Seeking Advice on Transitioning to a Consulting Role

Hello!

I am actually in that role right now, working PT as a consultant but really mainly focusing on the SQF system.

You'll have to appoint someone full time at the company as the SQF Practitioner and also someone else full time as the substitute practitioner.  So that person will need HACCP training as per the role.

In regards to an unannounced audit, I think you would just need to be on-call.  You could define a blackout period per your schedule but otherwise need to be available so you can oversee the audit for the company.

For a company I worked at I was the full time Practitioner for our one site, but would consult and assist for two of our other sites.  First thing, each site needs a designated SQF Practitioner and back-up.  You as consultant can be neither.  Possibly could be the back-up, but you'd have to be on site when the main Practitioner is away during audit time.

I was allowed to assist during the audit, but each auditor made it very clear that the site's Practitioner should be the main person leading the audit.  During one audit I consulted with, the sites Practitioner kept looking to me to answer...that lasted maybe an hour before the auditor stepped in and said 'I am convinced he knows, but you are the main Practitioner for this site and need to know and answer these questions as well'.  So you can assist, but the site Practitioner has to know and show they understand the program.

Finally, during an unannounced audit, the auditor will not wait for a Practitioner to show up to start the audit.  This is why you are to have a Practitioner and a back up on site.  They have to start the facility inspection part of the audit within the first 30 minutes of arrival.  So if they arrive and the main Practitioner is not there, it falls on the back-up to run the audit.  So either the main Practitioner or the back-up should be on site during your normal business hours during the unannounced audit period.

 

Hi everyone,

 

I hope this message finds you well. I've been the Quality Manager and SQF Practitioner for a small company with 10 production employees for the past 3 years. My first job in this role. In the last two audits, where I worked independently, we successfully achieved a score of over 96. 

 

Due to financial constraints, the company is unable to sustain me as a full-time employee with fair compensation. Considering this, I am contemplating a transition into a consultant/technical reviewer role (not sure what name to give).

 

My role would involve to ensure the successful maintenance of the SQF certification. I plan to be on-site for 1-2 days per month and work some hours weekly remotely. They also want me to conduct the audit.
 

My main question is, would I still be allowed to be present and assist during the audit, even if I'm not a SQF Practitioner full-time employee? Additionally, what is the recommended protocol if an auditor arrives for an unannounced audit, and there is no SQF Practitioner on-site? Would an audit wait to the SQF Practitioner be notified to come?
 

Thank you in advance for any help. 

 

Who would they designate as the practitioner?  The practitioner must be "employed by the site".    There is no rule that the practitioner role is "full time"  They may be headed down a bad path in terms of "management commitment".

Thanks for catching that, always thought they had to be full time but you are correct

The primary and substitute SQF practitioner shall:

i. Be employed by the site;

ii. Hold a position of responsibility related to the management of the site's SQF System;

iii. Have completed a HACCP training course;

iv. Be competent to implement and maintain HACCP based food safety plans; and

v. Have an understanding of the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing and the requirements to implement and maintain an SQF System relevant to the site's scope of certification

Thanks for catching that, always thought they had to be full time but you are correct

The primary and substitute SQF practitioner shall:

i. Be employed by the site;

ii. Hold a position of responsibility related to the management of the site's SQF System;

iii. Have completed a HACCP training course;

iv. Be competent to implement and maintain HACCP based food safety plans; and

v. Have an understanding of the SQF Food Safety Code: Food Manufacturing and the requirements to implement and maintain an SQF System relevant to the site's scope of certification

Honestly, I think its a slippery slope.    In this case, I'm not sure being on site for 2 days a month and a few hours remote a week is realistic or even constitutes being "employed by the site".  They would be better off keeping the OP on full time cutting elsewhere and giving them the opportunity to take on other responsibilities. Unless, that is not what the OP desires.   

Hard to be a practitioner responsible for reviewing documents pertaining to SQF and your food safety system if you're only there a couple days a week.  They can employ you as a consultant to keep the high level stuff reviewed, but they need an SQF practitioner full time.  Of course, the code doesn't specifically state full-time, but they imply you need one on every single shift of operation for the necessary document reviews.