What are your top 5 priorities in preparing for the BRC & why?

What are your top 5 priorities in preparing for the BRC & why.

The reason I am asking this is because I have to do this for a presentation at a job interview. I know what my priorities are but like any BRC preperation where ever I have worked all hell breaks loose a month before the audit so every thing is prority in ensuring it is covered

hope you can help me

1. Ensure your internal audits of the quality system are up to date as good internal audits ensure that non-conformances can be high-lighted and dealt with or an action plan put in place prior to the BRC. Pay special attention to those that are fundamental i.e. Training. Training records produced by other departments have let me down in the past.

2. Check back on your previous non-conformances and ensure that the corrective action taken has stood the test of time, adapt and amend in time for the audit so the non-conformance cannot escalate.

3. Train the personnel on the requirements for BRC including their own GMP. All personnel may be asked about what they are doing and why. Ensure that the appropriate personnel are going to be doing the correct job on the day and that the training records are appropriate. HACCP Critical controls training!!!

4. Audit the factory integrity (maintenance of the plant) floors, walls, ceilings, EFKs working, glass and hard plastics etc. Get all small things fixed before the audit (and document it) put in place a plan for capex.

5. Read every word of the standard. Each word is there for a reason. There are no wasted words.

This post was very helpful. It is a hectic time before an audit, making sure you have everything in place. Its remiinders like these that keep your audit running smooth and efficient. I especially agree that training is of the upmost importance. How can you have a quality system if no one follows it.

1. Ensure your internal audits of the quality system are up to date as good internal audits ensure that non-conformances can be high-lighted and dealt with or an action plan put in place prior to the BRC. Pay special attention to those that are fundamental i.e. Training. Training records produced by other departments have let me down in the past.

2. Check back on your previous non-conformances and ensure that the corrective action taken has stood the test of time, adapt and amend in time for the audit so the non-conformance cannot escalate.

3. Train the personnel on the requirements for BRC including their own GMP. All personnel may be asked about what they are doing and why. Ensure that the appropriate personnel are going to be doing the correct job on the day and that the training records are appropriate. HACCP Critical controls training!!!

4. Audit the factory integrity (maintenance of the plant) floors, walls, ceilings, EFKs working, glass and hard plastics etc. Get all small things fixed before the audit (and document it) put in place a plan for capex.

5. Read every word of the standard. Each word is there for a reason. There are no wasted words.

I would think number one priority is getting your HACCP plan in order. It is almost always the first thing an auditor looks at after the opening meeting and in my experience if you have a top notch HACCP system in place, you have set a good tone for the rest of the audit.

There are 10 fundamental clauses in the BRC manual (HACCP is one of them) and failure to meet any of these is a major non-conformance right away; so if you quoted these in your interview, you won't go too far wrong

This is a good question.

It is hard to pick 5 out of the whole list. I guess my top 5 would be:

1. HACCP - as previously mentioned this is the basis for the food safety.
2. Training - not just records but ensuring that the operatives on the factory floor are trained well enough to talk through their tasks with an auditor
3. Factory Fabric / Hygiene - even though this is an ongoing thing it doesn't hurt to have everything extra clean and shiny.
4. Traceability - Labelling of everything in the process and ensuring that you can trace everything in the system.
5. Don't Panic!

Hope the interview goes well, let us know how you get on!!

"I especially agree that training is of the upmost importance. How can you have a quality system if no one follows it."

In my experience even blooming training won't make someone follow a quality system as they should, I've lost track of the number of times an auditor has asked a member of staff what they do and they've turned to me looking blankly like they've never even seen a metal detector before let alone worked the thing for the last 5 years!!

Top Tip No. 1 - don't work with people