WASH Scheme 1

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The “First Ever” assessment for the WASH scheme of QCI by any Certification Body in India

Jun. 25 2020

It our pleasure to announce that Bureau Veritas (Certification Division) has successfully conducted the first assessment for WASH QCI scheme.

The team received a confirmation from Dr. Aishwarya Raj (Sr. Director QCI) and Dr. Ramanand Shukla that Bureau Veritas the certification body have conducted the first WASH assessment in India at M/s Kanti Sweets Bengaluru. This assessment was conducted onsite by Mr. Madhu Kumar NG (Lead Auditor Bangalore) and final report has been submitted to the client.

Details of the WASH scheme are given below:

  • Bureau Veritas team comprising of Mr. Dhananjay Khairnar and Mr. Dinesh Shetty has been involved with the Quality Council of India to develop the Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH) scheme. Even though BV has been a pioneer of this scheme development, QCI WASH scheme is now a public domain protocol which is now open to all registered Certification and Inspection Bodies for assessment of all sectors and businesses.
  • For the benefit of citizens and industry, QCI has developed a harmonised “Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene” (WASH)”. This standard is applicable for assessment at any workplace which has been allowed to operate. The assessment can be done as an on-site assessment by trained assessors or remotely through a virtual system of assessment. The assessment report will provide the applicant with an objective assessment of the safety and hygiene measures undertaken by them to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 infection.
  • The standard is applicable to any Industry/Business (Manufacturing, Service, Trade, etc.).
  • Applications can be received at any juncture of business operations, i.e. before re-start or during operations.
  • The site-assessment conducted at the applicant’s workplace (or video assessment, as the case may be) will be based on the requirements as laid down in “Workplace Assessment for Safety and Hygiene (WASH)” Standard and Guidance Document.
  • Areas that are under Quarantine or those workplaces that need an expert medical/related assessment/ advice are not covered under the scope of this Standard.
  • This Standard does not include requirements specific to other subjects, such as those for quality, social responsibility, environmental, security or financial management.

The Assessment will be based on the checklist covering parameters from WASH Scheme by QCI.  The assessment pillars are as follows:

1.            Management Commitment
2.            Regulatory and Other Requirements
3.            Business Continuity
4.            Risk Management
5.            Communication
6.            Hygiene and Safety
7.            Preventive Measures
8.            Training and Awareness
9.            Waste Management
10.          Ventilation
11.          Public Interaction
12.          Supply Chain
13.          Transport Management
14.          Documentation Requirements
15.          Control Discriminatory Practices

After assessment, Shikha Sharma, Partner at Kanti Sweets revealed the inspiration behind opting wash assessment by stating “At Kanti Sweets, It has been our constant endeavour to provide the best quality products, our customer’s safety and well-being remains our utmost priority and to ensure that good hygiene and manufacturing practices are being followed in line with established food safety management systems.

During these challenging times of COVID-19 pandemic, reassurance and readiness to reopen after being closed had to be addressed to, for justifying the critical questions related to food safety and COVID-19 mitigation efforts in facility operations.

Also, being as ISO-certified organization, having a GLP certified laboratory puts a conscious responsibility to take care of all possible precautions following set of standards of safety and hygiene at each stage of manufacturing till it reaches to the customers.

‘WASH’ Assessment scheme by QCI instantly caught our attention as it sets standards to help the organizations to assess their preparedness to restart and run their operations safely giving us at ‘Kanti Sweets’ a yardstick protocols to follow and comply with all new COVID-19 related requirements.”

She also highlighted the benefits of this assessment as following:      

1. Our prime benefit is to assess the implementation and effectiveness of our SOP’s, Checklists, trainings and containment efforts post COVID-19 operations.

2. Food industry operators do not have opportunity to work from home, hence keeping all workers in food production unit and supply chains healthy and safe is critical to surviving the current pandemic. The assessment of our efforts to identify safe practices gives a morale boost to the workers for their personal safety.

3. It helps in building capability of the unit’s food safety team and COVID-19 crisis management committee through assessment process and interaction with highly experienced assessors/Domain experts.

4. It creates a competitive edge and external recognizing by strengthening customers trust, understanding and appreciation.

5. It gives insight on the gaps from an external perspective based on standard set in the assessment and stimulates transformation of work practices.

At last I would like to thank Bureau Veritas for seamlessly planning, executing and completing  the assessment process. Special thanks to Dr.Ramanand Shukla for encouraging us to take up this great initiative.”

This is the “First Ever” assessment for the WASH scheme of QCI by any Certification Body in India.

The group extended warm regards to the assesser, M&S, Operations team and the coordinating Bangalore office for the splendid achievement.