SQT Blog

At the end of last year ISO published an updated edition of the ISO 19011 auditing standard which aims to help organisations to save money, time and resources by providing a uniform approach to multiple management system audits.

In today’s business environment, many organisations incorporate a number of management systems, such as quality, environmental, occupational health & safety and information security. As a result, these organisations want to harmonise and, where possible, combine the auditing of these systems.
Compared to the first edition of the standard published in 2002 which applied only to ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment), the scope of ISO 19011:2011, Guidelines for auditing management systems, has been expanded to reflect current thinking and the complexities of auditing multiple management system standards (MSS).

The new standard aims to help user organisations to optimise and facilitate the integration of their management systems and, in facilitating a single audit of its systems, will streamline the audit processes, reduce duplication of effort and decrease disruption of work units being audited.

Specific attention is given to the implementation of the audit programme. By fully applying these guidelines, the prerequisites are provided to make auditing a crucial tool for top management to achieve the objectives of the organisation and add-value.

ISO 19011:2011 provides guidance on the conduct of internal or external management system audits, as well as on the management of audit programmes. Intended users of this International Standard include auditors, audit team leaders, audit programme managers, organisations implementing management systems, and organisations needing to conduct audits of management systems for contractual or regulatory reasons.

Alister Dalrymple, Convenor of the team that updated the guidelines, described the benefits which the new standard is expected to bring to users and the improvements made compared to the 2002 edition it replaces:
ISO 19011:2011 has been revised to provide auditors, organisations implementing management systems and organisations needing to conduct audits of management systems an opportunity to re-assess their own practices and identify improvement opportunities.

Compared to the 2002 version, the standard adds the concept of risk and recognises more explicitly the competence of the audit team and individual auditors. Also, the use of technology in remote auditing is acknowledged, for example, conducting remote interviews and reviewing records remotely.”

Another improvement is the clarification of the relationship between ISO 19011:2011 and ISO/IEC 17021:2011, Conformity assessment – Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems. While those involved in management system certification audits follow the requirements of ISO/IEC 17021:2011, they might also find the guidance in this International Standard useful.

This post has been adapted from information published on the International Organisation for Standardisation website

In the Lean Six Sigma program the DMAIC (define, measure, analysis, improve, control) is deployed in conjunction with the Project to drive process improvement. In fact, Juran, the renowned quality guru said that breakthrough improvement (in the order of 50%) happens in no other way – project by project. He has been proven to be on the money as per the benchmark and most successful Lean Six Sigma companies like GE and Honeywell.

However, that does not mean that the logic behind the DMAIC cannot be used in everyday life. In many instances, we use it intuitively unknown to ourselves – e.g. we discover a water stain under the sink:

Therefore, the basic logic and closed loop approach behind the DMAIC can be quite useful in everyday situations but unfortunately it not used where it is most needed. The myriad of issues dominating the public airways e.g. the Ryan report, the endless tribunals, the reform of our Health Service, the reform of politics are all examples where the DMAIC loses Improve and Control and gets stuck permanently in the Analyse Phase with report after report gathering dust!

When one reads news of the Irish economy, one can’t but sometimes get a little dispirited. That’s why we need to celebrate good news stories when we come across them.

Well here’s a good news story. Food and drink exports from Ireland for 2011 are expected to reach an all-time high of €8.9 billion, up more than 12% on 2010. Overall, the food and drink sector is estimated to be worth €24 billion.

The food and drink sector is one of a number of sectors of the economy that is doing really well. We see it on a daily basis with the continued demand for food safety training courses.

More analysis here.

Onwards and upwards for the food and drink sector in 2012!

SQT with a festive look

Well we try!

Thank you for your custom in 2011 and looking forward to working with you in 2012. Hope everyone has a happy and safe Christmas from …

Margie, Eilish, Kim, Lisa and Jean

Lisa, Kim, Jean, Lily and Margie

Le gach dea-ghui i gcomhair na nollag agus na h-ath bhliana!

NEBOSH have made a number of updates to the syllabus for the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety course. Our course brochure reflects the updated syllabus.

One change that has been made is that delegates can now carry out the practical assessment in their own place of work, rather than at a venue organised by the tutor. This will make the practical assessment more meaningful for people who complete the course.

We are currently taking bookings for the next course which commences on 26th March. The course is an eleven day course, two weeks 26-30 March and 30 April – 04 May. The eleventh day, a revision day will be held on 30 May in preparation for the NEBOSH exams on 13 June.

The course costs €2,350.

