Quality and Audit Program (QAP) Latest News
INDA Partners with EDANA to Expand the Reach of the Industry’s First Quality and Audit Program for Hygiene Product Suppliers
The Quality and Audit Program – a voluntary initiative for the hygiene product industry – is now available in the United States.
Cary, NC & Brussels, Belgium, August 3, 2023 – INDA and EDANA, the leading trade associations representing nonwovens and related industries, joined forces to implement and support the industry’s first Quality and Audit Program (QAP) in the United States. This joint effort will increase the reach of, and support for, the program in the North American absorbent hygiene products and wet wipes industries.
Much like the harmonization of test methods years ago, this joint program has the potential to reduce complexity for both suppliers and converters of AHP and wipes. This program grew from the inefficiency of facing multiple audits from converter supplier audit programs, often assessing similar requirements, but according to differing standards.
The program went through a rigorous testing and piloting phase before being rolled out in the summer of 2022. Initially only available in Europe, the program is expanding its reach to cover Asia and the Americas.
“INDA is pleased to partner with EDANA to promote this program for the benefit and efficiency of the industry,” said Tony Fragnito, INDA President. “With this partnership, we believe QAP will become the global quality standard in the hygiene industry, thus ensuring that consumer products across the industry are of the highest quality.”
“Answering the needs of many of our members and based on the first results since its implementation in Europe just over a year ago, we are strongly convinced that QAP is a meaningful step forward for the industry. While it will still require a kind of paradigm shift, we are sure that more and more industry players from across the world will adopt the program,” said Murat Dogru, EDANA’s General Manager. “I look forward to partnering with INDA to bring QAP to the North American market.”
More information is available on the EDANA website where converters and suppliers can register to take part. The program is based on a harmonized quality and hygiene standard, which facilitates an objective third-party audit. Organizations can also register to follow a training course to familiarize themselves with the standard.
For further information on the QAP project, please contact either INDA’s Director of Education and Technical Affairs, Matt O’Sickey at mosickey@inda.org, or EDANA’s Director of Scientific and Technical Affairs, Marines Lagemaat at Marines.Lagemaat@edana.org.
About INDA
INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, serves hundreds of member companies in the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industry to achieve business growth. Since 1968, INDA helps members convene and connect, innovate and develop their businesses. INDA’s educational courses, business intelligence and market insights, test methods, consultancy and issue advocacy help members succeed by providing information they need to better plan and execute their business strategies. INDA Media is the business-to-business publishing arm of INDA and publisher of International Fiber Journal and International Filtration News, which reach a vast network of professionals who employ fibers, filaments, and filtration systems to optimize their application environments. For more information, visit inda.org or call 919-459-3700.
About EDANA
Comprising over 310 members, EDANA is the leading global association advocating the benefits of nonwovens for society. Since 1971, EDANA has been providing a comprehensive range of services to enhance the industry’s goals and performance, including supporting sustainability ambitions, responsible product stewardship, and addressing common technical, regulatory and market challenges. EDANA also organizes several application-specific and geographic focus industry events.
EDANA Quality and Audit Programme (QAP) is operational
5 July 2022
In April, EDANA announced that its Quality and Audit Programme (QAP) was open for registration. EDANA can confirm that QAP is also operational: the first onsite audit was conducted 28-30 June in France.
The objective of the programme is to provide the absorbent hygiene products industry, as well as the wet wipes industry, with a harmonised quality and hygiene standard. This is done by listing the requirements industry needs to meet to ensure that finished consumer products are safe and meet consumer expectations.
The entire hygiene industry will benefit from having a harmonised quality standard that is fully transparent and available on the EDANA website. Converters benefit from access to the results of professionally conducted audits, which help them manage their supplier base. Suppliers benefit from independent and objective audits, conducted at their request, against a single standard.
The intention is to also implement it in other regions such as the Americas and Asia Pacific. The EDANA QAP working group’s vision is that this programme will be the leading standard in the industry.
More information is available at https://www.edana.org/quality-audit-programme where converters and suppliers can sign up for participation. Organisations can also register to participate in a training course to get familiar with the standard.
EDANA Board approved QAP
2 December 2021
In the board meeting on Dec 2, 2021 the Board decided to approve the QAP. The QAP WG has been mandated to prepare the launch of this tool to be used between suppliers and converters in the hygiene industry. The QAP WG is making an effort to streamline the communication to adequately inform what the programme is about and how to participate, but is also working together with BSI to streamline the operational procedures about joining the programme and using it, both for suppliers and converters.
2nd Round of pilot audits has been concluded
10 November 2021
The EDANA Quality and Audit Programme (QAP) is about to be finalised after the successful completion of the second round of pilot audits. The last audit took place during the week of INDEX, at a film plant, where another auditor became qualified. The QAP Working group, with the support of senior industry leaders, is preparing the launch of the programme.
Successful second round of pilot audits run for the EDANA Quality and Audit Programme
3 August 2021
The EDANA Quality and Audit Programme (QAP) is further progressing with a second round of pilot audits now well underway.
The project, initially devised in late 2017, was crystallised at a workshop in March 2018 where unanimous member support for initiative was shown.
In spring 2019 the EDANA standard was released for the pilot audit and a cooperation was established with BSI, a global and leading organisation active in the field of standardisation and auditing.
The first round of pilot audits took place in the 2nd half of 2019 and the initiative was made public in October of that year when Dominiek Tytgat of Ontex and EDANA’s Director of Scientific and Technical Affairs, Marines Lagemaat presented the project at OUTLOOK.
Regular operational improvements were made to the programme throughout 2020, in particular relating to auditor selection, training and qualification. A number of pilots were postponed due to the pandemic.
In 2021 the QAP Working Group (WG) agreed to continue the programme, conducting the pilot audits online, following the example of many other auditing bodies.
In May this year the first pilot audit of the second round was held at a nonwoven production site of a leading manufacturer in Europe.
Further pilots were held in June and July with a 4th one running from the 16th to the 18th of August.
These audits demonstrated the value of the improvements made since launch, boosting the team’s confidence in the process!
The QAP WG anticipated this when publishing a short presentation on the EDANA website that is used by stakeholders to convince suppliers to participate.
Following this second round of pilots, a decision to ‘go live’ with the programme will be made by the working group in the autumn.
For further information on the QAP project please contact EDANA’s Director of Scientific and Technical Affairs, Marines Lagemaat, Marines.Lagemaat@edana.org
