BRC 3.6.1 - is online access to specifications sufficient or is the plant required to keep a hard copy?
So I'm conducting an internal audit and for clause 3.6.1 it says that the specs for raw materials and packaging must comply... etc. My question is that is online access to these specifications sufficient or is the plant required to keep a current hard copy on hand as well? Our printed copies are out of date, but I (manager) and my (below me) supervisor both have access to them through our corporate portal.
Thank you!
Hi sperez730,
:welcome:
Welcome to the IFSQN forums.
If you look at 3.6.2: Accurate, up-to-date specifications shall be available for all finished products. These may be in the form of a printed or electronic document, or part of an online specification system.
Also note from Guidance: Specifications must be accurate and the control of amendments and approval of specifications should therefore be laid down in a documented procedure. This procedure should also detail who can approve the amendments.
Kind regards,
Tony
100% agree with Tony on this - you should be fine with the online versions.
No idea what system you're using, but most of these have some sort of electronic sign-off for the supplier and the user, so that should be more than sufficient to demonstrate they're up to date. These types of system will (should?) also keep an audit trail of which user has done what and when, as well as having controls to set documents as editable/draft/under review or final/agreed (or equivalent terminology), so if it's not a system your currently familiar with then I'd have a chat with your software provider - it should easily satisfy the control of amendments / approval requirements for the BRC standard.
So I'm conducting an internal audit and for clause 3.6.1 it says that the specs for raw materials and packaging must comply... etc. My question is that is online access to these specifications sufficient or is the plant required to keep a current hard copy on hand as well? Our printed copies are out of date, but I (manager) and my (below me) supervisor both have access to them through our corporate portal.
Thank you!
Hi sperez,
I deduce that either you or the supervisor are obliged to answer all queries on specifications.
Seems a highly restrictive Policy but maybe your Product details are super-sensitive.
Remove the out of date printed copies, and you are good.
Marshall
100% discard of the out of date specifications - if you have two different versions available this will cause issues - you should have a document control policy in place to prevent old versions from being in circulation.
Online specs are fine, I use both purely so my supervisor (factory floor) can access them easily without having to trail up to the office.