In the penultimate scene of the 1980 comedy Airplane, the crew is sick, an ex-pilot with a fear of flying is at the controls, and a crash landing is all but certain. As they approach the runway, a flight attendant makes an announcement that passengers should assume crash positions. Now, we’ve all seen various flight safety videos and are generally familiar with the proper crash position. But in this case, the passengers promptly throw themselves around the cabin – over seats, in the aisles, etc. – as if they’ve just been in a crash.
So, getting back to the topic at hand, the question is…if you had to do a recall, would it look like the flight safety video version or the Airplane version of a crash position? Not to be an alarmist, but the very future of your company could depend on the answer to that question. So for this installment of the blog, we’ll turn to some famous proverbs for guidance on lot recall preparedness.
Behind an able man there are always other able men
You need a recall coordinator, at the minimum, but would be better served by assigning a multi-discipline triage unit. They should not only be tasked with the development of an action plan and execution of mock recalls, they should be the first contact as soon as a problem has been identified.
All procedures should be documented and every employee should be well versed. Build these procedures into employee onboarding and get employee buy-in through sign-offs. Everyone has a specific part to play in the recall program and one should know it well.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst
There’s a reason that school children practice fire drills. Mock recalls are basically the same thing. You should initiate and execute a mock recall exactly as you would if there were a real problem. You can decide on the frequency for your organization, but once or twice a year is usually a good target.
He who hesitates is lost
Obviously speed is the key factor in limiting the damage from a recall. Your ERP system or lot traceability report should have the appropriate contact information listed for affected customers and should be easily accessible. Contact should be made as appropriate, but naturally, personal service will go a long way towards maintaining relationships. All contact, written and verbal, should be scripted to ensure the appropriate message is sent.
Good news travels fast, bad news even faster
In this age of Twitter and Facebook, people seem to find out about an event almost before it happens. And unfortunately, the damage in the court of public opinion could be far worse than the event itself. Consider the “pink slime” story from 2012. As such, the following groups should be included in your recall program:
- Legal – Let’s face it, there are potentially serious legal ramifications, especially with Class I and Class II recalls. Legal needs to be advised at the earliest possible moment so company statements can be reviewed prior to release and other steps can be taken to limit legal liability.
- Public Relations - You should have sample press releases and statements ready for every potential scenario. In addition to traditional media, develop a presence on various social media outlets and aggressively utilize these outlets in the event of a recall. A well-informed and reassured public, with whom you already have a strong personal relationship, will likely be more forgiving.
- Accounting & Finance – Believe it or not, the accountants should be brought into the game early in the 1st quarter. Initial decisions should be made in the best interests of public safety first and foremost, not with an eye towards the company’s financials. But a recall is going to be costly, and contingency plans may need to be implemented to mitigate that cost.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure
You certainly know best how to ensure proper food safety in your plant. The only thing I’ll mention here is that while you may run the tightest ship on the ocean, you rely on suppliers and you need to ensure that they operate with the same set of standards that you do. Integrating suppliers into your safety program, including vendor audits and inspections, will go a long way towards preventing a crisis.
What gets measured gets managed
Ok, this is less a proverb than a quote from Peter Drucker. Having actionable metrics on response times to identify affected lots, issue statements, contact customers, etc. will go a long way in identifying areas of improvement and ensuring the organization is as prepared as possible to face any challenges that arise.
So to sum up, I’ll leave you with one more famous proverb…if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.
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