Food Safety Auditor Toolbox – Teacher guide

Teacher guide

Food processingFDF03

Series 9 Flexible Learning Toolbox

Supporting resources for Certificate IV (FDF40103)/Diploma (FDF50103) ofFood Processing

20/02/2007: Version 1.4

© Commonwealth of Australia 2006
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth of Australia.
This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and it is not used for commercial use or sale.

Reproduction for purposes other than those indicated above requires the prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and copyright should be addressed to the Branch Manager, Technology and Information Services Branch, Industry Skills Development Group, Department of Education, Science and Training, GPO Box 9880 CanberraCity, ACT, 2601.

Table of Contents

About this Teacher guide

Target audience

QuickStart for teachers

What’s in this Toolbox?

Units of competency and tasks

Tasks, learning kits and resources

Tasks

Learning kits

Resources

Scenario auditors

What do I need to start using the FSA Toolbox?

Learner technical requirements

Hardware

Software

FSA Toolbox structure in detail

Introducing learners to auditing

Sample task: Plan the audit

Task structure

Task 1: Plan the audit

Preparing learners for the resources

Underpinning ideas

Group work and opportunities for collaboration

Assessment

Facilitating online

Tips for teachers

Starting together as a group – online icebreakers

Online group work – some fun ways to do it

Setting group projects

Orientation session plan

Customising this Toolbox

Customising the Toolbox for your clients and learners

Templates, samples and content guides (.doc)

Task activities and scenarios (Flash)

Training Package mapping and case study summaries

Part of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework

Food Safety Auditor Toolbox – Teacher guide

About this Teacher guide

This Teacher guide has been developed to assist and support you in using this resource in the delivery of your course. It gives an overview of the activities the Toolbox contains, and offers suggested customisation and delivery strategies that will help to maximise the learning experience for your learners. These suggestions allow both teachers and learners to take full advantage of the collaborative learning environment that can be achieved through facilitated discussions and information sharing among a group of learners.

The delivery strategies detailed in this Guide are by no means exhaustive—we encourage you to use your creativity to develop additional meaningful learning experiences for your learners. Your role is critical in ensuring a positive learning experience.

Target audience

End-users of this Toolbox will be from the Vocational and technical education (VET) sector, seeking certification of their competence to work in food safety auditing. The Toolbox is designed to be used in a variety of contexts, for example:

•TAFE colleges and private registered training organisations (RTOs)

•private businesses

•government departments.

Since the target audience will be adult learners possibly already in full-time employment, an online learning environment is appropriate as it provides flexibility for the learner. The learners undertaking this unit should already have average computer skills, though they won’t necessarily be familiar with online learning environments.

QuickStart for teachers

This section has the basics you need to get started using the Toolbox. Later you can browse the rest of the Teacher guide.

What’s in this Toolbox?

This Toolbox contains learning materials for self-guided study and group learning. They may be used in online or blended delivery settings. The Toolbox is designed to combine task-based and problem-based approaches to learning.

Learners can work through the typical tasks that an auditor would undertake to manage an audit for a fictitious company, Luscious Bites.

To ensure transferability of auditing skills and knowledge to a range of food business types, the tasks are supported by scenarios in the Learning kits. The learners work through the problem-based scenarios, identifying the issues and some possible solutions to the problem.

Underpinning knowledge is also provided in the Content guides within the Learning kits. The Content guides may be particularly suitable for learners who prefer to download and read about a topic in detail before attempting the interactive tasks.

See the last section of this Teacher guide for a detailed map of the relationship between the tasks, scenarios and the units of competency covered by this Toolbox.

Units of competency and tasks

Learning resources are provided for two units of competency addressed in the Toolbox:

FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits

FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits

Food safety auditors need to demonstrate their competency in communicating and negotiating to conduct food audits while they are conducting audits, as such, an educational decision has been made to merge the two units mentioned above into one unit called: Manage an audit.

Manage an audit contains three tasks:

Task 1: Plan the audit

Task 2: Conduct the audit

Task 3: Consolidate audit outcomes

The task-based activities are supported by learning kits which contain problem-based scenarios, interactive and group work activities, content guides, self-check quizzes and resources. The scenarios are based on problems experienced by four auditors while they are carrying out their audit tasks.

