Quality Assurance Management Program

Each and every product manufactured by Hill Brothers Chemical Company conforms to formula or a published product specification, which set forth all pertinent characteristics of that product. These requirements may include specifications provided by the customer, and agreed to by Hill Brothers. All responsible parties will be familiar with and understand all product specifications, formulas, and manufacturing processes. These specifications shall be the minimum standards by which the product quality is evaluated, and no product will be offered for sale unless it meets specification.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for raw materials, repackaged products in process materials, and finished products manufactured by Hill Brothers, along with acceptance criteria will be furnished by R&D and approved by the QCC. The SOP must include all required tests and criteria to consider the products to be in compliance. Any deviations and adjustments to the formulas must be approved by the Facility Manager and the Director of R&D. Formulas and SOP for each manufacturing process and test procedures are kept current and on file.
All personnel performing QC tests will be trained and demonstrate competency in performing such tests. Quality control training records of all Hill Brothers personnel will be maintained on file.

In-Process QC Testing may be required at various points in time before, during, and after the manufacturing process to determine compliance to the product specification. The manufacturing SOP’s specify the required in-process testing as well the final product inspection requirements. Testing protocol is specific to each product established and approved by the QCC. At the discretion of the Facility Manager, either the manufacturing operator or laboratory personnel may perform testing on the specified materials. Test results determine whether the product meets specifications, or that corrective action is necessary adjustment and retests the product until specifications are met.
Final Product Inspection/Traceability, every Hill Brothers product is tested for quality prior to being packaged and released for sale. Retain samples are kept for a minimum of one year and Quality Control Production Reports (QCPR) for a minimum of two years. A QCPR supplied by R&D and approved by the QCC will be available for every product manufactured or repackaged by Hill Brothers. QC tests are listed on the QCPR, and must be approved by R&D and the Facility Manager. The batch or lot of finished products will not be packaged until a QCPR has been completed in its entirety.

Equipment, the production operator and lab technician ensure that all equipment used for production and product quality testing is maintained in good working condition and is regularly calibrated. Any deficiencies in any part of the equipment process that can interfere with product quality are corrected immediately and reported to the Facility Manager. The adequacies of testing and inspection equipment used by the in-house quality assurance team are confirmed by our annual inspections. Inspections or calibration tags on the equipment reinforce the fact that these inspections are regularly conducted. Records of equipment calibrations and inspections are kept on file.

Every Hill Brothers’ employee carries a responsibility for his or her contribution to the overall quality effort. Collectively, our quality goal is total customer satisfaction. How each person performs his or her job directly impacts the satisfaction of our customers. The Quality Control Committee (QCC) is responsible to see that every product sold by Hill Brothers has a clear and current set of standards or specifications by which to determine product quality. Any proposed changes to a product specification must be reviewed by the QCC, and may not be implemented without authorization from the committee.
The QCC is composed of senior representatives from all areas of the company. This includes the Chief Executive Officer, Director of Sales & Marketing, Director of Research & Development, Facility Manager, and Product Managers. With this team, input of the quality our product can be taken from every perspective, thus keeping our strongest asset, our customer, as our first priority.
The QCC shall meet as necessary, but not less than once every two months. Each member of the QCC will be responsible for addressing quality issues and act as the QC representative for the aspect of the business. Policies set by the QCC shall become corporate policy and enforced by all levels of management.

The components that are used to produce Hill Brothers products must reflect the exceptional quality of our formulations intend to achieve. A high degree of uniformity is essential to formula consistency. This is accomplished by carefully specifying each material, choosing a competent source (or sources), and continuing to purchase from these approved suppliers. Since many of the criteria by which these materials are judged require specialized and time consuming tests to confirm compliance, Hill Brothers’ demands and depends heavily upon, the manufacturers’ certification of compliance. Prior to vendor approval, the minimum requirements are as follows:

• Submit specification of Data Sheet prior to sample request to R&D.
• Submit a representative sample to R&D for performance evaluation with the existing formula.

An approval notification from R&D will be submitted to the purchasing agent.

Raw materials – Are outlined by an acceptable product specification sheet, and are accompanied with a certificate of analysis or conformance upon receipt at the facility. Upon receipt of each raw material, the receiving facility confirms that each package is un-damaged, properly identified, and when applicable, that a certification of compliance has been supplied. The receiving facility verifies all raw materials by visual inspection, supplier certificate, and in-process testing during the manufacturing of final-products.
This testing is intended to verify that the raw material conforms to the required specification. Each separately identified batch or lot of a raw material are tested individually. Non-conforming raw materials must be isolated and returned to the supplier. Under no circumstances may a non-conforming raw material be placed into inventory or used in production.

Repackaged/Distributed Products – When Hill Brothers sells a product manufactured and packaged by others, we represent that the product conforms so specifications provided by the customer, and agreed to by Hill Brothers. It is prohibited under this policy to alter a distributed product in any manner.
Each shipment of packaged product received from the supplier and which we intend to resell is always accompanied by a certificate of analysis or a certificate of conformance specific to the lot numbers of the shipment. Either document shall certify conformity to the specification or standard.

Non-Conforming Material – Raw materials or finished products which are found to inconsistent with the standard are isolated in the warehouse and identified accordingly. The decision to return it to the supplier, to re-work it, or to discard it is the responsibility of the Facility Manager. Under no circumstances will a non-conforming raw material be placed into inventory or used in production. Test results are to be recorded and maintained for a minimum of two years.

Development of product specifications for all manufactured products have been specified by the Sales and Marketing Division and the Research and Development Department and approved by the QCC. These standards may include specifications provided by the customer, and agreed to by Hill Brothers. These specifications will be the minimum standards by which the product quality shall be evaluated.
In special circumstances, a customer may require different specifications that those which Hill Brothers has published. It is the responsibility of the Facility Manager in conjunction with the Sales Manager to submit these specifications in writing to the QCC for review and approval. An agreement between the customer and Hill Brothers will be developed to ensure that these specifications are met. Under no circumstances shall a Hill Brothers product be sold under specifications that have not been approved by the QCC.

Our Focus
Audits are an integral part of our Quality Control Program to ensure that all aspects of the company adhere to our corporate policies. Under no circumstances shall deficiencies addressed in audit reports be disregarded or not addresses in a timely manner.
Internal Audits – The Quality Control Committee will periodically, not less than once per year, lead a quality audit team to evaluate each facility and its conformance to the Quality Assurance Management Program. If deficiencies in policies, procedures or products are found during these investigations, a complete analysis will be performed to determine the cause of the problem. When the faulty material is isolated, or it is discovered that the proper procedures have not been followed, or that approved procedures are no longer appropriate, corrective action will be taken immediately.
Independent Audits – In addition to our internal audits, independent audits are conducted for the purpose of scrutinizing our program. To ensure that our processes are running as consistently as possible, our facilities are assessed on a regular basis. In this respect, we are able to locate and correct deficiencies where they exist.

The Hill Brothers Quality Assurance Management Program is a system which employs every aspect of our company to bring forth a product not only of the highest standards, but of superb quality. With the processes involved in manufacturing and testing our materials, there is no question that we will bring our customers a product that meets and exceeds customer expectation every time. Our management system provides a series of checks and balances that enable us to keep defects down to an absolute minimum. This includes regular internal and independent audits, strict process control, and a determination to keep the customer  satisfied and loyal. The time we are able to save with this program, we will commit to continually improving our products. This is how we stay ahead of the pack. This is how we keep customers confident that they can always trust in Hill Brothers.