Pinho Consulting

According to ISO 9000, the Fundamentals and Vocabulary standard, an audit is:

“A systematic, independent, and documented process, for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled.”

In other words, making sure that what is going on in practice is in line with policies, processes and procedures.

Preparing for a Management System audit should not be stressful. After all, Audits should be carried out to look for areas for improvement and best practices.

This simple guide will help you, and your organization, to be ready for it.

Here’s what to do.

Your managers should;

– Walk through the area and do a quick check on operations

– Ensure the work areas are clean and orderly

– