2 replies to this topic

[Don]

Hi Simon,

1. In many facilities drafting a glass register and then conducting regular audits is a time comsuming excercise. I am unconvinced as to the value in auditing the glass register at regular intervals. For example, if during a quarterly audit you discover damage, it leaves you with a serious problem in assessing when it may have occurred and therefore the potential product affected. Surely the emphasis needs to be on production personnel to be aware of any damage so it can be adressed and contained straight away.

2. Also when drawing up the register, in order to reduce the time involved, is it acceptable to classify glass as high risk/ low risk i.e. due to location, proximity to product etc?

Regards,

Don

[yorkshire]

Don,

I agree that a glass register in itself is a waste of time and is a bit of a paperwork exercise. How much product do you hold or recall due to a damaged piece of glass / perspex found during a routine audit?

The way I have done it (food industry not packaging) is to class items depending on risk. I ask myself if this breaks what is the likelyhood of product contamination to occur? and What is the likelyhood of this item breaking?

Any items that have a high risk of either of the above should then be checked more frequently.

In deciding the frequency you need to assess how much product you are willing to destroy if a breakage goes unnoticed.

I have set my frequency daily with the operators checking high risk glass / perspex in their areas at the beginning of each shift. These were simply added to an existing start up check sheet.

Rather than auditing the factory for glass breakages your job becomes one more of auditing the system.

What is very important though is to make staff aware of the dangers of glass / perspex breakage and the importance of following the breakage procedure.

[Simon]

The only thing that I would add to the excellent advice provided by Yorkshire is that Paragraph 6.1.1 of The BRC/IOP Packaging Standard states "training shall be given to all relevant staff in the avoidance and detection of foreign bodies". And this applies to both Category A & B suppliers.

I take "relevant staff" to be All production operators and training should include instruction on the risks of glass contamination to the consumer as well as the operators responsibilities for avoiding, detecting and preventing glass contamination. It should also include instruction on the action required should there be an incident.

Good Practice tip:
Laminate an A3 sign "Glass Breakage Kit", put it on an accessible wall and hang a bag underneath it 'glass breakage kit'. In the kit put some cordon off tape, some gloves, a dustpan and brush and the procedure / incident report.

Hopefully the kit will remain a permanent, but aesthetic fixture - but it's available should there be an incident.

Regards,
Simon