Urgently obtain IFS and BRC certifications
An Asian group, specializing in frozen ready meals sold in B to B to the catering and mass distribution sectors, has established itself in Europe, and especially in France to access the European and British markets. The company uses food of animal origin; it is therefore subject to obtaining health approval in accordance with European regulations. The company called on Leaderia to replace the Quality Manager who went on long-term sick leave. The main challenge of the mission was to set up quality processes to meet the requirements of health authorities and European standards in order to obtain urgent IFS / BRC certifications, essential for the marketing of products.
The industrial site has around thirty people and the need for an interim manager was essential because obtaining these urgent certifications had to meet the specifications of customers who had already placed orders with the company.
Context
The site’s Quality Manager could not be contacted due to her sick leave, and the documentation system in place was both incomplete and unsuited to the size and structure of the company.
Two visits to the veterinary services had already taken place, and there were less than 2 months left for a final and last attempt to obtain health approval without which the company would be forced to close permanently, despite the 350k€ injected all the months by the group.
Mission Issues
The main challenge of the transition management mission was therefore to obtain the health approval necessary for the production and distribution of foodstuffs in the EU. It was also essential to obtain the certification to access the market of the retail giants in Europe.
To guarantee operational continuity after the end of the transition mission, the transition manager was also responsible for improving the skills of the quality assistant.
Tasks performed to complete the mission
The Quality Manager in transition began by carrying out a complete diagnosis of the existing situation, and by preparing the roadmap for the mission. He then completely prepared the health approval file in accordance with the requirements of the authorities.
In order to carry out his mission, he overhauled the entire quality and food safety system, including: *
- Redefining company areas and setting up clear and efficient signage
- The formation of a team of internal auditors and the deployment of internal audits to all processes
- The facilitation of several training sessions with operators in order to quickly establish a culture of food safety and raise their awareness of the risks associated with Food fraud / Food safety / Food defense / Allergens
- The establishment of a weekly steering committee meeting to strengthen inter-departmental communication, and quickly resolve any sticking points.
Finally, the transition manager reviewed all the requirements of the IFS reference system in order to provide a compliant and appropriate response.
Encountered difficulties
Interim management was necessary for the smooth running of this mission because of the urgency of the situation, and the large number of tasks and internal and external interlocutors to manage. The experience and expertise of the interim manager were essential to successfully accomplish the mission.
Mission results
In just 5 months, the Quality Manager in transition has accompanied the company towards obtaining final health approval, with congratulations for the rapid evolution of food safety management. Within a few months, the whole company reached a very high level on the Food Safety Culture indicator.
IFS certification was also obtained with 97% compliance.
The quality assistant, who became the head of the company, quickly developed her skills and developed a very high degree of autonomy and efficiency.
