Issue 80 – Internal Audits: Why should Management want the quality of their products & services audited?
ISO 9001:2015…
Internal audits – Why should Management want the quality of their products & service audited?
Receiving emails with questions and/or comments from readers of this Newsletter is much appreciated… 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 79) we discussed the topic of “Element 10: Improvement – Why should Management want to improve the business?”, and now in this Newsletter we will discuss “Internal Audits – Why should Management want the quality of their products & services audited?“.
The ISO 9001 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
Let’s talk about Quality Audits… Many Managers within organizations have accepted that “financial audits” are part of doing business since tracking dollars is in everyone’s interest. So why should “Quality” be any different? Is it because we wait for the Customer to let us know how our “Quality” is? I think we do… however that might be too late… most Customers never want to have to visit your “Customer Service Dept” or your “Warranty Dept” or your “Returns Dept” or your “Complaint Dept”… who would? Maybe the reason we created these Departments is exactly why we need to do Quality Audits. Why not investigate how many Customers use these Departments throughout the year and more importantly, why? In fact why not interview some of those Customers? I think they’d have some good suggestions on how you could improve.
This ISO 9001 “internal audit tool” is not typically used to its full advantage in most companies. If I am a Manager or Supervisor why would I want an unbiased assessment of the processes under my control? Well, for starters, it allows me to be a first responder for a process breakdown that could escalate into a bigger headache. Second, it can be used to help bring discipline to my processes, and to the people who operate within them. Third, the internal auditor just might stumble upon a great improvement project that my Team missed. Fourth, internal auditors are like a human suggestion box system, so this activity will provide me feedback on ideas/thoughts from my Team that I may not hear if I ask them directly. Lots of upside and little downside… and all it costs you is a little bit of your time once a year. Like I said above, most people don’t leverage the benefits of getting an audit done of their area.
One final comment… Many people are sometimes surprised to hear that internal quality audits can be accomplished with outside help. Just like any other Quality Management System (QMS) process, it can be outsourced. The ISO Certification Bodies (ISO Registrars) have long ago accepted this practice since there is no requirement within ISO 9001:2015 to use internal employees for conducting audits. Many organizations have gone this route for a few simple reasons: a) their current pool of auditors are dwindling (or non-existent) and the ones who remain have lost their appetite for this activity; b) internal auditors perform this task only once per year and can’t really get good at it so it turns into a quick checklist exercise, where no one benefits; and c) the QMS gets just a light-touch since few auditors really ask the hard questions and rarely interview Managers/Supervisors. If switching to a completely outsourced audit process feels too drastic then consider doing it using a phased approach. By that I mean, you can start off with an internal auditor training event that gets extended to include time to perform actual audits as part of the training session. Another option is what I call a hybrid audit where you bring in an experienced, outside person who acts as the Lead Auditor for your team of internal auditors, which not only gives them some “training” on how to conduct an audit but also injects some fresh energy into this process. Finally, simply outsourcing the complete internal audit takes all the pressure off your internal resources and should result in uncovering issues in your QMS that have never been addressed previously, but should have, for the benefit of your organization, and your Customers. I have been involved in all three of the above approaches, and based on repeat engagements over many years, I would suggest that my Clients view this as a good way for handling their audit process.
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!