What to expect on 2 day SQF site audit?

We have passed our GAP audit and the paperwork audit for SQF.  Now we are waiting to have our first 2 day site visit.  Can anyone give me some insight on what to expect?

Thanks in advance!

AA NNFF

They will go through the sections that apply to your operation, point by point, looking for programs and documentation that support you are addressing each one of those items.  For example, for Section 2 they will look for something for 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, etc, etc.

Then there will be an on-the-floor tour, where they will speak to your employees, asking what they know about those sections, giving them 'what if' situations and the auditor will then do an inspection of the whole facility.

Prepare your people!

S

I agree have your people ready ... our auditor pick random people and then verified on the training register that they were trained on the job.  I perpared our employees by going out and asking them if they knew what SQF was, if they knew what are policy statement said (generalized) and had them tell me how they did there job.   

In addition to the comments above be ready for a one forward one back traceability on a product and food contact packaging item that's on your register. Also, be prepared for some "drilling" (example: correlating CAPA items with the input that identified the need for corrective action such as an internal or external audit, pre-operation checklist, etc.).

The auditor will be looking to see if you have proper document and record control and that your verification records are being recorded and stored as per your FSMS policy says.

Bottom line is that the auditor will be looking to see if you can proove that what you're saying you're doing in your FSMS (or FSQMS if you're going for Level 1) is actually what you're doing in practice.

They will comb through your paper program until they have about 10 NonConformances, then hit your facility until they get about the same. They'll shoot for about 17 points off, so that you feel like you should have met the standard without surveillance audit, but not close enough to actually challenge one so that you do. They'll look for small holes in your policy if there aren't any large ones. They'll make small talk,taking about $120.00/hr from your company. 

Our next one is on Monday.

 WOW! I thought I was cynical!   :yikes:

AA - If the SQF Registered Auditor has not sent you an audit plan for the 2 days on-site call the CB and request same - the audit plan will detail the itinerary from start to finish and should be provided to you well prior to your actual certification audit date.  Then you will know exactly what to expect.

The best way to prepare, in my personal opinion and take it for what you want, is to make one binder with everything for all of section 2 tabbed out with all of your policies and forms that go directly to section 2.  After that, or in another binder, put all of your other sections, like 11 for example.  Have one binder for your HACCP plan(s).   That way when he starts to go through section 2 pull out your food safety/quality manual (section 2 and section 11 binder) and open it.

I have my plant description as the first and only page before the 2.1 tab.

Organization will only make your life easier lol and I suck at organization

As for the walk around just train your employees and hope for the best.  One of my better warehouse people, when asked what HACCP was, just stared blankly at the inspector like a deer preparing to be run over.  She had HACCP training twice... ARGH! lol Oh well.  

Prep them with blast postings, green room announcements (if you do green rooms), GMP's of the week postings, SQF question postings.

So, I'm less cynical now that our audit is over. (S)He will run you through the wringer, though. If you are at all confident that parts of your plan are sound, be absolutely certain that you have the right of it when they ask you about them. Expect to have your records tested; your employees ought to know what they're writing down as they write it. I've gotten after some of the employees here a number of times for having just checked off whatever the previous day's monitor checked off.

Glenn, I'm still waiting for the email with the plan for yesterday's audit.