Issue 101 – Auditors: Open your eyes!
ISO 9001:2015…
Auditors: Open your eyes!
I appreciate receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter… please continue to do so since it provides me with ideas on what these publications should cover. In my last Newsletter (ISO 9001:2015 Newsletter Issue 100) we discussed the topic of “The Centennial Edition!”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Auditors: Open your eyes!”.
The ISO 9001:2015 Element numbering…
Element 4 – Context of the organization
Element 5 – Leadership
Element 6 – Planning
Element 7 – Support
Element 8 – Operation
Element 9 – Performance evaluation
Element 10 – Improvement
Auditors: Open your eyes!… A long time Reader of my Newsletters recently reminded me of the benefits to an auditor of “observing” activities within a process/area, and I realized that I really hadn’t covered that topic much in any of my past Newsletters. From ISO 19011 (guidelines for auditing management systems), there are only three (3) ways to gather objective evidence during an audit… interviewing people; reviewing documents and records; and observations. In my auditor training sessions I mention that newly minted auditors typically are so focused on their interview skills that they sometimes forget to ask to review actual documents and records/reports from the process… and most all of them rarely take a moment to “observe” the process they are auditing.
What are the benefits of “observing”?… I can remember an experience I had as a new auditor where I used “observing” to buy some time so I could try and understand a complex manufacturing process that I was faced with… and then trying to come up with a smart question to ask about something I really had no clue about. I simply told my auditee that he should just carry on with his tasks and that I would jump in when I have a question. After a few minutes of “observing” and sincerely trying to absorb what he was doing, I managed to come up with a relevant question to ask. My point is that sometimes just watching how a process works is well worth the time to do so. You can also suggest that by “observing”, the auditee gets to complete the work that they will eventually have to do anyways.
So what are some of the benefits of “observation”? Well, first of all, as I mentioned above, it allows the person to get their work done and provides a bit of time for the auditor to get a better sense of how the process operates. Secondly, it also ensures that you have the right person to interview, because if they don’t know how to do this particular task or that they only supervise others who do it, then you know you have the wrong person in front of you. Thirdly, it ensures that you have an “actual example” to audit, which is always better than talking in vague terms and generalities. Fourth, you get to make a visual assessment of the process/area… don’t underestimate this benefit because you will get a sense of whether this process/area is under control from a number of visual cues (body language of participants; organization of items or paperwork; cleanliness of the area, etc)… and sometimes an obvious product or service or process nonconformance just happens to be sitting there for anyone to see. As an auditor, you are acting on behalf of the Customer, so it is your responsibility to at least not miss the obvious!
Be sure to watch for our next Newsletter issue where I will be answering some of the questions that I get from Readers of my Newsletters about how to implement the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 in a specific and practical way, that will also help improve business performance…
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Need Help?
ISO 9001:2015 Internal Audit Outsourcing (we can do it for you OR with you!)
For cost effectiveness, the Internal Audit function can be outsourced to an external experienced auditor on a periodic basis. This will provide an independent and objective assessment to management, of where process issues may exist, along with identifying opportunities for improvement. It will also provide the evidence needed to satisfy the Internal Audit requirements in the ISO Standards. We have used two different approaches with this service: a) We conduct the entire audit ourselves, or b) We act as the lead auditor, and along with your Team of internal auditors, we complete the entire audit together. This latter approach allows your people to receive guidance and direction from an experienced lead auditor while at the same time maintaining significant involvement in the internal audit process.
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Internal Process Auditor Training for ISO 9001:2015
The two (2) day Internal Process Auditing for ISO 9001:2015 Training Session is focused on a process approach to auditing with the objective being not only to assess conformance of the quality management system, but also to uncover process improvements during an audit. This goes hand in hand with the process auditing requirements found within ISO 19011 and the process approach covered in ISO 9001:2015, which promotes continual process improvement throughout this Standard. An enhanced checklist is developed, and there will be workshops throughout, to reinforce learning, as well as a live, practice audit. If you are looking to meet the ISO 9001:2015 internal audit requirements and to “raise the bar” for your internal audit program then this is the course you should consider.
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Until next time…
Tim Renaud
Helping Business Professionals Reduce Risk and Remove Waste!