Finding a consultant to help with BRC

Hi,

I'm looking for as much help as possible really, we're a cooking vinegar manufacturing site and also 3rd party distributor for cooking wine. We really want to achieve BRC standards as it will open a lot more doors for us.

We've had two people out to our site, one said no way can it be achieved and the other said yes with work but didn't say whether this work can be carried out whilst implementing paperwork etc.

Below is what we had pointed out to us as part of a visit last Friday, all I'm trying to find is a company who's willing to help us and just be clear on exactly what state the site needs to be in before we can start the process.

Reference to my visit to your premises today and discussions with Sean. I list areas that need attention which are

1  Make good the floor area outside the filling area

2. Tray or mechanism to avoid spillages

3. This is in progress. Change of lighting in labelling area

4. Make good replace rusty metal eg above plastic doors leading to the filling area

5. Maintain grass at the side of the building

6. Replace rusty scales

7. You cannot have any rusty products in areas that potentially could contaminate the product

8. Comply with the requirements of weight & measures

9. 8 also applies to any product you are purchasing outside of the EU

Obviously these are not huge or costly issues.

7. My concern is the exhausting of the fumes released in the brewing area

a) You will need to install some form of system for filtering/exhausting    

b) You may require permission to release this into the atmosphere from the environmental agency 

Hmmmm it's hard to assess a premises without actually seeing it.

1. Engage with a certification body (CB). I got great help from our CB when I was starting out with BRC

2. Get some BRC Internal auditor training this gives you a good insight into the BRC requirements

3. Do  GAP analysis using the self assessment tool on the BRC website.

4. If you need a consultant , try to find one by word of mouth, talk to colleagues in industry , see who they're using, not all consultants are equal, some do nothing much, some ( like me ) are very hands on and are like another member of the team.

5. Tell me which part of the Earth you're in and if it's somewhere warm and wonderful I'll come and assess your plant!!

We initially got a pre-audit when we went to BRC, and it was done by the same company that did the final certification audit.  Its all about the money.  Facility and grounds are big, but BRC focuses mostly on programs.  I don't know what country you are located in, or what agencies you fall under, but someone is sleeping on the job if you have major facility issues like environmental release/vs employee working conditions.  

When you do your facility audit, your glass and brittle plastics audit should identify a lot of your problems.  Look to see if any foreign material can enter your process: peeling labels, peeling/missing caulk/paint/nuts/uncovered vessels.

GFSI Standards are very rigorous and if you want to achieve BRC Certification you need to up your game significantly.  Firstly do you and more importantly your senior management understand the investment of time, effort and money it may take to bring your business from where it is now to the standard required, including the physical upgrades to your plant and all of the required policies and procedures that will need to be developed and implemented.

Hi,

Thanks for all your information everyone very helpful. We are in a really fortunate position to have the funding and the management to get this implemented. I think once we've done a thorough gap analysis this should really help us to find the appropriate consultant who understands us.