Training of QA Technicians in a Food Plant

Hi All

Doea anyone have  a training programme for QA Technicians  and could anyone share how best to organise their daily tasks

Thank you and happy holidays

To begin I would recommend that they fully understand HACCP principles.  This can be accomplished online without certification at low cost, or if the group is large enough in house with with certification at a reduced cost. 

Second, they should understand the fundamentals of metrology. QA involves measurements, correct? Nothing irks me more than recorded values without expression (degrees "what", xbar, oz, gm, etc.), or values recorded incomplete to the device used (pet peeve but whatever).

You don't really require formal training programs to achieve competency (unless certifications are required by regulation, but normally you only need one individual as a certified coordinator or practitioner).  You can very well establish a training program with youtube videos (or create your own) as long as competency is proofed with testing.  

For my own training I have cover documents that are issued with record packets daily/weekly/monthly and bullet point like so:

• Pre-op duties prioritized (daily sanitation/cleaning checklists, titrations, swabs, etc.)
• CCP flow charts with critical limits and verification frequency, that cross-reference appropriate records to be utilized. Control points may also be noted.
• Reporting non-compliance and corrective action procedures.
• Operational duty requirements prioritized (CCP monitoring, sanitation, house keeping, etc.)

Hopefully this can give you an idea for a topic that can be exponentially expounded upon based on your specific industry and operational needs.

Start with the very basics.

GMP, before you move onto HACCP & allergen controls etc.

I find it opens not just their eyes, but operators eyes, if you do a foreign body sweep, then let them talk through the findings with the operator.

I also like to get the QA's to understand what information needs to go onto the records, so that it becomes meaningful to them. Let them buddy up for a day with operators at various points throughout the factory.

I've found these to be good starting points.

Caz x

I use a 3 tiered approach.

Level 1 - basic food safety, record review, hand washing etc (shadowed by trainer)

Level 2 - lab equipment and product testing (also shadowed until verified competent)

Level 3 - product batching, CIP, chemical use etc (Shadowed during training, verified competent then solo)