[AIB Update] Ice Chips

Answers to Your Toughest QA Questions:

Q. It seems like the only time that management is concerned about the sanitation level in the plant is when we know we are having an audit. We work overtime for a few weeks to get the place ready, then they go right back to how things were. What’s the point if they are not going to keep the place up?

A. It is unfortunate, but what you describe is far too common. We sometimes refer to this as the "hot and cold" syndrome. Sanitation and food safety only seem to matter to management when they know someone is coming to check. It is not a very good situation for anyone.

There are a couple of things to consider about this strategy. First, you never know when the FDA will walk in, which could lead to issues with compliance and adverse publicity. More important though, is that when you don’t maintain a good sanitation level, it sends a very poor message to every employee in the organization. It undermines morale because many facilities fail even after this concerted effort. It can affect so many aspects of the business from the product quality to the cost of doing business.

When so many people have the idea that things only matter when someone is looking, employees quickly figure out the shortcuts in every aspect of the process. Before long, no one really knows what is going on or where to start to find a solution when a problem arises. Things quickly get out of control.

Your question brings to mind a plant I inspected several years ago. You could see the disappointment on the employees’ faces when they repeatedly failed the inspection. To me, the issues identified were very obvious and I was surprised they had not noticed them. There began to be an issue of resentment because they were penalized for the failure. The failure affected their bonuses and other benefits associated with passing the inspection with a high score.

It took a few visits to the facility to figure out what was going on. I noticed fresh paint, new sections of floor, new valves on the systems, and new insulation wrap on pipes. Most of these upgrades were very recent. Nothing in the plant really resembled an ongoing program, but everything appeared to be done in spurts.

I inquired about how much money they had spent preparing for this inspection. The reply was "less than on the last one." They had spent around $97,000 preparing for this inspection and around $126,000 on the one before that. To me this made no sense, but they explained the only time they could get money was when a big customer was coming in to inspect.

Essentially this plant had access to $223,000 over the year for plant upgrades that were being held back until just before an inspection. Even with the big push they continued to fail. They overlooked the bird nest up at the roof line in the warehouse. The lack of screening on the exhaust provided a bird entry point and dead birds were found in hard-to-reach areas. Another thing that resulted in failure was heavy condensation buildup dripping into a process tank from the overhead area.

The solution came when they were convinced to divide the total money available and use some of it each month on plant improvement projects. This convinced the employees of management’s ongoing commitment and stopped the massive expenditures the plant would have had over the next few years. They had the time to plan projects and get them completed, which took a significant amount of pressure off everyone in the plant. As a result, the plant began passing the inspections and continued to improve.

The opportunities provided by a well organized and managed program far outweigh the short-term approach of waiting until the last minute to get the plant in shape. Creating a culture of food safety and consistently following procedures pays a much higher return on investment. AIB