3 minute read
ISO 22716
By Robert Low, Lead Management System Specialist
Section 4 of ISO 22716 covers premises — the physical building and how it is organised. This is one of the more visually obvious sections of the standard, in the sense that an auditor walking the floor can spot many of its requirements without opening a single document.
This post is part of a series working through ISO 22716 section by section. The series summary with links to every section is available at the end.
The standard states the objective plainly: premises should be located, designed, constructed, and used in a way that protects the product, permits efficient cleaning, and minimises the risk of mix-ups between products, raw materials, and packaging materials. Everything else in the section is detail in service of those three goals.
Types of area and flow. Separate or clearly defined areas are required for storage, production, quality control, ancillary functions, washing, and toilets. The flow of materials, products, and people through the building has to be deliberately planned to prevent mix-ups — this is often shown as a flow diagram during an audit.
Construction details. Floors, walls, ceilings, and windows in production areas need to support easy cleaning and, where necessary, sanitisation. Windows should generally be non-opening where ventilation is otherwise adequate; if they do open, they need proper screening. New construction should favour smooth surfaces that resist corrosive cleaning agents.
Washing and toilet facilities. These need to be adequate, clean, and accessible to production areas without being part of them — a distinction that matters in audit findings more often than people expect.
Lighting and ventilation. Lighting needs to be sufficient for the work being done and installed so that any breakage is contained rather than risking contamination. Ventilation needs to suit the specific production operation.
Pipework, drains, and ducts. These need installing so that drips or condensation cannot contaminate materials or surfaces. Drains need to stay clean and prevent back flow.
Cleaning, maintenance, and pest control. Premises need a defined cleaning and, where appropriate, sanitisation programme suited to each area’s specific needs — not a single generic schedule applied everywhere. A pest control programme appropriate to the premises is required, along with measures to prevent attracting pests from outside.
The most common finding is not a dramatic structural problem — it is inconsistency between what the site plan says and what is physically true. A flow diagram that shows raw materials and finished product never crossing paths, when in practice a narrow corridor forces exactly that crossing during busy periods, is a classic gap.
The second common issue is cleaning programmes that exist as documents but are not demonstrably followed. An auditor will often ask to see the cleaning record for a specific area on a specific recent date — if that record does not exist, or does not match the defined frequency, that is a finding regardless of how clean the area looks on the day of the visit.
Premises requirements interact closely with production control, since the physical flow of materials directly shapes how batch records and traceability work in practice. They also connect to risk management — many of the contamination risks addressed under premises design are the same risks a proper HACCP or HARA risk assessment should identify and control.
This post is part of the Cornerstone ISO 22716 series. See the full series summary with links to all 16 sections.
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