Integrating Business Management Processes

Volume 3: Harmonising Quality, Food Safety and Environmental Processes

Titus De Silva

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781000097580
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

Integrating Business Management Processes: Volume 3: Harmonising Quality, Food Safety and Environmental Processes (978-0-367-48547-4)

Shelving Guide: Business & Management

The backbone of any organisation is its management system. It must reflect the needs of the organisation and the requirements of its customers. Compliance with legal requirements and ethical environmental practices contributes towards the sustainability of the management system. Whatever the state of maturity of the management, this book, one of three, provides useful guidance to design, implement, maintain and improve its effectiveness and is intended to provide readers with practical "how to" methods for integrating quality, safety and environmental management processes.

This volume sets out procedures and flowcharts to show how the integration of these processes can be achieved. Separated into management procedures, core procedures, support procedures and assurance procedures and complemented by practical examples, this book is an invaluable resource for complete systems development and integration.

This book, along with its two companion volumes, is a practical guide for real managers, designed to help them manage their business more effectively and gain competitive advantage.

Titus De Silva is a consultant in management skills development, pharmacy practice, quality management and food safety and an advisor to the newly established National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) in Sri Lanka.

Review of Integrating Business Management Processes, Volumes 1, 2 and 3

Dr. De Silva has written an excellent series of three books on Integrating Business Management Processes that provides a structure to manage four key elements of a modern business:

• ■ Quality and food safety.
• ■ Respect for the environment.
• ■ Respect for employee well-being.
• ■ Good business.

Dr. De Silva demonstrates that these principles need not be at odds with each other. Rather, when applied with understanding and care, they work harmoniously for the good of the business, its employees, customers and community.

The process of integration adopts a novel approach, focusing on processes encountered in day-to-day business operations without the need for formalised third-party accreditations.

To write this series encompassing quality, food safety and environmental activities requires a comprehensive knowledge of these disciplines. Dr. De Silva’s wide experience in developing management systems and auditing provides the essential competency to put together complex processes in a simple format.

I worked extensively with Titus to set up formalised quality and business management systems so this work is no surprise. An added bonus is the historical and philosophical context Titus provides to frame our modern position.

These books, with their series of examples and procedures, show how organisations can benefit from satisfying customer requirements and the requirements of ISO standards to gain entry into lucrative markets.

The series is detailed enough to be comprehensive as a complete guide to systems development or the reader may be selective in addressing specific issues that they may be encountering. Volumes One and Two provide a broad knowledge base on management, core, support and assurance processes encountered in the business environment. In Volume Three, quality, food safety and environmental procedures are merged to form an integrated management system.

The aim of the series is to enable readers, at very little cost, to set up an effective and efficient integrated quality, food safety and environmental management system for themselves. The three books complement each other, and this series on Integrating Business Management Processes is a complete business management system capable of being adapted to suit a business without the need of a specialist to do it for them.

All three volumes are practical workbooks necessary for any organisation, small, medium or large, to develop, implement, maintain and improve an integrated quality, food safety and an environmental business management system. They are highly recommended.

Nick Rowe
Supply Chain Manager and Logistics Consultant
Marisco Wines, New Zealand
December 2019

Preface

The three books on Integrating Business Management Processes cover quality, food safety and environmental processes encountered in a business environment. Volume 2 describes ten support processes and three assurance processes required to assure quality, food safety and good environmental practices. Volume 1 includes five chapters on management processes and ten chapters on core business processes. Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) are key chapters in Volume 1. Volume 3 is about building an integrated management system (IMS) by merging quality, food safety and environmental processes.

Management systems form an integral part of any business. Business organisations have to satisfy not only the customers they serve but also statutory and regulatory requirements, industry standards and their own internal requirements, while keeping the environment clean. To meet these needs, organisations have developed a multitude of stand-alone management systems. Most organisations that design integrated management systems resort to satisfying the clauses of relevant ISO standards. These standards per se are not management systems but are tools that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of management systems. Organisations that design management systems merely to satisfy the clauses of ISO standards lose sight of the ultimate aim of implementing these systems. Books on IMSs that focus on procedures that are only relevant to ISO standards tend to ignore programmes such as marketing and finance, which are integral parts of any business organisation. Employees do not take ownership of such systems, which is an important consideration for the success of the programme. A management system should be designed to cover all business activities to satisfy its stakeholders, and certification should only be used to evaluate its effectiveness and promote continual improvement.

These three volumes on Integrating Business Management Processes include many disciplines encountered in the business environment. Numerous case studies are included in the chapters. The integration approach used in Volume 3 is unique: (a) most books on integration deal with the integration of quality, environmental and occupational safety and hygiene standards with management systems or ISO standards. A rational approach is to integrate management processes rather than management systems or ISO standards; (b) quality, food safety and environmental processes are integrated, a rare combination not found in books on integrated management systems. It is a rational approach, because food safety is closely linked to quality, GMPs and environmental issues; (c) business processes are described in sufficient detail in Volumes 1 and 2 to provide a comprehensive understanding; (d) business processes have been classified into management, core, support and assurance procedures and are described using the process-based approach. Procedures associated with these processes in Volume 3 can easily be tailored to suit the needs of the organisation; (e) the procedures are supplemented with numerous forms, tables and flowcharts and (f) procedures specific to quality, food safety and the environment are also described.

Food safety is an integral part of quality and GMPs. Therefore, these three books take the lead in integrating closely-related, but different, business processes. The management skills necessary for developing and implementing management systems are well described in my previous book, Essential Management Skills for Pharmacy and Business Managers (CRC Press, 2013).

