit plan to fully audit the Standard each year? Do you break it down into sections eg 1, 2, etc or 1.1, 1.2 etc? Obviously some sections are alot bigger than others. I had a few comments from our recent BRC audit about maybe there is a better way and using the audit standard checklist to ensure all parts are audited. Does the same person do all of it? Is it written up as one audit or several. Not really sure how to take this forward!

Any help, suggestions gratefully received before I put together the 2013 plan.

Hi, I am wondering how packaging manufacturers operate their audit plan to fully audit the Standard each year? Do you break it down into sections eg 1, 2, etc or 1.1, 1.2 etc? Obviously some sections are alot bigger than others. I had a few comments from our recent BRC audit about maybe there is a better way and using the audit standard checklist to ensure all parts are audited. Does the same person do all of it? Is it written up as one audit or several. Not really sure how to take this forward!

Any help, suggestions gratefully received before I put together the 2013 plan.

Dear Rosemary,

There was recently an almost identical question in the BRC Food forum and based on the numerous checklist examples already posted, everyone here seems to create what is more accurately, i believe, called a compliance audit checklist, ie a reverse gap list. I have little doubt that you are doing the same thing?. A few people mentioned breaking the encyclopedia into chunks / scheduling parts across the year but no details were forthcoming. (Of course, this approach is quite commonplace in ISO 9001, eg via Process-type formats / cross matrices but BRC/SQFers seem to be more interested in just getting it over with in the simplest way possible, and rightly so IMO ).

Interested to see if packaging people are any different. From memory, i think the few audit checklists on this forum suggest conformity is maintained.

Your auditor was probably bored with seeing identical responses at every location.

Rgds / Charles.C

Yes audit all of the standard in an annual cycle with some elements audited more frequently based on risk assessment. This way you are always preparing for the BRC audit and the requirements of the standards become more embedded.

I sent you an xmas present Rosemary.

Regards,
Simon

Here is the audit schedule that I use for a print company.

The audits are divided into chunks based on the Standard with an associated list of the more specific areas that need to be included within the chunks.

Frequencies will of course vary according to individual organisations but almost by definition anything to do with Hazard Analysis and contamination control will be a higher risk and should be audited more often.

Whilst I agree with Charles that you should try to find the simplest way of doing things, you must be careful not to fall into the mindset that you only do internal audits because a Standard says that you have to do them.

Decent Internal Audits are one of the best ways to find out what is really happening and identify ways to get better

Dear Foodworker,

I'm not really familiar with BRC Packaging Standard but your layout looks very neat in a generic way.
One haccp item which I sort of missed was "Review of Records", eg as within Verification Activities. (Maybe it is included in "document control").

Rgds / Charles.C

Hi, I am wondering how packaging manufacturers operate their audit plan to fully audit the Standard each year? Do you break it down into sections eg 1, 2, etc or 1.1, 1.2 etc? Obviously some sections are alot bigger than others. I had a few comments from our recent BRC audit about maybe there is a better way and using the audit standard checklist to ensure all parts are audited. Does the same person do all of it? Is it written up as one audit or several. Not really sure how to take this forward!

Any help, suggestions gratefully received before I put together the 2013 plan.

Hi Rosemary,

Foodworker has posted a nice simple schedule which should give you an idea, the only elements that seem to be missing are Record Keeping, Security & Storage. For my own peace of mind I would be looking to carry out a full audit against the sections of the standard annually (as a minimum) as well. This can be done in parts such as by section.

Kind regards,

Tony