MANAGING UNANNOUNCED AUDITS UNDER GFSI SCHEMES
MANAGING
UNANNOUNCED
AUDITS UNDER GFSI
SCHEMES
Tell me about it….
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Question: What is your area of responsibility
in your organization:
1.QA/QC/ HACCP coordinator/ Food Safety
Manager
2.Production/ Product Development
3.Operations
4.Other
Tell me about it….
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Question: Are you currently certified to a
GFSI Standard? If yes, chose a standard.
1.No
2.SQF
3.BRC
4.FSSC 22000
5.Other
Program Outline
•Expectations and challenges of an
unannounced audit
• Best practices to plan and promote
being audit ready all the time
What is an unannounced audit?
UNANNOUNCED
• not made known
publicly or declared
in advance
Dictionary.com
Unannounced Audits- Customer Trend
• ASDA British Supermarket (subsidiary of Walmart) has asked all
its suppliers to pass BRC unannounced audits
• Costco US has begun to ask for unannounced audits
Sustain the environment seen during audits
year round!
Unannounced Audits- GFSI Trend
• BRC – Two options:– Fully unannounced
– GMP portion unannounced
• SQF Code Edition 7.2, July 2014
– One unannounced audit within each 3-year certification cycle
• FSSC 22000 – pending 2016
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Question: Have you had an unannounced
audit?
1. Yes
2. No
3. I don’t know
4. No, but we know it is coming
Tell me about it….
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In your opinion, how prepared is your company for an
unannounced audit?
1. Fully prepared – we are audit ready 24/7
2. Almost prepared – would like 1 day notice
3. Not very well prepared – 1 week notice would really help
4. My worst nightmare – luckily my CV/resume is up to date
“Audit-Ready, Every Day”
Challenges with unannounced audits
• How will you manage if
key personnel are absent?
• What if you are unable to
locate documents?
• What if people (e.g.
HACCP team) are pulled
away?
Key Personnel Absent
• Scheme usually requires
there to be someone
who deputizes in the
event of absence of a
responsible person.
–How knowledgeable is
this person?
–Have they participated
in previous audits?
Locating Documents
• How is data collected,
managed and stored?
• Time to access information
• Make electronic records
easily accessible
• Consider access for back-up
Staff Resources
• Communication, communication, communication!!
– Senior management
–Departments
–Operators
Unannounced Audit Plan
Formulate a plan of attack
• When/where are you going to start?
• Who should be involved?
• What resources are going to be needed?
• What are anticipated obstacles?
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Using just a couple of words,
indicate one key thing to
include in an unannounced
audit plan?
What not to do…
• Refuse entry
Current situation
• Identify what you do now in preparation for an
announced audit
–Additional cleaning
–Training refresher
–Review paperwork
–Run certain products
–Organize warehouse
Add these elements to your unannounced audit plan!
Have a plan – in advance
• Work on systems in an ongoing manner
• Ongoing attention to corrective and preventive actions (CAPA)
Have a plan – day of the audit
• Designation of personnel
• Greeting and meeting- the audit room?
• Trained escorts and back ups
• Internal communication
– Not to warn but to activate roles
Testing the Plan
Internal Audits
• Mock unannounced audits
• Audit when key personnel
not available
Summary
Unannounced audits
are going to happen
–Plan ahead
–Follow your plan
Thank you!
Jennifer McCreary
Technical Manager, Training Services
NSF International