5 replies to this topic

[SausageGuy]

Hello, all!

 

I am working as a first time QA Manager for a small fresh sausage company (new company, < 3 years old). I am the only member of our QA Department (very small company) and I am definitely learning on the fly.

 

I have already written and implemented our Food Safety and Quality Management System for SQF level 2. We received our SQF certification last month (I was worried because this was my first time dealing with SQF or even a certification body!).

 

My number 1 issue I am having is getting a good food safety culture here at our plant. It seems like our Operations Manager does not think it is as important as it should be. I am currently reading Food Safety Culture by Frank Yiannas and I have his other book Food Safety = Behavior to read when I'm done the first.

Any advice for how to change the views on food safety around here? Or any advice in general for someone who has never done QA before?

[cassandra0923]

following because I am in the same boat

[DN_QAMGR]

Hi Ricky, 

 

Welcome and you should watch the webinar they just had about food safety culture on ifsqn. 

 

Good luck because it is an ongoing struggle in the companies I've worked with in the past and currently. 

 

Just stay positive, do your role that you are there for and be diligent, provide education to the employees and use your audits as transparency for they type of food culture you have in your company. 

 

Have a good one.

 

DN

[FurFarmandFork]

Hi Ricky,

 

I have an article on this subject you may find helpful here.

 

My only other piece of advice for both your sanity and efficacy as a QA manager is not to just stop when you don't encounter a good food safety culture in your leadership. That makes your job difficult, but not impossible. Search out creative ways to find shared solutions and help empower your floor employees to make better/safer products. It will never be a perfect food safety culture if you don't have buy-in from everyone at the top, but that environment doesn't exist everywhere and you can still have a large impact by building from the bottom up.

 

If you're reading books, I might also recommend "the new manager mindset" by Bryan Amentrout, who is a QA manager and has a great story to tell of hard lessons learned early in his career.

[sqflady]

I would suggest that the Operations Manager attend some food safety training to help him understand the benefits of a food safety culture.  In my experience, a food safety culture reduces waste, reduces cost and allows for a safer finished product.  This also reduces the risk of negative consequences such as a recall and negative media attention for the company.

[QM-OS]

I would suggest that the Operations Manager attend some food safety training to help him understand the benefits of a food safety culture.  In my experience, a food safety culture reduces waste, reduces cost and allows for a safer finished product.  This also reduces the risk of negative consequences such as a recall and negative media attention for the company.

 

 

We have a diverse HACCP group and everyone has been trained in HACCP, BRC, food safety, hygiene etc. All other personnel have also been through comnined courses of food safety, hygiene and BRC/HACCP several times.

Nothing has helped with the general mindset of the production people!

 

Our so called production manager was from the beginning the person responsible for the BRC certification, that almost cost us the certificate so that responsibility is now on my desk.

He is in my opinion the main offender as he's supposed to lead the rest, but he has no interest in change and therefore go about doing things the same way as 15-20 years ago.

The stories I could tell...

 

I'm quite certain that there will come a day when an auditor or customer discovers something really non-conforming. 

 

I've tried together with other members in the HACCP group to engage the will of the production personnel but no luck yet.

Bringing the problem to our management hasn't helped either.

I'm seriously considering to resign from my certification work because of all this... I don't want to have my name as the responsible person when it all comes tumbeling down. 

 

Maybe a bit off topic from the thread, but I really needed to vent and it's for others to see that they're not alone.