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Working in the manufacturing industry, you must know how important compliance is in this sphere.
Table of contents
What is compliance for manufacturing companies?
Why is compliance essential for manufacturing companies?
Benefits of achieving compliance
12 main areas of manufacturing compliance
Top regulation and standards in manufacturing
How effective internal communications can help compliance
It’s important that manufacturing companies are aware of various legal, regulatory, technical and corporate governance requirements that they must comply with in order to operate as a successful business. These requirements are designed to protect both the business and consumers from risk so that they can legally manufacture and sell their products.
There are two types of compliance that manufacturing companies need to concern themselves with: these are regulatory compliance and corporate compliance.
Regulatory compliance refers to laws and regulations that the business must follow that are relevant to the ways it operates. These can include local, state, federal and international laws and regulations. Different industries will have different requirements.
Corporate compliance can also refer to some federal and state laws which ensure that your company is complying with corporation laws affecting how they run and are governed. It also covers it also includes compaliance with a range of internal policies and procedures.
Global manufacturing organizations will have to be aware of regulatory requirements across various jurisdictions that may have very different requirements.
Manufacturing compliance provides a layer of protection against risk for a business. It also exists to provide protection to employees, customers and clients, communities and other stakeholders.
Without compliance, there are various risks that the company can be exposed to. These include:
A manufacturing company that achieves compliance will experience multiple benefits. These include:
Specific legislative and regulatory requirements will differ for manufacturing companies depending on where they carry out their operations and what type of manufacturing they are involved in. However, these are the main areas of manufacturing requirements in compliance:
Depending on the industry that your manufacturing operations are in, as well as the location of where these operations are carried out, there are many different specific manufacturing industry standards and regulations that you must comply with. In general, however, the most common are:
Depending on the requirement that you need to comply with, you may be issued certification – for example a certificate of compliance in manufacturing – by your regulator.
Implementing appropriate policies, procedures, protocols and oversights within your organization will ensure that you can achieve production compliance.
Look at where your business is located and establish what the legal and industry regulations are for it within those jurisdictions. There may be different regulations in different places, particularly if you are operating in multiple companies. You should also be aware of other regulations such as trade laws when you are selling your product in other countries.
Having an organizational lead on compliance will help to ensure that the various compliance activities are carried out, and any risks can be identified or mitigated before they become a problem. Backed by a team of professionals, the Chief Compliance Officer can set goals and targets for organizational compliance and create any appropriate internal documents such as policies and procedures, codes of conduct etc. This team also needs to stay up-to-date with compliance requirements and changes in the regulatory landscape to ensure that you don’t miss any new rules or regulations that can affect your business.
Identify any potential or actual risks that pose a threat to your compliance efforts by conducting a detailed risk assessment across the breadth of your organization.
You should have an overall compliance strategy to ensure that your company is able to manage all of its compliance obligations. Based on the results of your risk assessment, you may need to devise other strategies to address any risks and bring them into line.
Your employees are your greatest strength – but can also be the greatest weakness. In order to ensure compliance measures are met, they need to understand what these are, why they are important, and what they need to do in order to meet compliance. It should form part of your onboarding process and should also be delivered annually to ensure employees remember what to do. When there are regulatory changes that affect your organization, get on the front foot as soon as possible and train your employees in the new procedures.
Having sound internal communication practices in place will help to ensure that compliance for your manufacturing company is adhered to.
Without communication, people are in the dark. You can’t expect people to do what you need them to do if you don’t tell them about it, explain it, and give them the instructions they need.
Using DeskAlerts will help with all your compliance communication needs to ensure that your employees are accountable and knowledgeable.
DeskAlerts is an internal communications software system that is installed on desktop computers and mobile devices and sends notifications to employees without relying on the email system or intranet.
You can use DeskAlerts to:
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Compliance for manufacturing companies can be incredibly complex. Anything you do to make the task easier is a good thing. Find out how DeskAlerts can assist by getting in touch with our internal communications experts today for a free demo.
Regulatory compliance in the manufacturing industry refers to the state, federal and local laws and requirements that the company must meet in the course of conducting its operations.
Three examples of compliance include:
Manufacturing standards are manufacturing compliance requirements and refers to the specifications that must be adhered to in terms of manufacturing, storing, packaging and labeling products.
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