KPI setting for QA/QC Dept in Food Manufacturing

Hi All,

I was given a task to develop KPI for QA/QC dept in the company.

We are a food manufacturing company that supplies food products to retail stores.

We only produced one type of food product to be distributed to our retail stores.

Appreciate if anyone could share some ideas for QA/QC dept KPI setting.

My management wanted the dept to think of other KPI measures besides the usual ones that related to QA/QC e.g. customer complaints, % non-conformances, etc.

Thank you very much.

Really good topic because the KPIs you mention, consumer complaints and non conformances are output measures.  In my opinion it drives better results if you have some input measures.  To do this, what I'd do is get a team together and brainstorm what are the critical things which drive customer complaints and non conformances (as an example) or external audit scores if you like.  You could use a traditional fish bone diagram if you like.  Think about behaviours but also get deep down and dirty with the equipment.  These critical things could then become input measures in your KPIs.  So for example, you could have:

• Internal audit scores
• right first time (% units produced and not held)
• If you do a food safety culture questionnaire, % compliance with your plan of activities to improve it
• % of people trained on specific courses relating to food safety and quality

I'm not sure if that is clear but if you only focus on output measures you don't have as much control over, then the pace of change can be glacial.  By focusing on input KPIs, you not only see faster change but you don't get as distracted by normal fluctuations.  You need to keep an eye on those output measures though at some level.  You can't just ignore them but they're more verification than monitoring.  Focus on the right behaviours and those output measures will come all on their own.

Been there can be challenging. Keep in mind the more KPIs the harder your job becomes. Focus on those KPIs that you Team can assist you bc if you're the only one getting and providing data it's going to be a long day. Some KPIs I focused on;

1. GMPs: if a numerical % can be provided then this works.

2. Product on Hold: when reporting in Lbs or Cases this is an attention.

3. Micro Hits: are you seeing trend in Micro hits. 

Some of the KPI I could suggest, if you have not considered yet (and not mentioned by some responses here), may include:

1. Product Recall/Withdrawal

2. External Audit Score/Rating

3. Cost on Non-Quality - No./Cost of Returned deliveries/shipment, Credit Notes, Rebates/Penalties

4. Not Right the First Time - No./Cost of Reworked, Degraded, Scrapped, Staff Sales/Giveaway/Donations, etc. 

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Ivy 

My KPIs are as follows:

Complaints (% and Trend Analysis comparing to the last year)

Deviations (number of deviations, categories, any trends)

Micro

Pest Control 

Personnel Training (Written tests: % of passed)

Note the following:

1. FPFQ- First pass first Quality
2. Customer complain register/Documentary
3. Analysis of trends
4. product recal
5. .........................