Top marks in elective accreditation following unannounced audit at central distribution centre housing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) products
RS Safety Solutions, part of the RS Group plc, a global provider of product and service solutions for industrial customers, has achieved the highest rating in a global accreditation scheme, indicating maximum contamination risk management of the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) stored at its East Riding of Yorkshire distribution centre. This was following an unannounced audit visit.
The RS Safety Solutions site in Melton, North Ferriby, achieved an AA* rating in the elective accreditation covering ‘Storage & Distribution for Warehouse and Supply Chain’, part of the Brand Reputation Compliance Global Standards (BRCGS) certification programme that sets out standards for food safety and operational criteria. It covers industries like food manufacturing, packaging, storage and distribution, helping firms to implement best practices around hygiene, manufacturing processes and risk management like Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).
The BRCGS has been around for more than six decades, and the Storage & Distribution for Warehouse and Supply Chain was an elective accreditation addition developed in 2006.
Sarah Hewitt, PPE technical lead for RS Safety Solutions, said: “We’re delighted to have achieved the highest rating of this highly regarded accreditation. The storage and distribution part of the scheme, while elective, is growing in prevalence within the food industry and the partners that they work with. For us as a major provider of PPE products to such industries, being able to offer proof of diligence around proper and hygienic storage and distribution of them gives peace of mind to organisations buying them. This is crucial and central to our mission.
“The audit covers a broad range of systems, and as well as assessing our site contamination risk controls and systems, it focuses on full product traceability to ensure that the whole supply chain is working to the same high standard. We have to demonstrate our systems for monitoring our product suppliers, and manufacturers. No stone is left unturned in the two-day, unannounced audit visit, so to achieve this result really is testament to the hard work of our team,” she added.
RS Safety Solutions runs its own vehicle fleet at the Melton centre, which were also audited for hygiene and suitability of transporting PPE products to industries like food processing, and for compliance with safety regulations around lifting equipment. Other areas of assessment included housekeeping, cleaning and pest control, checking effective product stock rotation programmes to avoid out-of-date products, and effective customer complaints procedures to ensure they’re being tracked, managed and resolved. The tolerance of minor non-conformities in the audit to achieve an AA rating is five. The RS Safety Solutions Melton site incurred just two, which with it being a non-announced audit resulted in an AA* rating.
Sarah concluded: “Our internal auditors are continually looking to make improvements, identifying potential issues early on and holding regular review meetings with the full team to put an ‘always-on’ focus on this important area of the business. This dedication really does pay off and lets our customers know they’re dealing with the right supplier. We’re proud to have passed this audit with such flying colours.”
