11 replies to this topic

[cccold]

Hello everyone, I have a really sticky unusual situation I need help and advice on. 

I am the QA manager and SQF practitioner for the company I work for. at my company, we have a USDA inspector onsite from about 930/10 am - 5 pm every day. He is a sweet older gentleman who has been in his position for the last 20 years and is about to retire any day now.

However, to say that he is laid back and relaxed in his position would be an understatement. Since starting at this company 9 months ago I have seen our USDA on the processing floor TWO times. And ONLY two times!! Both of those times I asked for him to accompany me to the processing room for his opinion or help. 

He does not do pre-op, he does not watch processing or operations, he does not assist or oversee ANY processes. He checks paperwork and records about once a month to ensure we are filling them out appropriately but that literally is it. 

I am not overexaggerating when I say he DOES NOT come out onto the processing floor. 

Again, he will be retiring soon, and having come from other establishments where the onsite USDA were tough and by the book and DID THEIR JOBS, I know that once he does retire and we get a new person in his place we are SCREWED!!  I will not lie when I say we are so far out of compliance its not even funny. I try my hardest to get changes implemented and get us where we are supposed to be but my company is so used to not having to abide by any rules or keep up with any standard due to the years with this USDA that when I try to implement new things, they throw a fit and don't want to hear what i am saying. 

My question is....is there a way for me to get a different USDA to come in for a day and inspect our facility and show my company/ coworkers that we have some serious changes we need to be making. Or what should I do? 

I hate working for a company that doesn't do what they are supposed to do and just wants to half-ass everything. Please help 

[kfromNE]

Unless the inspector takes a vacation day, you won't get a new one. I would say - keep on recommending things. Do this in email/have proof. Then when you do get a new inspector - they'll change quick. You then have proof that you did your job and made similar recommendations prior. 

 

Good luck.

[sqflady]

Unfortunately this is all too common.  In my experience, companies like that do not change.  It is rare to come by a company that wants to do the right thing and put the money, time, and effort into doing so.  This is one of the reasons we have GFSI audits now because FDA/USDA doesn't do their job.  

[MDaleDDF]

Yeah, I've seen that a few times, tho not USDA.  Our internal auditor got to the point where she was being extremely lazy about the audit, and was basically doing the bare minimum to get her paycheck.   Blaming covid even a few months ago for wanting do do everything remote via facetime, etc etc, while the rest of the world is taking precautions, but doing their jobs.   She was let go after her last 'inspection'.     She was also almost at retirement, and took a 'ride the wave out' attitude toward everything.

Also, our plant manager who had been here for 40 years plus was looking to retire in the next few years, and just couldn't be bothered to do anything.   He refused to cooperate with being issued corrective actions, dealing with problematic employees in his are, etc.   To the point where we had guys smoking grass right outside our building at break time, because they knew he wouldn't do anything about it.   He was offered an early retirement for this year, which he didn't want to do, but the boss made it clear it was going to happen regardless, so he was pushed out.   He was not happy about it at all, and wanted to spend the next 4 years here doing the bare minimum to get by, which as we all know is impossible with the way this business is nowadays.  

 

I'm not sure what you should do in your particular scenario, but a person who is about to retire and takes the attitude of just skating by a little longer to collect paychecks until then, can be a very dangerous thing...

[olenazh]

People from the government, especially close to retirement, usually have a careless attitude to their duties. Why? Because they're sure they would never lose their job due to many factors, main of which is having a Union protecting their rights. I used to worked for one of Ontario Ministries and saw a lot of strange things. Like, for instance one of lab techs was a heavy drinker: he's been drinking alcohol from a small flask all day long. He was neglecting his duties, gadding around. And what do you think happened when his Manager complained to the top guys? The Union started protecting the drinker right away saying it was a disease. The drinker was sent home with full pay for 3 months for healing! Oh boy, I could tell you other weird stories, but this example is the brightest one:)

[oigdaym8]

Good Morning,

 

May I ask what type of products you produce? 

[foodguy63]

ccold,

 

Really just echoing some of the above comments here, but I have been in the exact same position. I even had the USDA inspector go so far as to say we would be in trouble once he retired and that the current leadership would leave at the same time to avoid change. Most days, he would sit in the break room with our owner and operations manager. He never performed a pre-op and made sure to give us an NR once every few weeks. When he took a vacation and we had a substitute USDA inspector, we would be lucky to stay under 5 NR's per day.

 

Ultimately, I documented everything I tried to correct/update and eventually left the company for another opportunity. 

[blucas]

My recommendation would be start looking of a new job, or stick it out and find a way to support the company to change. I always have felt that we should not rely on external enforcement to "do the right thing" there are reasons for not doing what should be done. Always seems to revolve around cost $$$ at some point, and you might have to be a better salesperson to get your way.

[thisusernameisnottaken]

Is the inspector with FSIS or AMS? 

[Miss Frankie]

I have dealt with both types. The USDC auditor I'm dealing with most of the time now is very by the book. Strict, but fair. 
He knows I will do my best to fix any issues he finds, so he will often not write a NC, just mention it as an observation.  
If there are things that I can't get changed, I'll even ask him to point them out in his audits.  Things seem to get done quicker if he brings it up.

Years ago, we had an inspector that had reviewed my work so often, he got to the point he'd just ask for my numbers and write his report based off that.  

[Brendan Triplett]

Isn't your inspector rotating out?  My inspectors rotate every 4 months.  They never are here long enough to get that comfortable. I feel for you.  The company may end up losing the ability to cut for awhile until they get serious.

 

Cheers!

[kfromNE]

Isn't your inspector rotating out?  My inspectors rotate every 4 months.  They never are here long enough to get that comfortable. I feel for you.  The company may end up losing the ability to cut for awhile until they get serious.

 

Cheers!

It depends on where you are in the country and the type of facility. We have ours for 6 months. In rural areas - they stay longer.