Table 1 below shows the relationship between the units of competency, the elements and the tasks:

Part of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework1

Food Safety Auditor Toolbox – Teacher guide

Table 1: Tasks, units and elements of competency in the Food Safety AuditorToolbox

Task / Unit of competency / Element
Plan the audit
Research the company
Check standards / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits
FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/01 Plan the audit
FDFFSCOMA/02 Select and use appropriate communication methods to conduct an audit
Assess capability / FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCOMA/01 Develop a communication plan
Develop audit plan / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/01 Plan the audit
Conduct the audit
Conduct meeting / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits
FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/01 Plan the audit
FDFFSCOMA/01 Develop a communication plan
FDFFSCOMA/02 Select and use appropriate communication methods to conduct an audit
Review documents / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits
FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/02 Conduct the audit
DFFSCFSAA/03 Manage the audit
FDFFSCOMA/02 Select and use appropriate communication methods to conduct an audit
Review practices / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits
FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/02 Conduct the audit
FDFFSCOMA/02 Select and use appropriate communication methods to conduct an audit
Consolidate audit outcomes
Analyse findings / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/04 Consolidate audit outcomes
Report to auditee / FDFFSCFSAA Conduct food safety audits
FDFFSCOMA Communicate and negotiate to conduct food safety audits / FDFFSCFSAA/04 Consolidate audit outcomes
FDFFSCOMA/03 Negotiate to achieve agreement on audit outcomes

Part of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework1

Food Safety Auditor Toolbox – Teacher guide

Tasks, learning kits and resources

Tasks

The tasks within the Food Safety Auditor(FSA) Toolbox are mapped to performance criteria and are based on a fictional food processing company, Luscious Bites. Established by the Lorenzini family in 1982, Luscious Bites has become a leader in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetable products to wholesalers, restaurants and service delicatessens. You can find out more about Luscious Bites by reading their Company profile in the Resources section of the Toolbox. To find the Resources, click on the PDA icon in the top right corner of each screen.

The learner takes on the role of an auditor who has been contracted to manage an audit for a fruit and vegetable processing company, Luscious Bites. Each task contains the sequence of steps an auditor would follow to carry out an audit for this company.

Learning kits

Each task is supported by a learning kit, except for Develop an audit plan. The learning kits provide content for learners as they develop their knowledge and skills to complete the task.

The learning kits contain:

An overview—a summary of the contents of the learning kit

Some scenarios—these are designed around specific problems that an auditor may experience during the audit process. Each scenario contains:

  • Problem—learners are prompted to listen to a typical problem, experienced by an auditor while carrying out the auditing task.
  • Issues—learners will then attempt to identify the key issues that relate to the problem.Scaffolding materials, such as interactive activities, templates and group work activities are presented to help learners identify the key issues to the problem presented.
  • Solutions—learners enter their ideas on possible solutions to the problem into the text box and then review the feedback.

Content guide—a reading that is written in easy to read, plain English.Some readings are accompanied by short questions to help learners understand the content and relate it back to their own workplace.

Self-check—a short quiz that enables learners to evaluate how they're going with the key ideas in the learning kit.

Tip!
Some learners may prefer to begin a topic by reading through the Content guide and write short answers to the review questions.
Others may prefer to start by listening to the problems in scenarios.
More confident learners may elect to begin with the templates and samples contained in the resources and use them while carrying out work-based projects, working through other resources as needed.
The FSA Toolbox is designed with this flexibility but you may need to guide learners through their first task in a structured way, until they are familiar with the Toolbox structure.

Resources

The Resources tab is located at the top right of the screen and can be accessed from both tasks and learning kits. The resources are compiled to be specific and appropriate to each task and its related learning kit.

Resources compiled usually include:

Short readings—These are articles that provide specific guidance on key aspects of the task.

Templates and samples—These are templates and model templates required to complete the auditing task.

Glossary—a list of key terms that are used throughout the tasks and learning kits

Web links—a list of useful website links to stimulate further research or completion of various tasks.

Tip!
The templates provided throughout the Toolbox are supported by activities which further augment learners learning the auditing process.
We recommend that trainers customise these templates by incorporating various relevant guidelines on how learners can best use them for different types of audits.
These documents (in .doc file format) can be foundin the Resources section and can be easily edited in a program like Microsoft Word. You can distributethem to your group by email and include thecustomised version of the template as an attachment.

The completed task and learning kit activities may be incorporated into a portfolio of work for assessment or be used as evidence of competence within a workplace assessment project.

Scenario auditors

The scenarios within the learning kits are based on the problems encountered by the following four auditors:

Sonia—is a fully certified auditor with extensive experience. She has a Bachelor of Science (Food Technology and Biotechnology) and has completed a long list of additional food safety and auditor training. Recently, she was employed by a major government organisation to manage their food safety regulatory services.

Phuong—has gained a lot of experience in auditing while coordinating all national internal audit schedules and external and third party audits for a large food manufacturer. He has a Bachelor of Science and worked in microbiology labs for over 20 years, testing food, food ingredients and water.

