Reviewing and Updating Policies
Just a question regarding policies, we have our polices on display i.e. H&S, Food Safety. If these have been reviewed and there are not changes made, does management have to re-sign these with the review date or can they have the last date there were changes?
Hard to convince an auditor that you have reviewed everything each year without proof.
During our annual we note next to each index line item the date of the review and have a statement page that declares senior management m, SQF Practitioner, etc have reviewed everything with signatures and date - the date corresponds to each document line item.
The management will not need to re-sign the policy if no changes are made, only a review date needs to mention in the review record.
Just make it part of your management review, that's what I do. Proof is located in the minutes if they ask, etc etc.
Just make it part of your management review, that's what I do. Proof is located in the minutes if they ask, etc etc.
This is what I've always preferred. Document what SOP/s and programs are reviewed during a meeting, everyone who is involved and responsible for the program should sign off and the review itself should include document evaluating that program against the SQF code (especially if the code affecting that SOP has changed).
That said, I have had auditors look at a SOP that was lasted revised 5+ years ago and accuse us of not reviewing it. Led to a fun little debate about what a REVISION history is intended to capture. It's not a review history, and revision dates/history should only get updated when revisions are made. -BUT- there are a lot of people who utilize the revision history to reflect review, adding a note like "Reviewed by Management - No Changes." That annoys me, but as the saying goes, there's more than one way to skin a cat.
If no changes are made (aside from the management commitment piece) that your intitules and a date should be sufficient
I have docs with 4-5 sets of initials and dates as a mark of review on an unchanged policy or procedure
HOWEVER---your internal audit should match date of review and should say no deficiencies were found
If they are displayed policies, as you stated, I would think you would want a signature and a posting date on each. It could serve as additional evidence of verification. All of our posted policies are reviewed and signed annually by the Owner / CEO. It's not just for your auditor(s), we have a lot of people comment and ask questions about them.