A cold-chain responsibility table matches each task with its executor, decision authority and record. The person measuring temperature may differ from the person authorised to release the product. Make both duties and their substitutes visible.
Build it around steps, not titles
Job titles vary between operations. The template therefore does not impose a title such as warehouse supervisor; it defines the role, task and authority boundary. Receiving, storage, loading, handover and exception handling are separate steps. One person can hold several roles, but the work performed in each row stays explicit.
FAO/WHO General Principles of Food Hygiene, §5.1, emphasises clear communication of roles, responsibilities and authority. Complete the table for your operation.
| Stage | Executing role | Decision authority | Deputy | Evidence left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Receiving role | Role authorised to accept, hold or start review | Shift deputy | Product, time, reading, lot and signature |
| Storage | Warehouse operations role | Role approving location, storage condition and status change | Authorised substitute | Location, sensor and stock status |
| Loading | Loading role | Role authorised to release or stop loading | Shift substitute | Vehicle, load time, layout and checklist |
| Handover | Handover role | Role authorised to accept, note or report exception | Contract-defined deputy | Handover form, reading and acknowledgement |
| Exception | Role detecting the event | Role authorised for hold, return or quality review | On-call decision authority | Event, decision, notice and product status |
Separate execution from decision authority
A driver may take a reading at handover while the contract assigns return authority to another role. The driver's task is then the reading, while the decision authority records the instruction and product status. Do not expect a person without authority to make the final disposition decision.
Make the deputy a real takeover. A deputy is more than a second name. State the shift or condition in which the deputy takes over, the system access available and the decision boundary. If that deputy is unavailable, write the on-call authority or escalation route; do not fill an empty cell by assumption during an event.
Evidence is wider than a reading. A thermometer value alone is not process evidence. Link product identity, time, sensor position, vehicle or room, operator, decision, signature and any photo or system record to the same event. Monitoring and release are different: the person taking a reading may not be authorised to release the product.
Keep contractors and carriers in the row
If transport or storage is outsourced, do not remove the stage from the table. Record the provider, contract scope, evidence supplied at handover and who receives an exception. At handover, both parties acknowledge the task, reading, product status, open exception and next action by signature or system approval.
Prepare the exception row before an event
A sensor alarm, unreadable label, damaged package, delayed vehicle or failed measurement may not use the same decision path. The detecting role preserves evidence and reports; the decision authority instructs whether to hold, investigate or release. Process recovery does not decide product status by itself.
Test the chain with one example
In a hypothetical receiving event, the operator records the product and time, the shift deputy checks the device record, the decision authority holds the item when uncertainty remains, and the contractor's handover form receives an open note. The exercise reveals gaps in task and authority, rather than testing individual names.
Update the table after staff, contractor, equipment or handover procedure changes. When executor, decision authority, deputy and evidence appear together in every row, responsibility follows records and authority instead of informal assumptions.