1. Senior management commitment
Managing resources
What the requirements are for people management to ensure that resources are effectively managed.
This article is written to meet the following sections of the Standards:
| BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 | 1.1.7 Resources 1.2.1 Organisational chart 1.2.2 Roles and responsibilities |
| BRCGS Packaging Issue 7 | 1.1.6 Resources 1.3.1 Organisational chart 1.3.2 Work instructions |
| BRCGS Agents & Brokers Issue 3 | 1.1.6 Resources 1.2.1 Organisational chart 1.2.2 Roles and responsibilities |
| BRCGS Storage & Distribution Issue 4 | 1.1.3 Resources 1.3.1 Organisational chart 1.3.2, 1.3.4 Roles and responsibilities 1.3.3 Job descriptions 11.1.1, 11.1.2 Cross-docking responsibilities |
| FSSC 22000 Version 5.1 | ISO 5.1c and 5.1h Leadership and commitment (resources) |
| IFS Food Version 7 | 1.2.1 Employee responsibilities 1.2.2 Resources 1.2.3 Organisational structure 1.2.4 Processes |
| SQF Edition 9 | 2.1.1.3 Reporting structure 2.1.1.4, 2.1.1.5 SQF Practitioner responsibilities 2.1.1.6 Resources 2.1.1.7 Continuity |
Your compliance solutions for managing resources
Everything you need to implement an effective and BRCGS compliant system is here:
- Senior management commitment eDocs (which include managing resources).
- Managing resources mini training.
- Senior management commitment super course (which includes managing resources).
To make it super simple for you we would recommend the eDocs and the super course – then you’ve got everything you need to comply with all of section 1 (including managing resources).
The requirements
Provision of resource
Management must provide the resources needed to process product, which is safe, legal, authentic, to the quality agreed with its customer and in compliance with the requirements of the Standard.
External resource
Where an external consultant is the main source of technical knowledge, the business must be able to demonstrate that they are readily available – so that the product isn’t compromised. The day-to-day technical activities must remain the responsibility of in-house staff.
People management
Management must:
- Ensure that all staff are aware of, and understand their roles and responsibilities.
- Provide training and documented instruction to staff.
- Ensure that staff can demonstrate that they’re competent in their activities.
- Review staff performance.
Specific responsibilities
It must be documented who’s responsible for:
- Food-related legislation and standards.
- Activities relating to product safety, legality, authenticity and quality.
- Leading the product safety team.
Organisational structure
An organisational structure must be in place, which clearly shows the management roles and the reporting lines of the business.
The name of the person who’s responsible for each management role must be documented and who will deputise for them.
Group function
The group function must be clearly documented detailing:
- The links between group and local roles.
- The responsibilities for each.
Off-site activities
Where activities are certified through a group certificate, the responsibility for local sites remains that of the certified address, including:
- Compliance of the local sites to the group standard.
- The group management system.
- Providing local site compliance documentation for audit.
- Communicating the requirements to the sites and retaining evidence of such communications.
Updates to the requirements for BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9 are shown in bold italics.
BRCGS Food Safety Issue 9
The key change to Issue 9 that impacts the management of resources, is that the term authenticity has been added to the scope. This means that you must identify where staff have responsibilities for authenticity of products, and apply management principles to them (as explained in this article).
BRCGS Packaging Issue 7
There are no significant changes for the clauses that relate to this article from Issue 6 to Issue 7. The only change is clause 1.1.5 is now 1.1.6
Your next steps
To make the process as quick as possible, we would recommend you complete the senior management commitment super course and use the senior management commitment eDocs. The eLearning and eDocs contain everything you need to comply with BRCGS section 1 for senior management commitment, which includes managing resources.
Download the ultimate guide to Senior Management Commitment
All our great articles in one pdf!
This ultimate guide is a collection of all the senior management commitment articles from our website. It's packed full of useful tips and practical advice, making it a great reference for any techie!
Have your say…