Medina Quality

Medina International is a company that specialises in conducting third-party audits for flight-catering production units. In 2002, the company conducted 316 audits, in 123 units, on behalf of four different airline companies. In 2003, Medina will extend its auditing process through the supplier chain using a new online software applications (ASP) for food suppliers. A total of 22 years experience in auditing gives Medina International Inc. a considerable knowledge base in the areas of auditor selection processes and audit procedures as well as technology developments to ensure rapidity of information and research projects related to in-flight food safety and catering standards. The actual audits include four different modules, namely Food Provisioning, Food Safety, Inventory and Catering specifications. Medina has found through experience that auditors cannot audit more than three stations a month as extensive travel can alter their work efficiency and audit quality. Furthermore, auditor rotation is essential in order to maintain the integrity of the audit. The same auditor cannot visit the same station twice within a year. The audit process includes a questionnaire, which ensures auditor objectivity. For example, a question could need a numeric answer such as four or zero but not in between as leaving a person to express a judgement call will create inconsistencies in the audit response. This questionnaire must relate to specific guidelines, which should be part of a monthly follow up training with auditors. Medina audit software integrates the guidelines for each question ensuring that each auditor understands the issues in the same way therefore guaranteeing objectivity. All guidelines are based on the airlines quality standard expectation from caterers and/or food suppliers. Each audit should take the necessary time to cover all issues in a professional manner. It takes an average of 2.5 days to complete a Medina audit. A basic visit includes areas such as the receiving area, storage areas, ...