A guide to auditing and traceability
For food production businesses, there are many benefits to having comprehensive traceability procedures in place. As well as enabling you to meet Food Standards guidelines, they can help you to reduce errors in production and prevent unnecessary costs, increase customer satisfaction and improve your business operations – and, having the right processes in place, will allow your business to consistently pass its audits.
In this guide, we will be detailing the best practice for auditing and traceability in your business, so you can reap the rewards.
- Preparing your business for auditing
- Having the right systems and staff
- Schedule your audits frequently
- Tips for effective auditing and traceability
Preparing your business for auditing
Prior to employing new practices into your production line, there are some steps you should take to prepare to ensure you pass your audit with success.
The first step is to identify what your audit will be compromised of. By having a detailed guide into what future audits may be looking for in your business, you can create a checklist of what needs to be covered. This will allow you to gain insight into what practices you should have in place and to what standards, so that you have the foundations to pass any audit that may take place.
Next, you should make audit information is shared with your staff. This includes informing employees of any procedures that you will be implementing into your workplace, alerting them ahead of audit day and making sure they are aware of what standards need to be met in order for the audit to be passed. With this knowledge, they will be able to implement these standards into their everyday work and be fully brought onboard with your traceability practices.
Finally, most audits will require you to have traceability in place, so you know exactly what systems your product has gone through and what checks have been done. Traceability requires careful documentation for your business, so make sure you have the processes in place for this and that staff are aware of how to complete the right paperwork. Paperwork may include filling in logging sheets, compliance forms and process checklists, as well as making sure all documents are dated and provide the necessary information. You should also have consistent processes for storing this documentation – it’s worth digitalising it so you can access back-up copies whenever it is needed.
Having the right systems and staff
The systems you have in place can be key to your auditing and traceability – specifically, systems that are reliable, safe and allow you to record data.
The first step to having the right systems in place is knowing what you need to ensure your processes and finished products meet the requirements of your audit. For example, inspection systems are required to check for contaminants in your product, but the inspection systems you use depend on your applications and what contamination risks are present. This means you should plan ahead to find out what inspection systems you need to have in place.
No matter what inspection systems you use – or what systems you have in place across your production line – make sure that they are accurate so that you can be certain they are doing the job intended in the best possible way. It is also beneficial to have systems that record data from your production as they are used: this allows you to collect information for traceability to access whenever you need it and can cut time from having to manually collect this data. All of Yamato’s machines use state-of-the-art technology so that you can ensure accurate, reliable and recorded production, in line with your audit and traceability requirements.
Once you have the systems you need in place, it is vital that you have the right staff to operate them. Having appropriately trained operators for your systems will mean they are used correctly and safely, which will go some way to help your business to meet audit requirements. Make sure you provide in-depth training for the relevant employees on any machines they are using so that the right standards are being met.
Schedule internal checks and audits
While external audits may only happen semi-regularly, it is important to make sure you are performing your own audits and checks on a frequent basis. These checks can help you to get internal insight to the effectiveness of your processes and procedures, as well as act as a test for future external audits.
Create a schedule for these internal checks and audits, ensuring that every aspect of your business is covered off (this doesn’t have to be done all in one audit, but can be rotated through various checks). This schedule should also incorporate internal checks in the run up to an external audit, so you can have time to identify and rectify any issues.
Remember to treat internal audits as if they are external. Appoint a business representative to take the role of auditor, using the same checklist as an external auditor might, and communicate with the rest of the business that this audit will be taking place so they can prepare. And, once an internal audit is complete, make note of when the audit took place, any findings or issues, as well as when and how these issues were remedied. This will help your traceability, allowing you to have a record of what checks have been completed and how they have been addressed.
Tips for effective auditing and traceability
Auditing and traceability can cover many different aspects of your business. As well as the guidance outlined above, you should also bear these tips in mind to help you pass that audit:
- Part of passing an audit includes make sure your production line is in safe, working condition – so be sure to schedule regular checks and maintenance of your machines and equipment. A maintenance plan can help you to do so.
- Auditing can extend beyond your production line – it can include your sales teams, HR departments and labelling practices. Make sure each department is aware of their role in auditing and is doing their part of meet standards.
- Replace outdated equipment, particularly if its efficiency has dropped. Although this is can require investment, having updated technology will go some way to help your business pass audits.
- Auditing standards are constantly evolving, so keep tabs on any changes and make sure you update your audit processes and documentation in line.
There is a certain amount of effort that goes into have good traceability and auditing practices in your business – but it is worth it to consistently pass external checks and be sure that your business is running effectively, reliably and in line with industry standards.
If you need help in preparing your food production line for audit, Yamato can help – we can provide training, maintenance advice and information on systems that will ensure you pass your next audit.