Taking The Surprise Out Of Surprise Audits

There are good surprises and bad surprises, but when it comes to an unannounced audit there is only one kind. The Food and Beverage industry is entering a new era of audits and inspections. One of heightened scrutiny and stakes. New regulations, revised private audit standards and an ever-evolving risk landscape are causing further complexities and additional requirements for the Food and Beverage industry. Between regulatory, third-party certifications such as the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), customer and internal audits – many Food & Beverage organizations are experiencing one or more audits per month. This was also intensified in 2013 when third-party certifications and supermarket giants like Tesco’s, M&S and Asda moved towards the trend of unannounced audits. This means that all organizations/suppliers are required to be audit-ready all the time.

However, it’s difficult to be in an audit-ready state when you are relying on manual, paper-based systems or spreadsheet solutions. Gathering and maintaining all of your reports, documents, supplier compliance records, proof of CAPA’s and/or records that verify and validate the various components of food safety plans can be incredibly time-consuming.

Making Surprise Audits No Longer a Surprise

Regular Internal Audits

By regularly performing an internal audit, you can ensure compliance with any and all relevant laws and regulations. It can also help provide you with peace of mind that you are prepared for your next unannounced audit. Gaining customer trust and avoiding costly fines associated with non-compliance makes internal audits an important and worthwhile activity for your organization.

AuditComply is an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) platform, providing organizations with a real-time and comprehensive overview of your organization’s ability to meet all regulatory compliance demands; ensuring compliance & quality for any organization operating in the Food & Beverage industry. Whether you are complying with ISO, HACCP, BRC, SQF, FSA and/or IFS processes, protect your supply chain with AuditComply.

“Transparency is the New Black”

Transparency is the new black- everyone wants to look good in it! When organizations choose to use paper-based systems, having complete transparency of food safety and quality can be very difficult; partially due to the time employees spend filling in checklists/inspections/assessments truthfully and accurately.

AuditComply’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) platform provides full accountability for every employee across the supply chain. With full multi-site, 360-degree visibility, organizations get more out of their risk data, preventing issues from recurring and slowing performance. Our real-time data-intensive analytics allows you to quickly spot trends and locate issues immediately. Identify the root cause of any non-conformity and implement the necessary corrective action!

AuditComply provides full accountability of each relevant personnel. Track employee performance through our easy-to-use analytical dashboard showing all Open, In-Progress and Over-Due assessments / non-conformances. A real-time view of all assessments and non-conformance status’ allows organizations to proactively identify, track and resolve compliance, risk and quality issues. This creates the desired food safety culture that all organizations want and need to always be audit-ready.

You have to show that you “say what you are going to do”

Are all your food safety plans, risk assessments, preventative controls-related standard operating procedures (SOPs), Good Manufacturing Practices etc. defined, organized and accessible?

“If it’s not documented it didn’t happen”. Today, regulators struggle to verify if a manufacturer is monitoring and verifying their different processes if they do not have the appropriate records available to them. Simply saying, “I do” is no longer enough to convince inspectors, customers or in worst cases, lawyers. When you’re conducting assessments in the field,  you need a system that gives you the ability to refer back to specific document types such as manuals, procedures, work instructions and the latest standards or regulations.

Find a way to access your records quickly and easily. Our document control feature allows organizations to store different document types such as manuals, procedures, work instructions, SOP’s, GMP, test methods and much more. Impress Auditors by leveraging technology like AuditComply, where records can be produced in real-time and accessed in a click! 

You have to show you “do what you say” – AuditComply Real-Time Reporting

Can you verify the scheduling and completion of tasks? Are you ensuring that test results become part of your FSQA records?

AuditComply’s workflow engines and automated schedulers ensure that all tasks, audits, and inspections associated with your requirements/programs are completed according to schedule. There is no longer a need to manually notify each other when processes/tasks are due, overdue and completed. Text and email notifications and reminders can be sent to any user keeping everyone informed. 

AuditComply’s newly developed Executive Report builder is invaluable to auditors.  This fully-customizable feature easily lets you consolidate lengthy reports. Summarize the important information, provide concise analysis and outline conclusions with ease. Construct bespoke reports and structure them to your needs, all in real-time. A flexible feature that also has made team audits possible! By pulling together multiple audits conducted by different team members to generate detailed reports!

AuditComply’s Enterprise Risk Management platform can be integrated into any business process instantly. Meaning our software solution can facilitate and streamline your compliance program in a matter of minutes. Whether you’re a food manufacturer, supplier or a processor, the consequences of unsafe food can be serious and mission-critical. Not being fully prepared for unannounced audits can be seriously harmful to your business. Our platform can help organizations comply or maintain compliance with any standard or regulation. We make it identifying & controlling food safety hazards a painless process and ensure food safety levels are never compromised.

Want to be constantly Audit-Ready? Choose AuditComply.

With AuditComply’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) platform, your investments and value are realized from day one. To avail of a trial of the AuditComply platform, or to discuss a potential partnership, contact the team at info@auditcomply.com.

Want to find out more? Learn more from our growing lists of customers.