8 replies to this topic

[blissdairycow]

Hi everyone

We just had our BRC Food Safety Audit against edition 9. I am the only QA Manager on site for a small ice cream manufacturer and its my responsibility to create, manage, revise, and collect all programs needed for the BRC. Happy to say all my hard work paid off and we got an A! However, we did get a nonconformance for 2 certifications I did not have.

 

Internal Auditing

Customer Complaint

 

I am going to register with BRC for a 2 day internal auditing course but I cant find anything on customer complaint. Any suggestions on good courses out there that I can take?

 

Thanks! 

[jfrey123]

"Certification" for Customer Complaints?  Really?  I'm not a BRC guy but that seems like a stretch.

 

I know on internal audits one can argue for or against a paid BRC course being required, I tend to think the wording allows for in-house training of your internal auditors.  But I'm not seeing a paid course for customer complaint handling and I'm not seeing in the standard that it needs to be an external course.  The standard on 3.10.1 only states "appropriately trained staff", so if you can produce a training record on your in-house customer complaint program I can't fathom how that's not enough.

[GMO]

Have you got the specific wording for the customer complaints one?  It might be that something like root cause analysis training (if you don't have it) might be more helpful.

[blissdairycow]

I thought it was a stretch to as I have PCQI, HACCP training but she wanted to see something specifically on customer complaints 

[Tony-C]

Hi blissdairycow,

 

  Not sure I’ve ever seen a non-conformance for not having complaint management training.

 

FYI the IFSQN offer a Complaint Management & Performance Improvement Training webinar on demand for only $97. 

 

The webinar is written and presented by myself based on many years experience in the food industry and a lot of success in reducing complaint levels at different sites. As well as guidance on complaint management, the webinar includes guidance and tools for reducing complaint numbers.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[GMO]

Hmm.  Did they point to the section of the clause stating that you need it? 

 

Odd.  Do you have the specific wording?  Was there something else pointing to a bad process in place perhaps?

 

But this is a free course from the food standards agency in the UK on RCA.  It would help for complaints or any other issue you have:

 

Food Standards Agency - Root Cause Analysis

[Tony-C]

But this is a free course from the food standards agency in the UK on RCA.  It would help for complaints or any other issue you have:

 

Food Standards Agency - Root Cause Analysis

 

Hi GMO,

 

I thought this was quite good (although a little bit too complicated) until I came to ‘An effective thought shower’ - WTF!

 

See Brainstorms turn to showers which expresses my thoughts in a polite manner:

But the Campaign for Plain English complained that the decision had 'reached the point of real ridicule'. John Wild, its spokesman, said: 'You do sometimes wonder if some people haven't got anything better to do with their time.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

[GMO]

 

See Brainstorms turn to showers which expresses my thoughts in a polite manner:

But the Campaign for Plain English complained that the decision had 'reached the point of real ridicule'. John Wild, its spokesman, said: 'You do sometimes wonder if some people haven't got anything better to do with their time.

 

 

 

Ah, sometimes when things change, people get overly cautious in not offending.  I think that's ok personally.  I'd rather try to be nice than not and if that sometimes makes somebody cringe, then so be it.

 

I disagree it's too complex.  If you just want 5 whys then that's a 5 min online read but nobody does effective RCA just using 5 whys.  The FSA one is based on an DMAIC type approach so similar to A3 / PPS which I think is a bloody good tool overall which will solve probably about 80% of your problems if you follow it as designed.  If any food company I go into is actually solving anywhere near 80% of the problems, then I'd give them an award.  No food business is anywhere close to using RCA well that I've seen so far.  I even talked to one the other day where they said they have RCA but it's restricted by politics...  I.e. they don't want to be honest about the real root causes.  WTAF?

[lkosler]

We have a customer complaints and concerns SOP in which the sales staff, customer, service, plant manager, pcqi, and quality personnel are all trained on the customer complaint policy and steps in handling complaints.  That is what we present and has been accepted for 12 years. Hope that helps.