BCVA members will be aware that all Red Tractor physical assessments were halted in March. The scheme is now preparing to roll-out live streamed farm audits to enable new applicants to be assessed and current members to retain their status throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Red Tractor has been working with certification bodies and key stakeholders to deliver this innovative solution to allow audits to continue whilst meeting UKAS requirements and without the need for assessors to travel to farms.
The assurance scheme utilises its own online portal to enable farms to upload their documents and records and has run a series of pilots using different live-streaming technologies, across all the sectors the scheme covers - Pigs, Poultry, Crops, Fresh Produce, Livestock and Dairy, to allow assessors to have ‘virtual eyes’ on the farm.
Under the new remote assessment programme, farms due their assurance assessment, or new applicants, can either opt for an offline pre-assessment, followed by a live stream partial assessment using video calling, or online meeting software such as WhatsApp, Blue Jeans, Zoom.
Members must send documentation to their assessor in advance, via Red Tractor’s portal or other secure file transfer site, to complete the offline pre-assessment. A video call will follow at an appropriate time, allowing assessors to carry out the visual assessment of the member’s site without needing to attend in person. Alternatively, members can opt to have the entire assessment, with all document reviews and inspections taking place, via a video call with an assessor.
Farmers who have successful remote assessments during this phase, will not be required to have an additional physical assessment outside of their normal audit cycle.
There is guidance on the remote assessment process, including a detailed Q&A document in the Covid-19 Hub on the Red Tractor Assurance website.
Red Tractor’s simple guide to remote assessments can be found on YouTube.
