Help Im starting to sink
Hi all
Im very new to this scary world of BRC and Quality. I have recently started with a company who extrude Food Contact packaging . They decided to gamble and put me over quality and BRC of which I have no experience with before. My background is H&S. So im here creating a manual and procedures and forms that I don't even know are correct or will work .Its very overwhelming and daunting but it is something I want to achieve for my employers and myself, however I really am struggling and feel like throwing the towel in. my problem is I have nothing to compare against.I know it is a big climb to set these management systems up and once set up its levels off as you maintain it, but this climbing in the dark is killing me.I know this is a big ask but can anyone show me a packaging manual for extrusion or throw me a life line because its the not knowing that is killing me.
Thanks Guys
Gazz you'll find plenty of help here.
However we will need to know what you need help with to help you. I have never worked with BRC so I may not be able to help you much personally. But rest assured we will do what we can to assist you in setting up your FSMS.
A good place to start is to try to match up the policies you have with the order the code is in so that you can see what you have and what you need. You can also see inside the policies you have if you need to add things or rewrite lines so that they match up with what the code requires. For this purpose I like using binders so that you can get everything in order and it would make it easier for you to keep it together while your trying to get the beginning started.
You're in luck - we have people here :)
Start with basics - get to know your process and whats going on on the floor. As Mr I said review the code and see if you already meet standards. If you don't, search forums for a template, or just ask .
Remember- you can't roller skate in a buffalo heard.
Don't get rid of your towel. Don't Panic.
Hey Gazz! I feel like throwing the towel in every day, but I preserver because I love what I do!
First rule is, don't panic! As Mr I said, there is a wealth of experience here in both FSMS and BRC. And we've all been there so we feel your pain, and will help as much as we can.
Mr I suggests starting with your policies and it is a good place to start. Make sure you have them all, and that the person who signs them knows what it says. Make sure they are something you can achieve.
Once you've got them, go onto your top tier documents. We can help you with those (templates, examples etc) but it has to fit your business.
Good luck, and please don't despair. If you can do H&S you can do Quality!!
Caz x
- Thanks guys for your kind and encouraging advice. It means a lot that ye even took time out to respond. I will continue to climb!
gazzatheman
If it's one thing we know how to do on the forums is respond. We usually do well in answering the question before we veer drastically off topic :off_topic: like when I immediately wanted to start going into the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy vein that Magenta alluded to.
But the bulk of the paperwork the auditor is going to want to look at is in your policies, work instructions, and records. The most important thing that GFSI food safety standards is "If you didn't write it down you didn't do it.". If you say you check something it needs to be recorded somewhere. And those records need to be stored in a way that they can be retrieved quickly and accurately so that you can prove to the auditor you do what you say you do.
But, like Magenta said, "Don't Panic".
Has your company set a date with your auditing company for when they are coming to start their inspection? Or are we in a place right now where they want to start working on it and the audit is not scheduled, and hopefully, a year + out?
the company has only started producing this week, its a start up company so we need 3 months of production records for auditing so they hope to go for it in November this year. a lot of work has to be done on building standards as well , nothing has been done in regards contacting an auditing company yet so I guess I do have some time to create and implement.
Kind Regards
gazzatheman
Ok.. that's not so bad except the November date. I would expect most people would suggest you have little chance, without the aid of a consultant company, to be ready for certification by November. Chances are you probably don't have too many policies already in place that will need to be rewritten.
Do you have a quality manager or are you now the defacto quality manager (basically the person who is acting as a quality manager)? Also is anyone in your plant HACCP certified and do you have a HACCP plan in place?
To be more specific the typical expectation for a GFSI food safety standard is that a company that has decent policies and procedures in place would take about a year to be compliant ready. I was in a start up that used a consultant to write our prerequisite programs and we were able to do it in about 6 months... though I'd argue it was a weak system in some points.
Setanta
I have been appointed the quality manager. I have addressed some policies already. we have employed a consultant who will train us in HACCP and who will create a HACCP manual. our process of extrusion is a very clean and straight forward, no printing, no subcontracting etc. The site standards and personnel section of the standard don't pose a threat its the procedures such as site security, calibration, supplier approval that stump me, I know its just because this is a new world to me
Ok well that's good. Make sure you are working with them on the HACCP manual. In the end your name is going to be on it. You really want to understand everything in it and more importantly why it's in it.
It sounds like your system is going to be pretty easy to set up. Learn from your consultant. Ask questions here as they come up. And may the force be with you. :shades:
Dear Gazzatheman,
As you probaly realise, the time/effort required will depend on yr own technical background/ yr resources/etc.
I hope you have some background in haccp and iso 9000 series. If not IMO it is going to be a significant challenge even with a consultant to be audit-ready in 6 months.
You might be interested to know that Simon posted a typical haccp/hygiene set of documents for a packaging line as used to pass a ca.10 year ago BRC Packaging audit. These are freely downloadable on this site. Now somewhat aged but cover a largr chunk of the basics ina very clear way. The specific applicable value depends somewhat on what standard you go for. BRC is rather different to SQF which is rather different to ISO22000 ad infinitum. :smile:
Rgds / Charles.C
PS - at the moment, post is in SQF forum. Easy to change (if necessary) when you choose yr standard.
Hey Gazzatheman Im in the same spot! Just got put in charge of BRC for Packaging, so if you find an example document or finish yours you should definitely post it to guide the rest of us wandering in the dark! Thanks for the help and best of luck!
Hi,
I have worked in C PET, IML, Blown Polystyrene packaging, and have worked in the BRC/IOP for a while.
I agree with the above. Take a deep breath and do a GAP analysis.
Simply list the clauses and work through them to see what you have and what you do not have. (1 to 6.5.5.) or photocopy the book (for your onw use)and tick or cross the the relevant bits.
You may find that there are lots of things in place already. Usually for the company to be successful they have to be. Its best keep what is in place and modify it to fit the standard then trying to introduce new things unnecessarily.
Hopefully you have a copy of the relevant standard. Its about £95 form the BRC website.
Regards
Sharon
Thanks Sharon for the sound advice,all is taken on board and its good to know people like your good self are willing to share experience and guidance.
Kind Regards