How to start out with BRC issue 4?

Hello everyone! I am new to the site, but I have been  reading everyone's questions and comments and it is so awesome.

We are just being introduced to Issue 4 and I  don't know where to begin. Can someone give me some pointers?  

One of my questions is what determines if there needs to be a work instruction for a task? The products we make are for food packaging. So would I need a work instruction for unloading a tanker? How to determine what silo to hook up to?

I am just really confused on where to start.

Help please!

Dear gmd,

Welcome to the forum! :welcome:

I presume you are referring to BRC Packaging, ver4, low/high (?) risk ? I also presume you are in some kind of QA function.

Any suggestions will probably be more relevant if you can add a little background data, eg -

(a) an idea of the type of product / process involved.

(b) Any related standards already certified to (i guess not) / technical backup (eg haccp experience) ?

(c) any time frame to acquire certification ?

A typical procedure is to initially do a GAP analysis with respect to intended standard's requirements. This enables some kind of scheduling to be considered, hopefully within the answer to (c). :smile:

And depending on answers to above queries, a consultant / training course(s) is often recommended but this is not mandatory, especially if you have an established safety / management system in place.

A brief answer to the specific query in yr post is "it depends". :smile:

Rgds / Charles.C

Thank you Charles and you are correct in I should have given more info. I will try and fill in some of those gaps. Yes I was referring to the BRC Issue 4 packaging -  high risk. I am the quality manager and I have had BRC training through NSF and I have also had HACCP Training. We manufacture cups, plates, lids mainly using a thermoforming process. We do have an established safety / management system in place but yet aways from being good enough for BRC.

I would appreciate any help I could get. 

gmd

Dear gmd,

Thks for clarification.

I am primarily concerned with food so packaging people here will probably give a more relevant response.

I am unsure what the context is for yr query regarding work function. Do you mean as for the generation of a quality manual, or for some specific paragraph (?) in the brc4 standard.

For food/quality manual, the typical answer to yr query would be to follow a kind of iso9001 quality triangle style, ie policy/procedure/work function. But it's a free choice as long as the result is compliant to the standard. The required depth of description detail IMEX relates to someone else being able to understand the procedure / any specific safety aspects involved. For example receiving a container load of frozen raw material for unloading and transfer into a cold store prior to subsequent processing would be adequate to describe the overall procedure. Measurement of product temperature  before acceptance would be another sentence step whose sub-methodology (eg sampling/measurement) would be typically covered in a work function. Some people might equally include it in the "Procedure" though. It's just a choice. :smile:

Sorry if i hv misunderstood yr query.

Rgds Charles.C

Hello everyone! I am new to the site, but I have been  reading everyone's questions and comments and it is so awesome.

 

We are just being introduced to Issue 4 and I  don't know where to begin. Can someone give me some pointers?  

 

One of my questions is what determines if there needs to be a work instruction for a task? The products we make are for food packaging. So would I need a work instruction for unloading a tanker? How to determine what silo to hook up to?

 

I am just really confused on where to start.

 

Help please!

I presume that you have a copy of the BRC/IOP Global Standard for Packaging and Packaging Materials – Issue 4

Documented Work Instructions or Procedures will be required for those tasks that can affect compliance with customer, food safety, quality or regulatory requirements.

Regards,

Tony

Thanks to both of you for your help. This does help me and yes I do have a copy of the standard. 

Thanks, gmd

First thing I'd do is a gap analysis.

Take each clause and document if you meet it or not, and what you'd need to do to meet it (if you don't)

Gives you a good starting point, and I bet you probably do more than you think!

Cazx