Implementing HACCP systems in Europe
D. Rudge, Kerry Ingredients, Bristol
8.6 Setting up and managing HACCP teams
8.6.1 Selection
Separate teams were set up for each of the production lines. Team leaders were drawn from the microbiology team. The core team consisted of the following:
• microbiologist (team leader)
• one of the engineering team familiar with the design and operation of the production line
• a member of the Quality Assurance (QA) department or an individual with relevant QA experience
• the production line manager in charge of day-to-day operations
• a member of the research and development (R&D) team.
The inclusion of someone from the R&D team was felt to be important partly because R&D had experience of the product range for a particular production line, and partly because, being one step removed from day-to-day production operations, such team members could bring a fresh perspective to team discussions. The inclusion of engineering and R&D staff also proved useful in dealing with those hazards requiring alternative solutions not encountered in the day-to-day running or repairing of existing equipment.
To this core team were added temporary team members brought in to analyse a particular process stage. These temporary members were usually the relevant line operators with the greatest experience of running the relevant process equipment. Other temporary team members included staff from the manufac-turers of line production equipment, especially when the equipment was new to the company. Involving equipment suppliers helped to ensure that all problems were highlighted and that the team was able to utilise the supplier’s experience of operating issues in other companies.
At any one time HACCP teams numbered a maximum of five or six, although some teams were occasionally larger. In practice, keeping teams to this number worked well, allowing a full discussion and contributions from all team members, but without the meetings becoming too long or unmanageable. To begin with, HACCP teams also had a facilitator, also drawn from the microbiology department. These facilitators were responsible for recording the key points of the discussion and keeping the action plan up to date. Such support allowed the team leader and members more freedom to discuss the key issues.
As experience of team management and membership increased, the need for facilitators decreased, and they were not used for some of the later HACCP teams.
The selection of team members can be difficult, particularly as those required are the most knowledgeable about a process and therefore in greatest demand for the day-to-day running of the production line or a particular piece of equipment.
However, without the right core team members from the start of the study, or the inclusion of temporary team members in the analysis of a particular production stage (as required by experience and expertise), HACCP analysis will be compromised from the start. One problem in selection was the tendency of some managers to push themselves forward with comments like ‘I can answer all the questions relating to issues for that piece of equipment’ or ‘the operator’s too busy, I’ll cover these areas’. It is important that this is resisted as the operator knows the equipment best and as such is essential to team discussion.
8.6.2 Preparation and training
Team leaders attended courses at the Campden & Chorleywood and Leatherhead Food Research Associations, reinforced by subsequent in-house training by the microbiology team. The in-house training included practical exercises to help team leaders prepare for the experience of HACCP planning. Once selected, team members were given a two-hour introduction to HACCP principles by members of the microbiology team. This introduction proved important in explaining their roles to the various team members and motivating them to contribute. The introduction was then used to move straight into a preliminary discussion of the hazards associated with the production line in question. This discussion was used as a brainstorming exercise with all team members encouraged to participate. The purpose of the discussion was partly to start the process of hazard analysis, partly to motivate the team by highlighting the significance of their work in protecting consumer safety, and partly to get all the team members contributing and starting to work together. This initial hazard analysis was then revisited and refined as each stage in the production line was analysed in detail. In practice, this approach proved very successful in introducing the first HACCP teams to their task and starting the process of HACCP analysis and design. Guideline documents such as the Campden Technical Manual no. 38,1WHO2and Codex3guidelines were used as training materials and models for the HACCP planning process.
A key element in preparation was the quality of information on the production line under investigation. Team leaders asked engineers to provide line layouts and detailed drawings in advance. Drawings proved particularly useful in helping the team to understand a particular process stage or piece of equipment. In this respect, it was important for team leaders to ensure that all the team members understood the detail in the drawing and were able to picture the actual piece of equipment being described on the production line. Team members were encouraged to make presentations about a particular process
stage as a way of getting to know unfamiliar equipment. Frequent visits to the line or equipment were sometimes required to reinforce understanding. In some cases, an actual piece of equipment was brought to the meeting itself. On one occasion, the use of a scale model proved very useful in assessing a process, for example in determining where and how operators’ intervention was required during the process. This material proved essential in supporting the presentations made by relevant line staff about a particular process stage to the HACCP team.
