∑ Frequency. All auditsare supposed to be cyclical, eitherto ascertain that an
operating unit still compliesto the same standard, or in our currentcaseto
ensure that the improvementmomentumis refreshed and maintained.General
experiencewould suggest that a 3-yearcycleis a minimum.
∑ Reportingand scoring. Whereas the audit teamare necessarily the sole
authors of compliance-orientedaudit reports,the improvement audit format
withits emphasis on understanding,ownershipand commitment impliesthat
the auditees capture their learnings and improvement plans themselves,
supported and checked by the auditteam. Scoring maybe veryhelpfulfor
prioritisationpurposes, for tracking a facility's progress overtime, for
condensed communication to senior management, and for internal and
external benchmarking. The basis of any scoring system should be a
categorisationof the opportunity(in our casethis maytakethe formof the
categorisation mentioned in the introduction: relevance, effectiveness,
robustnessand efficiency), possibly combined witha magnitude scale.
∑ The use of a questionnaire. Normally, questionnaires are derived from
standards, and the `all relevant considerations' frame of reference for
improvementauditswouldseemto precludethe use of questionnairesfor this
purpose. Nevertheless, a questionnairethat evolvesovertimecan be a great
way to maintain consistency, capturelearnings, support the educationprocess
and assurethat potentiallyrelevantaspectsare not accidentally forgotten.As
longas it is clearly understood that not all questionsnecessarilyapplyto the
particularsite beingaudited and that the questfor relevant improvement
opportunitiesmayat any moment leadto explorationsbeyondthe current
questionnaire,the use of questionnairesmayhavemore advantages than
disadvantages.
40.6 Performing the audit
40.6.1 Scopeof a hygieneimprovement audit
Apart fromrestrictions placedon the scopeof the auditby the expertiseof the
audit team,the scopeof a hygiene auditmayextendin principle to includeall
aspects and elementsof the facility'sbasicdesign,controlsystems and incident
managementpreparednessrelevant to the microbiological,chemical, physical
and toxicological integrity of the product. This is meantto coverthe facility
itself (mayor maynot include externalproductionand logistics of raw and
packagingmaterials as well as all downstreamlogistics), includeall hazardsand
risk factors normally associatedwithfoodproduction,but excludesthe HACCP
system and foodsecurity issues suchas malicious tampering in any form.40.6.2 Puttinga teamtogether
For an improvement audit to be successful,the auditeesmust come awaywitha
much deeper understanding of the strengths, weaknesses,threats and opportuni-690 Handbookof hygiene controlin the foodindustry