Process for Becoming a Subcontract or PrimusLabs Employee Auditor

PrimusLabs contracted audits are performed by either its own employee auditors or subcontractors. These personnel go through extensive training and oversight in order to be contracted by PrimusLabs. Auditors are specifically trained for each scheme and scope they audit against and rarely are there auditors who can perform all types of audits within the PrimusLabs portfolio.

PrimusLabs actively seeks qualified and superior subcontractors in all geographical areas who are interested in performing contracted food safety audits in Produce Supply Chain.


SUBCONTRACTOR AND PRIMUSLAB EMPLOYEE AUDITORS

7) Candidates for Subcontractor or PrimusLabs Employee Auditors must meet all the requirements in the Third Party Auditor Network User Requirements (from 1 to 6).

8) Auditor Training. Candidates for Subcontractor or PrimusLabs Employee Auditors are required to attend a formal PrimusLabs and/or PrimusGFS Auditor Training Course, where the following topics are discussed:-

8.1) Audit rules and regulations
8.2) Technical contents of the audit guidelines and scoring systems
8.3) Auditing techniques, practices and ethics

Candidates who have only trained for PrimusLabs standard audits (GAP and/or GMP) should note that there is a requirement to attend PrimusGFS specific training in order to perform these GFSI recognized audits. Also PrimusGFS requires auditors to attend either an ISO 9000 (Quality) or ISO 22000 (Food Safety) Lead Assessor course. The ISO 22000 Food Safety Lead Assessor is focused on food safety and therefore the more useful course to attain.

9) The candidates will be copied with and asked to sign a copy of the PrimusLabs Auditor Rules (Conventions). A copy will be held on file.

10) Shadowing Existing Auditors. Candidates for Subcontractor or PrimusLabs Employee Auditor Schemes are required to shadow existing auditors. The shadow audits are usually at least one per different type of audit, but candidates can shadow as more if they wish to. Shadow auditors score audits as they occur and after the audit report has been issued, the auditor and the shadow auditor go through each others work to see how close they were scoring their observations and how they were interpreting the audit guidelines.

11) Shadow Audit Assessments. Once a candidate for Subcontractor or PrimusLabs Employee Auditor Schemes is confident they are ready to be assessed for an audit scheme and scope, a shadow audit assessment is organized. The candidate performs the audit and is formally assessed by a senior PrimusLabs auditor. The senior auditor assesses:-

11.1) Audit preparation
11.2) Opening meeting
11.3) Audit skills including observation skills, questioning skills, tenacity, confrontation management, sampling, time management and note taking.
11.4) Closing meeting
11.5) Report writing
11.6) Auditing QA employees perform a second review on the candidate and senior auditors audit report.

The senior auditor will create a formal shadow assessment report with their recommendations for the next steps for the candidate auditor (can be a requirement for more assessments, partial approval for certain kinds of audit work or full approval).

12) Final Review. The Auditing Technical/QA Manager then re-reviews all of the Subcontractor/Primus Employee’s documentation and has the final decision on the auditor approval status.

13) If all has gone well, the new auditor is then available to be booked for audits that they have been approved to perform – this is restricted by audit type, location and language. Audit reports are subject to mandatory review for at least the first five audits, thereafter frequency of review varies depending on ability.

14) Subcontractors and PrimusLabs Employee auditors are subject to continuing reports reviews, audit shadowing (assessment or not assessed either by PrimusLabs personnel, accreditation personnel and other members of the supply chain for example buyers), on going training (including some on-line training), audit surveys and appeals.

15) All auditors can be suspended, delisted or have other types of imposed restrictions if deemed necessary by PrimusLabs Audit Dept.
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Primus Group, Inc. is a privately held investor-owned California corporation providing microbiological and pesticide residue analysis of food, database management services, and management of third party auditing schemes.