Quality Circle International

Across the board, businesses are in a race to modernize their internal workflows and introduce automation to thrive amid competition. On top of that, there is always the need to comply with the latest and most stringent regulatory mandates. The players in the food and beverages (F&B) industry, in particular, have the recent obligation to upgrade their food safety programs to comply with ISO 22000:2018 (from ISO 22000:2005) and FSSC V5 (from FSSC V4.1). One organization that has made it its mission to “create a smart supply chain one organization at a time through automation” is Quality Circle International. A company that provides consulting, training and audit solutions for food safety management systems, and, automates Verification Planning, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Project Management, and Risk and Process Auditing through its smart tools.

In an effort to eliminate paper-based trails that most CIOs are forced to rely on, Quality Circle International has built its suite of cloud-based end-to-end software packages. “Our smart tools facilitate the implementation and maintenance of management system standards through a paperless, web-based, and unbiased platform, thus creating a lifelong, economic, and eco-friendly product that pays for itself,” asserts Owen Glave, CEO/ Lead Consultant and Master Trainer at Quality Circle International.

One such solution is The Automated Implementation tool that interprets requirements of the standards from the backend and presents it on a turnkey platform, which deploys and manages the controls based on the processes and risks. On the other hand, the Verification tool helps maintain previously implemented systems—such as critical control points (CCP), prerequisite programs (PRP), operation prerequisite programs (OPRP) and FSMA Preventive Controls— which are crucial in the food industry for preserving continuous conformity and compliance. If the management system is not working to the best of its capability, the Verification Tool can perform analytics, which the Food Safety Team can utilize to determine opportunities to improve.

Yet another solution from the company is the Automated Process Auditing and Risk-based smart tool that provides a seamless method for conducting best practices and Risk-Based audits. There is no longer a need for paper checklists with use of our tool(s). The tool can schedule the audit and develop a checklist using a process and mindmap template. It has the ability to accept inputs from a smartphone or a tablet and utilizes objective evidence based on the company’s personalized checklist to convert the information into a reporting template for internal, supply-based, and certification audits. The platform has a Root Cause Analysis Function, which helps Process Owners analyze nonconformities and provides meaningful, effortless communication with Process Owners and Auditors. Furthermore, Quality Circle International has developed the GAP Audit and Project Management software to identify Gaps and track performance of Process Owners and Subject Matter Experts.

When the Managing Director of a food manufacturing enterprise wanted to create an efficiency model for operations, the project was stalled by the dominance of paper-based processes. Quality Circle International built a strategic plan to enable paperless and automated operations for the client, and the project is slated for 100-percent accomplishment by the end of 2019. Presently, at 60-percent progress, the client is well on track to reach the goal.

When engaging with a client, Quality Circle International lets the company use its tools for a trial period of six months before letting them make a monetary commitment. For clients who sign a consulting contract, the tools are available for free within the consulting period, following which they are available at market rate.

In addition to the groundbreaking services, Quality Circle International also focuses on providing educative and informative solutions. The firm’s training division, Quality Circle Virtual Academy, is a state of the art, cloud-based, learning management system (LMS) that enables effective remote communication of digital content. The academy offers digital content—text, audio and video—that fit the specific need of clients. In addition, a virtual classroom manager gives Quality Circle Virtual Academy the flexibility to offer on-demand and live webinar, and their flagship Virtual Instructor Led Training (VILT).

Quality Circle International recently signed a contract with one of the largest food manufacturing entities in Jamaica. Glave hints at continued growth into emerging markets in the future. Currently, the expansion of the ISO Implementation software is underway, which will include a Manufacturing Management System (MMS) tool. The MMS tool captures the lifecycle of the manufacturing process from supplier to customer with capabilities to trace both forwards and backwards with incredulous ease. “The mission is to create a 100-percent paperless environment for clients globally,” concludes Glave.