Food safety audits can be stressful. Whether you’re dealing with FSMA rules, HACCP regulations, or simply making sure food is being handled safely, it can be a maddening process that involves many moving parts. It can seem like a never-ending string of checks, verifications, and re-checks.
With so many moving parts to handle, how can you tell that your processes are working, especially if every audit is processed separately and reported to a different department? And how can you track safety across the entire journey from the field to the supermarket or restaurant floor?
Sure it’s technically possible to pull it off with paper and/or spreadsheets, but compiling all that information into an easy-to-understand format can take days – even weeks of work. And by the time that info is ready for consumption, it’s usually outdated and unhelpful.
With so many assets and processes to juggle, you need a system that can keep everything organized and contained all in one place. You need something you can carry with you all times, something that can cover the whole spectrum of activities involved in any stage of a food safety audit. What you need is mobile software.
Mobile software can cover the full extent of your auditing needs. For example, you can have one auditor using the app for driver and vehicle checks, while others are checking for contamination, spoiled food, appropriate storage conditions, and operational safety behaviors. All of this can be done at the same time, on the same app, while information is all uploaded to the same place.
Even better, each form can be customized by location and audit type to make sure each user gets the most comprehensive and easy-to-use experience possible. Unique form logic walks employees through the audit, while post-submission scoring shows auditors where they passed and/or failed. GPS data, timestamps, and photo uploads provide accountability, while in-form reference information reminds auditors what issues to look for and how to address them.
The real magic happens when your audits are compete. Your mobile app can then pass data on to a business intelligence dashboard, where you can get a high-level view of your processes and track food safety throughout the production, storage, and transportation stages of your operation. You’ll be able to highlight consistently underperforming locations, quickly understand if things are getting better or worse, and see in real-time how effective your safety audits are. You’ll also get great insights into your entire organization, giving you the information you need to fix what’s not working and improve on everything that is.
Food safety can happen on the truck, on the line, and on the vine. And you need a tool that can do it all – wherever you are. Because whether you’re trying to satisfy corporate and government standards or preparing for an external audit, mobile technology is the solution you need to consistently ensure food safety, while continuously improving your organization.
