John O’Connell is the principal of O’Connell McCormack & Associates Pty Ltd., a consultancy specializing in food safety and quality assurance. O’Connell has been an Exemplar Global-certified food safety auditor for more than 20 years.
In this conversation, we chatted about how O’Connell first encountered Exemplar Global (back when we were RABQSA), what the food safety auditing certification has meant for his career, and the advice he would offer to people entering the conformity assessment field.
EXEMPLAR GLOBAL: When did you first become an Exemplar Global-certified auditor?
JOHN O’CONNELL: I have had quite a fortunate career working in food safety and quality, partnering with some amazing companies and people, and Exemplar Global has been there for me almost from the start.
I have been self-employed for almost 30 years now. In 1999, I first became certified to RABSQA, which of course is now known as Exemplar Global. My certification as a food safety auditor allowed me the opportunity to do what I love most in my life besides my family, and that is working with other families in developing their family businesses within the food manufacturing sector. I have never worked as a third-party auditor, only second party, which allowed me to fill the role of planning and implementing food safety and quality systems for my clients.
EG: What are some of the highlights of your career that have been made possible by your Exemplar Global certification?
JOC: I had the wonderful opportunity of implementing the first HACCP system into the University of Western Sydney, and I know I would never have been considered for that role if I did not hold my Exemplar Global food safety auditor certification. Since my initial certification with Exemplar Global, I have developed and implemented more than 100 SQF, HACCP, and HARPS-certified food safety and quality programs; many of these programs took more than a year to develop and implement.
I also implemented the food safety plan for Acer Arena (now Qudos Bank Arena), which was under the guardianship of Executive Chef Martin Koestlin, a wonderful chef to work with who lead by example during the implementation stage.
It has been my great privilege to work with several great people in the food industry, and I am very grateful that they so openly shared their knowledge. These giants included people like Norm Moses of Murphy’s Produce, George Lagos of Georges Providores, Bob McKenzie of Colonial Foods, Alf Maccioni of UOW Pulse, and finally Executive Chef Julio Azzarello, president of the Australian Culinary Federation. These are people that have heavily contributed to my success and without my certification by Exemplar Global I would never have known these amazing contributors to the Australian food industry.
I have worked with many high-profile companies in Australia. My opening line when meeting new clients has always been to mention my certification with Exemplar Global. I have been a guest speaker on food safety and quality and have in fact trained many people in this area. I always include Exemplar Global as part of my training program for continuous improvement.
As you can probably tell, I’m very grateful for what Exemplar Global has helped me achieve.
EG: Finally, what advice might you offer to people who wish to follow in your footsteps within the conformity assessment field?
JOC: This is an interesting question and one that I can only answer by recommending that people get as much practical experience in their chosen field of auditing as possible before the commencement of an auditing career. I have found over the years that some auditors rely heavily on the audit tool list and not their practical knowledge of the audit, and this can cause some discussion when reviewing the audit outcome.
In closing, I would like to offer a big “Thank You” to Exemplar Global for being on this amazing journey with me over the past 25 years. As I bring my career to a close due to poor health, I would also like to thank my wonderful clients for their contribution to my career in the food industry.