A final essential ingredient in effective preparation was that by the team leaders. To be able to initiate and guide discussion effectively, team leaders needed to have made their own preliminary analysis of hazards, and to be familiar with the production lines being analysed. This preliminary work included analysing relevant customer complaint data, e.g. to isolate potential problems, and assessing current production problems, e.g. points at which products or parts on the line needed to be ‘quarantined’ while a quality or production problem was being resolved. This initial research helped team leaders to anticipate key issues and keep the study flowing smoothly. The quality of this preparation was critical to the ability of team leaders to run teams successfully. New team leaders were also fully briefed by those leading the first teams and, where appropriate, mentored by their more experienced colleagues.
8.6.3 Team management
An early problem in managing HACCP teams was ensuring that all team members were motivated to contribute and allowed to do so fully. There were a number of problems to overcome, particularly in involving line operators in meetings. It became clear that, on some occasions, line managers inhibited line operators by their presence. Some operators were wary of admitting that they were not aware of a hazard or of mentioning problems with operating machinery they may not have brought to the attention of a manager. This fear could only be overcome by setting appropriate ground rules from the start, particularly in encouraging a full contribution from all team members and a willingness to be critical and honest about working practices in the interests of improving food safety.
A particular problem in involving line operators was an initial suspicion and cynicism about membership of a HACCP team. Some attended reluctantly only because they had been told to do so. In particular, they came to meetings with the assumption that, having not been consulted in the past, they would not be listened to or their suggestions acted on. Team leaders overcame these reservations by explaining the purpose of HACCP analysis and pointing out the importance of contributions from all team members, particularly line operators who were most familiar with production operations. Some of the most cynical line staff then became some of the most enthusiastic participants, suggesting improvements that were subsequently implemented and are still used on production lines today.
There were, however, also occasional problems to overcome in managers’
attitudes. Some managers were sometimes unwilling to accept problems
highlighted by line operators. On one occasion, indeed, a manager had to be asked to leave a team meeting temporarily because he would not accept an operator’s analysis of a potential problem. Further analysis revealed that a potential hazard existed and that remedial action was required. More generally, managers with more traditional attitudes found taking part in a HACCP study difficult, having been used to a more prescriptive management culture of being told what to do. It took time for them to get used to analysing problems and suggesting solutions for themselves, responding proactively rather than passively.
It was essential for all team leaders to ensure that even the most basic questions were asked. Even when the answer was known, asking an open-ended question sometimes led to new and important areas of discussion. An important rule for team leaders was that nothing should be taken for granted and everything must be challenged. It was sometimes tempting, for example, to rush through a step in the process because of lack of time or an impending break (for example, for refreshments). Ensuring that each step was fully analysed depended on the ability of the team leader to go through all the potential issues systematically and to check the views of all the team members before moving on.
Meetings were generally kept to no more than two to three hours’ duration to ensure that team members did not become too tired to contribute fully.
Punctuating meetings with supplier presentations and line reviews was also helpful in keeping up enthusiasm and creativity within the team. As with any team problem-solving meeting, it was not uncommon for discussion to go off at a tangent, for example in identifying hazards for other production lines or picking up quality issues. A key skill for team leaders was in ensuring that such issues raised were logged for separate discussion and the meeting brought quickly back on track. As a result of team member availability it was not always possible to follow each manufacturing line sequentially, e.g. by starting with ingredient receipt or batching. In this case, setting a clear agenda and timetable to cover all process steps at some point was essential, with particular attention given to the links between steps in the production line.