Inside a QS Food Packaging Printing Standard: How Process Control Keeps Flexible Packaging Quality Stable

In food printing and packaging, process quality management is what keeps finished goods consistently stable. The points below are drawn from a QS standard document.

Its central requirement is simple: bring every factor connected with production under effective control, so that each stage runs in a controlled state according to defined needs and methods, yielding conforming products and securing long-term stability of product quality.

The scope covers process control for a company's routine products and finalized products.

On responsibilities, the Production Department is the competent department for process control: it plans process control, draws up production work plans, organizes implementation, supplies process formulations, technical standards and related process operation documents, plans critical process steps, and handles production equipment and its repair and maintenance, energy supply and production environment control. The Quality Department supervises the product process. The Supply and Marketing Department provides the raw materials and articles the production process needs, as specified. The Office trains production personnel whose work affects quality. The workshop organizes and implements process control under the provisions of process and technical documents.

Under working procedures, the Production Department determines production processes such as manufacturing and packaging, plans process control sensibly and formulates production work plans, holding the eight factors that directly affect product quality — personnel, machines, materials, methods, environment, measurement, time and information — in a controlled state. For personnel control, the Production Department determines staffing and competency requirements for the production workshop and each process step, and arranges professional knowledge and operation training so operators are competent for their posts.

On equipment control, the Production Department equips equipment and facilities, guarantees water, electricity and gas energy supply, and inspects, repairs and maintains production equipment and water, electricity and gas facilities. A 'production equipment ledger' and equipment files must be established, and main equipment availability must reach 95% or above. Workshop operators must follow production operating procedures, avoid violations, and use, care for and maintain daily equipment and facilities; when a breakdown occurs, maintenance personnel must be notified promptly for repair.

On raw material control, the Supply and Marketing Department organizes the provision of raw and auxiliary materials, packaging and other articles that have passed inspection or verification for production use. If quality problems with raw and auxiliary materials or packaging are found during production, use must stop and the Quality Department must be notified promptly for appraisal and disposal; specifics follow the 'Purchasing Management System' and the 'Management Measures for the Control of Non-conforming Products'. For production operation control, the production workshop organizes production according to technical standards, production technical formulations, operating procedures and other working documents, and observes process discipline.

During production, the workshop applies the 'three inspections' system — self-inspection, sampling inspection and patrol inspection combined — to ensure output meets specified requirements. On production environment control, the Production Department plans, controls and assesses the production site working environment in line with relevant site management requirements, while the workshop manages the environment under company rules, keeps equipment, tools and personnel tidy and hygienic, maintains a suitable working environment and runs on-site production management well.

Process quality monitoring rests with the Quality Department, which supervises and inspects incoming raw materials, in-process semi-finished products and finished products entering the warehouse, and carries out focused monitoring of key process steps. For key processes, the Production Department determines and reviews them and sets up key process control points, while the production workshop manages and implements them specifically. Key control points are set at the company's film blowing, printing and laminating processes, with the main measures being: operators at key control points must be trained before taking up their posts; operators strictly perform operations and process quality control per the key control requirements; and the Quality Department keeps focused monitoring of process quality.

Related records include the 'Production Work Order', 'Product Record List', 'Process Quality Management Record', 'Key Control Point Record' and 'Training Record'.

——This article is reprinted from China Packaging Network (pack.cn), original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-362301.html