Case Studies

Integrated Risk
Management

A Quick Service Restaurant needed a full assessment of their food safety programs…

Strategic Quality
Planning

A manufacturing facility did not have quality and food safety fully integrated into their overall strategic plan…

Quality Systems

A regional produce supplier needed assistance with Quality Systems implementation to comply with key customers’ requirements…

IRM Case Study

Challenge:

A Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) with an on-site quality assurance department needed a full assessment of their food safety programs to determine if program gaps presented opportunities for food borne illness outbreaks.

Solution:

A comprehensive assessment of the company’s food safety and quality programs was conducted to reveal potentials for food safety risks. Potential risks were then entered into a risk matrix for prioritization of risk mitigation actions. Where gaps revealed programs or process opportunities, an implementation plan was developed that included improvement actions across supply chain and restaurant systems.

Results:

Potential food safety risks to the client’s brand were more transparent allowing for proactive measures to be taken for risk mitigation. A process for due diligence review was established enabling key participants in the supply chain to elevate the level of stringency for their quality and food safety programs.

Strategic Quality Planning Case Study

Challenge:

As with most manufacturing facilities, a value-added food processor did not have quality and food safety fully integrated into their overall strategic plan for their organization. As a result, quality and food safety initiatives were not managed from a strategic, tactical and operational level. This disconnect in Strategic Quality Planning resulted in product, customer and compliance issues.

Solution:

During Strategic Quality Planning with senior managers of the company, goals and objectives for quality, food safety and regulatory compliance were defined and disseminated across the organization. Goals and objectives were then incorporated into a balanced scorecard for the organization with Key Performance Metrics (KPMs) for performance monitoring.

Results:

Quality and food safety are now part of the organization’s strategic plan with defined performance metrics for performance. Senior management is now actively monitoring the organization’s performance against quality and food safety objectives and actions are taken to reverse adverse trends. Across the organization, there has been a positive cultural mind-shift towards quality and food safety due to the Strategic Quality Plan.

Quality Systems Case Study

Challenge:

Suppliers are usually required by their customers to implement and adhere to 3rd party quality and food safety standards. Whether these standards are domestic or international in scope, suppliers must effectively establish and monitor for compliance to these standards in order to gain or maintain customers’ approval. Such was the case with a regional produce supplier, who needed assistance with Quality Systems implementation to comply with key customers’ requirements.

Solution:

A gap analysis was performed on the client’s existing quality and food safety programs to determine those areas for improvement. Once opportunities for improvement were revealed, a documented quality system with operational procedures, quality plans and record keeping was developed. As part of the quality system implementation process, supplier’s team members were trained on programs related to quality, food safety, regulatory compliance and customer satisfaction. Post-assessment of the implemented quality system concluded that the supplier was prepared for 3rd party assessment.

Results:

As a result of a comprehensive quality systems implementation, the supplier successfully complied with customers’ and 3rd party quality and food safety requirements. The client’s quality and food safety programs are more robust enabling customers to have a higher level of confidence in their products and programs.