The season rolls on, harvest commences and once again that annual task is on the agenda—getting a tick from the quality assurance (QA) auditor.
It IS all about me
The most important part of any QA system is the business owner or, in the case of a large business, the board.
There will be examples of owners who are fully behind the QA process and personally drive the ethos, but delegate the work. In my opinion the reality is that such examples form a minority.
I have seen time and again what business owners never seem to understand—if you don’t get behind QA, or OH&S, or whatever, then why should any employee get behind it?
Furthermore, the person who tends to undermine control systems more than anyone else is the owner—he or she has the power to make the rules, and to break them.
Yes, it is the owner’s business; and yes, the owner is the most important person in the business, because he or she sets the tone for everything the business does.
Conclusion
Attitudes to QA will evolve over time.
Woolworths and Coles are pushing the responsibility for QA back on producers. They expect each business to develop a QA team which gains knowledge and expertise sufficient to ensure that risk is minimised along the supply chain.
The very real, listeria and horse meat examples will only reinforce their view that each part of the chain has to be managed very well so that the interests and safety of consumers are protected.
But don’t just stop there. Take the opportunity to drive or reinforce an ethos of personal and process quality in your business. It will be time and money well spent.
This article appeared in Tree Fruit March 2013