Pass rates for our delegates well exceed NEBSOSH average rates. For the last exams held in June 2011, all SQT delegates passed all three units, a pass rate of 100%. The NEBOSH average pass rate across the three units for that exam sitting was 63%.

The International Certificate course syllabus covers International legal frameworks and codes of practice but our SQT course also covers Irish legislation. Other centres in Ireland run the National Certificate which is based on UK legislation.

Click on the course title here to see the full course brochure, NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.

Please contact Eilish Cummins, ecummins@sqt.ie or 061 339040 with any queries or to make a course booking.

The BRC Global Standards consist of four industry-leading Technical Standards that specify requirements to be met by an organisation to enable the production, packaging, storage and distribution of safe food and consumer products.

The four standards are:
- BRC Global Standard for Food Safety. This standard is now at Issue 6

- BRC/IOP Global Standard for Packaging & Packaging Materials. This standard is now at Issue 4

- BRC Global Standard for Storage and Distribution. This standard is now at Issue 2, and

- BRC Global Standard for Consumer Products. This standard is now at Issue 3.

Originally developed in response to the needs of UK members of the British Retail Consortium, BRC, the Standards are now used world-wide and are specified by growing numbers of retailers and branded manufacturers in many countries. Certification to a Global Standard is achieved through audit by third-party Certification Bodies. Certification reassures retailers and branded manufacturers of the capability and competence of the supplier. Certification reduces the need for retailers and manufacturers to carry out their own audits.

BRC Food Safety Standard Issue 6 represents the most significant change to this standard to date. Issue 6 comes into effect on January 1st 2012.

We will hold our next BRC Global Food Safety Standards training course on 31 Jan 2012 in Dublin. Previous courses have been fully booked out. Contact jfeehan@sqt.ie if you would like to attend.

This week we have our budget days. We watch as the government tries to steer the country into more calm economic waters.

We watch and we hope.

One sector that is contributing considerably to the economy is the food sector. According to Bord Bia, the value of Irish food and drink exports grew by 11 per cent in 2010 to €7.9 billion.

Last week SuperValu, who themselves purchased €1.6 billion’s worth of Irish goods and services in 2010, rewarded excellence in Irish food production at their Irish Food Awards. I read about it in last Saturday’s Irish Independent.

There were 5 award categories:

• The Quality Award was won by Dunn’s of Dublin

• The Innovation Award was won by Oliver Carty from Roscommon

• The Local Producers Award was won by St Tola Goat’s Cheese in Clare

• The Best Newcomer Award was won by Farmers to Market

• The Best Fresh Product Award was won by Keeling’s of Dublin

The overall winner of the title SuperValu Irish Food Producer of the Year was Oliver Carty, Roscommon.

Well done to SuperValu for recognising excellence. Support for Irish food producers like this, is essential if our country is to reach more calm economic waters … hopefully in the not too distant future.

Write the report from the reader’s point of view

Before you can write a technical report you will need to do what we call analysing the audience. Find out who your readers are and what their objectives are when reading your report. Write your report with the aim of fulfilling these objectives, not your own.

Readers’ objectives will vary, so you must write your report to satisfy a number of, perhaps conflicting needs. Ask yourself, what information is important to the majority of readers. Put this information in the report. This information will generally be the big picture; the results of analysis, conclusions and recommendations.

A minority of readers will be interested in the detail; the actual results, background information or detailed technical descriptions. Put this type of information into appendices. This means that a table of actual results should not normally appear in the main body of your report. A graph showing a trend in the results would be a more appropriate way of getting the message across.

By structuring your report in this way all readers can easily get the thrust of your report. If some readers need to go into the detail they can do so by reading the appendices.

Remember – Don’t let the detail get in the way of the message.

Food safety is never out of the news. The FSAI (Food Safety Authority of Ireland) served a record 12 enforcement orders on food businesses in October. In the UK this week The Health Protection Agency revealed that two children were in hospital with botulism after eating a contaminated batch of Loyd Grossman sauce. Tests on a jar of Korma sauce had found the toxin that causes botulism.

The need for food safety training is always evident. Our Food Standards auditing course has just been approved by FETAC. This two day training course provides an understanding of a company’s legal commitments to food safety and how to audit compliance with the law and/or relevant food safety standards. This course is at NFQ Level 6 and covers BRC, HACCP, ISO 22000 FSSC, Food Standards Auditing Packages.

Full details of this course are available by clicking on the link above. The next dates available are 6-7 December in Dublin and places are filling fast.

Here is a link to all our food safety courses.

Use graphic, a picture paints a thousand words.

People love pictures, that’s why we all want Smart Phones.