Phyto E-Cert Project Update

MAF Biosecurity NZ have been re-developing the E-Cert system and the project is nearing completion.

The final testing phase is about to start and early next year the new system should be available.  IVS will be offering some level of training in the new program, more details on the format / dates will follow later in the year after testing has been completed and release dates firmed up.

IVS will also be involved during the testing phase of the new Phyto E-Cert system so we'll update you again once we've had a look at the new system to let you know what the key differences are.  Initial feedback from MAF Biosecurity NZ suggests the new system will not be significantly different from the current.

For more information please see the following link: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/regs/exports/plants/phyto-ecert-newsletter-2.pdf or contact IVS.

Does Your Timber Stack Up?

If you are looking for a robust Timber Preservation Testing Service to compliment your existing Quality Assurance Programme, and provide confidence that your timber is fit for purpose, then look no further...

The IVS/Hill Laboratories Timber Preservation Testing Service has been developed to provide accurate and rapid test results for timber treatment providers.  read more >>

The Hard Work's Been Done...

This time last year MAFBNZ requested that all IVA’s meet with them in Wellington.  The conversation centred on MAFBNZ’s concern that too many manuals were worded as statements rather than as actual work instructions.  As a result we were asked to review all export manuals, ensure they meet MAFBNZ’s requirements and work with you, during the last round of systems audits, to revise the wording.

This was a big undertaking and we really appreciate the efforts you made and your patience throughout the process.  The next round of systems audits should now be much simpler, primarily we are now just checking that you are following your own procedures / work instructions within your Biosecurity Manual.  We have also changed the way we do our surveillance audits to reduce the amount of time on site; we hope you will find this beneficial; any comments/feed back around this would be appreciated.

We would encourage you to do your own internal audits to check that you are still following your written system.  If your business practices have changed please make appropriate updates to your manual.  This will help avoid problems when we do our systems audits, which is ultimately what we all want.  If you do update your manual please remember to provide us a copy for review prior to releasing the new version to your staff. 

If you have any questions or need help, please get in touch.  David Baker, Quality & Technical Manager

"Ask Us"

Jared Sherriff, Shipping Co-ordinator of Pan Pac Exports Limited asked "How do we deal with spellings of port names on our L/Cs or Bills of Lading that differ to eCert drop-down list? e.g. Latkrabang vs Lat Krabang, or Dingdao vs Qingdao?"

Answer:  MAFBNZ use ISO 3166 for Country Codes and UN/LOCODES for ports .  If the available values differ from those applied on commercial documents (such as bill of lading or letters of credit), clients can provide IVS with this information along with the source so that MAF BNZ can assess why the source data is different to the codes endorsed by UNCEFACT.  MAFBNZ plan to continue using UN/LOCODES to validate ports in Phyto E-cert II, this is consistent with the drive to remove free text and avoid human errors.

Do You Have A Forestry Export Question?

 YES?  
Then please email it to us!

If your question is answered in our newsletter, we'll send you a Paper Plus Gift Voucher. 

(Thank you Jared for this months question; your gift voucher is on its way)  IVS is collating a 'library' of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for our website, which will be a source of useful information for our clients.

WPA Technical Conference

The Wood Processors Association (WPA) and Frame & Truss Manufacturers Association (FTMA) Technical Conference was held in Rotorua last month.

The focus this year was on the Building Act Review, Timber Quality, Single Hazard Class recommendations and other projects that WPA have underway such as Secure Pathway and Industry Benchmarking.  read more >>

Competition Winner

Thank you for all your feedback, comments and entries for last months competition. 

The winner of the dinner voucher for two is: Graham Wyllie from C3.