5 replies to this topic

[hygienic]

Hi All;

A question in quick hope will get a proper answer

AS a description of QA Manager , is the cost or reduction of cost one of the main achievements the QA Manager in any food establishments? I mean would he consider the cost management one of his achievements at the end of the year (Objective ) ?

Regards

Hygienic

[Bawdy01]

Hi Hygienic,

Like any other Manager, i certainly think the QA Manager has an obligation to identify cost reduction opportunities. In fact i think it is implied through their role in reducing non-conformances, which result in cost reducitons, or certainly cost avoidances. There are lots of way the QA Manager and the QA Program can deliver these, either on their own, or more likely in conjunction with the other managers.

I would argue the reason you have a QA program is to improve the business to help it make more money either through reduced costs and/or better product. So i would say it is an objective, and if they achieve it then obviously it is an achievement as well.


Bawdy

[williamw]

Hi All;

A question in quick hope will get a proper answer

AS a description of QA Manager , is the cost or reduction of cost one of the main achievements the QA Manager in any food establishments? I mean would he consider the cost management one of his achievements at the end of the year (Objective ) ?

Regards

Hygienic

I would answer that question with a resounding yes, although one must be careful how cost reduction and cost management objectives are stated and applied. There is a whole body of literature on the cost of quality (which many argue is better stated as the cost of non-quality) and certainly that can be a starting place for such an objective. Unfortunately, many of the COQ measurements require a rather sophisticated cost accounting approach that many organizations my not have or see a value in implementing.

Process improvement activities are certainly another area where QA Managers can have a big impact on cost. This could be something simple, such as improved net content control reducing give away, or something fairly complex such as the application of statistical methods and/or DOE to improve yields in certain processes. In many of these cases the cost improvement objective needs to be shared with operational management as they will have to play a big role in these types of projects.

Another potential area for cost control is simply reducing the cost of the Quality Operation. Is there a lower cost testing method that gives acceptable results? Is there a way to restructure testing programs, frequency of testing etc. to reduce cost. Can automation of testing or other activities reduce staff or avoided the need to add staff? Can you find lower cost options for outside services, such as outside laboratory testing? And I am sure there are many other items that could added to this list.

I don't think with what is going on today most organizations can reduce the total cost associated with the food safety and quality activities as we are all being required to implement more systems and more controls, but that does not mean that cost control objectives cannot be targeted to reduce or control cost in certain areas. Of course, any cost objectives must be done in a way that does not comprise the safety or quality of the product.

[Simon]

Great advice from the guys. True cost of quality includes all of the associated costs of non-conformance plus the large amount of money the business invests in attempting to achieve good quality such as: having a quality department, employing quality staff, certification, calibration, training, inspecting, testing etc. It is the quality managers duty to deliver good value for this investment. If you don't you are a cost overhead.

Regards,
Simon

[George @ Safefood 360°]

Cutting costs - Absolutely YES

Cutting corners - Absolutely NO

These are two very different things and should not be confused. Any pressure from high up in the operation to cut costs without regard for the effective management of food safety is commercially short sighted and morally wrong.

Spending money on food safety without regard for the necessity and relevance of the cost is just as unacceptable.

For me the two go hand in hand. A well designed and operated food safety system will provide you with the necessary information and data to keep costs in control and reduce them with confidence. Analysis and reporting is the key to getting it right. For example I know of one of our customers who started trending micro testing results and after building up a good history were able to reduce the frequency of certain tests. (Sending samples for testing to an external certified lab can be a costly businesses) For years they were not trending data and could not see that their process was more than capable of keeping things stable. A lot of money could have been saved here. A good food safety system equals a cost effective system.

As a foot note I remember in my early employment as a quality manager visiting a customer who we supplied with plastic containers. They were big into 6 sigma systems and just loved quality assurance. In one of the meetings someone asked when talking about investment in new expensive inspection equipment "Can we really afford to spend this?".

The senior manager in the room responded immediately "Can we afford not to!!" That was the end of that particular discussion...

George

[hygienic]

Cutting costs - Absolutely YES

Cutting corners - Absolutely NO

These are two very different things and should not be confused. Any pressure from high up in the operation to cut costs without regard for the effective management of food safety is commercially short sighted and morally wrong.

Spending money on food safety without regard for the necessity and relevance of the cost is just as unacceptable.

For me the two go hand in hand. A well designed and operated food safety system will provide you with the necessary information and data to keep costs in control and reduce them with confidence. Analysis and reporting is the key to getting it right. For example I know of one of our customers who started trending micro testing results and after building up a good history were able to reduce the frequency of certain tests. (Sending samples for testing to an external certified lab can be a costly businesses) For years they were not trending data and could not see that their process was more than capable of keeping things stable. A lot of money could have been saved here. A good food safety system equals a cost effective system.

As a foot note I remember in my early employment as a quality manager visiting a customer who we supplied with plastic containers. They were big into 6 sigma systems and just loved quality assurance. In one of the meetings someone asked when talking about investment in new expensive inspection equipment "Can we really afford to spend this?".

The senior manager in the room responded immediately "Can we afford not to!!" That was the end of that particular discussion...

George

Dear George;

Food Safety Management System should applied whether in small business or huge organisations ,
and here is the role for QA Manager to reduce the cost by thinking in a hygienic ideas during the food process , for exampe , if he is working in a catering compnay and there is a lot of waste coming from the meat cutting in butchery so creat a proper waste management system for the unused parts can contribute to reduce the cost so in this case you reduce the cost and play a hygiene role by implementing a good waste system , so IMO it is objective during day and day process but will be consider acheivement at the end of the year .
in another side if you look as QA Manager to the company's process and find somthing can be implemented and contributed in cost reduction .specially , for example reducing the using of paper which is visually happened in the larg organisations which they have QA Department and need a lot of paper work daily
so it can be a good plan for redcution of using paper by finding a good solution then finally it can be a good acheivement for the QA Manager .
this is my opinion and thanks for the above opinions I took all the mentioned comments in my considration .

Regards
Hygienic

Edited by hygienic, 22 March 2013 - 04:33 AM.