Quality Certification Services

Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting

July 26, 2002

 

The QCS Board of Directors meeting was held at the Double Tree Hotel in Bloomington, MN.  Greg Marrs, Chairman, called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm.  The directors and guest in attendance included:

 

      At-Large Representative............................................................................. Mark Witherspoon

      Field Service Advisory Committee Representative................................................... Dan Webb

      Laboratory Advisory Committee Representative........................................................ Jere High

      National DHIA Board Representative.................................................................... Greg Marrs

      Processing Center Advisory Committee Representative......................................... Ken Crandal

      PDCA Representative.................................................................................. Ryan Starkenburg

 

      QCS President................................................................................................. Michael Rector

      QCS Secretary / Treasurer...................................................................................... Paul Miller

      QCS Fieldman.............................................................................................. David Youngman

 

The NAAB representative, Denny Funk, was absent from the meeting.

 

Greg passed out and reviewed copies of the QCS Evaluation Forms received from service providers in 2002.

 

The Minutes of the March 26, 2002 meeting were reviewed.  The Board agreed to reword the paragraph regarding the water test requirements and the Minutes were approved as amended.

 

Michael Rector reviewed the circumstances surrounding the Oregon DHIA merger into California DHIA and confirmed that a supplemental audit would be conducted on the Oregon DHIA field service.

 

The Board discussed the issue of field service provider splits and decided that any new organization applying for independent certification would be considered a new service provider and would be subject to the initial certification fee.

 

Michael Rector reviewed the meeting held in May with the Canadian representative, Sylvia LaFontaine, regarding their use of QCS for field service auditing.  The Board approved a motion containing the following points and encouraged the staff to pursue the issue further.

 

1. All four Canadian field service audits would be considered initial audits and each one would be subject to the $5800 initial audit fee.

 

2. Subsequent field service audits would be conducted at the standard QCS rates plus any travel expenses incurred.

 

3. QCS fees would be billed and payable in US dollars.

The Board discussed the NAAB and PDCA positions on the QCS Board and agreed to maintain those positions.  A motion was approved to consider expansion of the QCS Board and it was suggested that the director terms be expanded to three years with two term limits.

 

The Board agreed to schedule the next meeting in conjunction with the National DHIA Annual Meeting in March 2003.

 

The Board reviewed the recommendations made by the Advisory Committees and reached the following consensus:

 

1. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Auditing of Portable Meter Calibration Checks section.

 

2. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Auditing of Scale Calibration Checks section.

 

3. The Board endorsed the proposal to delete the Auditing of Weigh Jar Usage section.

 

4. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Auditing of Bulk Tank or Milk Sold Comparisons section but suggested that the wording be resubmitted for clarification at the next Advisory Committee meeting.

 

5. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Audit Reports and Certification  section.

 

6. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Timetable for Handling Advisory Committee Recommendations in the Advisory Committees section.

 

7. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Audit Reports and Certification  section.

 

8. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Auditing of Infrared Instruments for Sample Unknowns  section.

 

9. The Board endorsed the proposed revision to the Auditing of SCC Instruments for Sample Unknowns  section.

 

Michael reviewed the status of the 2002 auditing schedule and confirmed that audits were being conducted and audit reports were being delivered in a timely manner.

 

Michael reviewed concerns with new meter technician training, noting that most service providers were training new meter technicians in-house rather than following the CDCB required procedure of having factory-approved representatives conduct the training.  The Board suggested that a list of authorized trainers be created and made available.

 

Michael reviewed plans for the Meter Technician Training School scheduled for September 22-23 at the Lancaster DHIA.

 

The Board discussed questions raised regarding DPRC monitoring or individual animals and the handling of independent service providers in comparison to DHI-employed field technicians before adjourning.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Michael Rector

QCS President