In my corporate role as the Head of Quality Assurance in the largest winery in New Zealand (Montana Wines Limited), the experience of developing and implementing management systems, auditing them and exposure to several industry sectors (such as pharmaceutical, cosmetic, food and beverage and retail pharmacy) provided me with the depth of knowledge and expertise required to write this series.

The books focus on business processes and not on ISO standards, and as such it is not intended as a substitute for these standards. Those who intend to use this book for developing or integrating management systems should thoroughly understand the processes described in Volumes 1 and 2. Then, the necessary management, core, support and assurance processes required to satisfy the needs of the organisation and its customers should be identified. The final phase is to adopt the procedures presented in Volume 3 of the series to suit individual needs. The Way Forward in Volume 3 takes you through this process. The primary aim should be to satisfy the needs of stakeholders rather than the clauses of ISO standards. When the system has been implemented and found to meet expectations, the organisation can work towards certification, consulting the relevant ISO standards.

The journey is arduous. Staff development and team work are essential ingredients for success. It is a dynamic process, and continual improvement takes place when employees take ownership of the system.

The Way Forward

The backbone of any organisation is its management system. It must reflect the needs of the organisation and the requirements of its customers. Compliance with legal requirements and ethical environmental practices contributes towards the sustainability of the management system. Whatever the stage of maturity of the management system, these three books on Integrating Business Management Processes provide useful guidance to design, implement, maintain and improve its effectiveness.

In my corporate quality assurance role in the largest winery in New Zealand, I was responsible for designing and implementing quality, food safety and environmental management systems throughout the organisation. Those organisations who embark on this journey must understand the key check points for success:

• ■ My first task was to train all operators to accept responsibility for their operations by transforming an inspector-based quality control system to a quality assurance-based system. This transformation gave them the dignity that they deserved.
• ■ It was necessary for all staff at all levels to have a clear understanding of the mission, objectives and operations for which they were responsible.
• ■ The operations were classified into management, core, support and assurance processes.
• ■ Existing documents and records were incorporated into procedures in the new management system.
• ■ Supporting activities such as information technology, human resources and laboratory procedures were built around these procedures.

Commitment, dedication and management involvement were components for success. During the design and implementation phase, certification was not considered as the aim. When the system reached maturity, our organisation became the first winery in Australasia to gain ISO 9001 certification of our quality management system. This book captures the essence of my journey.

The series of bookson Integrating Business Management Processes is intended to provide you with practical “how to” method for integrating your quality, food safety and environmental management processes. When you need the information, you will find a chapter in Volume 1 or 2 to help. Thus, it is a practical book for real managers aimed at helping you manage your business more effectively in the real world of competitive business. These books identify the operations with multiple management systems, merge them and end up with one integrated management system. The focus has been on operations rather than on clauses of ISO standards. This blending or integration is essential for streamlining the processes while improving profits and gaining competitive advantage.

The integration process involves the development of a close relationship among quality, food safety and environmental professionals. It is vital that these professionals work together as a team to accomplish the same goal and the integration of their respective management systems.

To obtain the maximum benefit from this series, it is recommended that you adopt a stepwise approach:

• ■ Create a policy manual using the company mission, vision and objectives with relevant chapters in Volumes 1 and 2 and the Procedure BMS 000 in this volume as a guide. This is documentation level 1. (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Design the process map incorporating quality, environmental and food safety elements of the organisation and include sales, marketing, design, manufacturing, finance and warehouse functions. Use Figures MP 005-1 and MP 006-1 in this volume for guidance (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Form cross-functional teams (Responsibility: QA Manager).
• ■ Identify the necessary processes using the information presented in the Procedure MP 006 and Forms 014, 015, 016 and 017 in Volume 3 and relevant chapters in Volumes 1 and 2 as guides (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Classify the processes and identify processes common to quality, food safety and environmental programmes. Use Procedure MP 006 and Forms 014, 015, 016 and 017 for guidance (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Identify processes specific to quality, food safety and environmental management systems. Use Procedure MP 006 and Forms 014, 015, 016 and 017 in this book and chapters in Volumes 1 and 2 for guidance. It is useful to study Chapter one in this book (Integrated Management Systems) to understand the structure of integrated management systems (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Develop procedures using the sample procedures described in this book for guidance. This is level 2 documentation (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers with support from Supervisors and floor staff).
• ■ Implement and measure the effectiveness using the metrics described under each procedure (Responsibility: QA Manager).
• ■ Documentation level 3 refers to work instructions. Most organisations do have many work instructions. Form cross-functional teams (include Line Supervisors) to formalise the style and incorporate them into the IQFSE Management System (Responsibility: QA Manager).
• ■ Prepare the necessary forms, flowcharts and tables. This is level 4 documentation (Responsibility: QA Manager).
• ■ Modify and enhance the programme as necessary (continual improvement – Procedure AP 006) (Responsibility: QA Manager).
• ■ Conduct a gap analysis (Responsibility: QA, Environmental and Food Safety Managers).
• ■ Determine whether your programme is ready for certification on the basis of performance measures and internal audits (Responsibility: QA Manager).

The information presented in this book can be applied to any organisation, no matt...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Flowcharts
• List of Forms
• Disclaimer
• Foreword
• Review of Integrating Business Management Processes, Volumes 1, 2 and 3
• Preface
• The Way Forward
• Acknowledgements
• Review
• Author
• 1 Integrating Management Systems
• SECTION 1 MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES
• SECTION II CORE PROCEDURES
• SECTION III SUPPORT PROCEDURES
• SECTION IV ASSURANCE PROCEDURES
• Appendix 1: Gap Analysis
• Appendix 2: Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Appendix 3: Bibliography
• Appendix 4: Forms
• Index