Craig—has gained extensive auditing experience while establishing and managing his own third party auditing company. Previously, he was working in management as a systems coordinator for a national food processing company. Before that, he was employed as a quality systems officer for over a decade.

Aida—has worked for a multinational snack foods company for the last two years. She now works as a contract food safety auditor through Food Safety Global, to audit various commercial food safety standards.

What do I need to start using the FSA Toolbox?

To start using the Toolbox, you will need:

a standard web browser like Internet Explorer (version 6.0 and above) or Mozilla Firefox® 1.0 or higher

a monitor where you can set the display size to 800x600 or 1024x768 or more

IBM compatible computer with 1000 MHz processor (minimum)

128 MB of RAM (minimum)

Adobe® Flash 7 Player or higher (when you go to the Toolbox home screen, the Toolbox will tell you if you don't have it)

a program such as Microsoft Office, Word or Open Office that can open .doc files.

Learner technical requirements

Hardware

To use the learning material in this Toolbox, learners will need a computer with the following features:

IBM® compatible with a 1000 MHz processor running Windows 2000, XP or above, or

Apple Macintosh® with a 500 MHz processor running OSXv10.2.0 or above, with

128 MB of RAM

800 x 600 pixel display

CD-ROM drive (x 24 speed)

Internet access

sound card.

Software

Learners will also need the following software/plug-ins installed on their computer:

Internet Explorer® 6.0 or higher, or Mozilla Firefox® 1.0 or higher

Microsoft® Word 97 (or higher) or a similar word processing program to open and use downloadable forms, checklists and worksheets

Adobe® Flash 7 Player. If you do not this plug-in, you can download and install the latest free version from Adobe’s website (

Adobe® PDF Reader 6.0 or above. Download at Read the terms and conditions for distributing Adobe Reader on your CD from

Check the requirements in the Technical guide, linked from the Toolbox Home screen, for more details.

FSA Toolbox structure in detail

Introducing learners to auditing

If you wish to begin your training program with some background to auditing, you may like to give the following website reference to your group.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website. Type in ‘food auditing’ to the text box and then select the link to ‘The Audit Process’. Read the sections on ‘Types of Auditors’, ‘Roles and responsibilities’ and ‘Audit procedures’.

Sample task: Plan the audit

Below is an overview of a sample task within the Toolbox.

The auditee, Luscious Bites, requires an audit to cover food safety scheme requirements. The learner completes the task by working through the steps involved in developing an audit plan that can be presented to the auditee at the opening meeting (contained within the task: Conduct the audit).

To plan an audit for Luscious Bites, learners are required to:

research the company, its products and processes to define the scope of the audit

check the standards, codes and legislation that may apply to the audit

assess their own skills and capabilities to carry out the audit

develop an audit plan to present to the auditee.

The structure of the task is outlined below. This structure is typical of the other tasks contained within the Toolbox.

Task structure

Task 1: Plan the audit

Research the company (Luscious Bites activity)

  • Research kit:

Questioning (Scenario)

Content guide

Self-check

Resources:

Readings

Templates and samples

Glossary

Web links

Check standards (Luscious Bites activity)

  • Standards kit:

Applying (Scenario 1)

Identifying (Scenario 2)

Content guide

Self-check

Resources:

Readings

Templates and samples

Glossary

Web links

Assess capability (Luscious Bites activity)

  • Capability kit:

Complying (Scenario 1)

Acquiring (Scenario 2)

Content guide

Self-check

Resources:

Readings

Templates and samples

Glossary

Web links

Develop plan(Luscious Bites activity)

(no learning kit for this task)

Resources:

Readings

Templates and samples

Glossary

Web links

Preparing learners for the resources

If you choose to get the learners to participate in group work activities using a discussion forum, you will need to set up discussion threads prior to commencing the activity. Learners will need to be advised of the requirements for the discussion activities, as these instructions are not included within the Toolbox.

The learners could be encouraged to use the discussion tool to post any information that they think would be useful to others, or to pose questions or seek assistance if required. You may need to provide instructions to the learners on how to use the communication tools such as email, discussion forums and chat.

Encourage the learners to review the guided tour and check the site map—before starting work on the Toolbox. This will orientate learners and demonstrate how they can effectively use the resources and activities within the Toolbox.

Underpinning ideas

Each task consists of one or more activities that should be completed in the sequence they are prescribed in the left navigation menu. Resources are suggested and/or provided to assist the learner to complete the tasks required. You can organise additional exercises such as discussions and chat sessions, and this Teacher guide provides many suggestions for enhancing the learning experience through collaborative work.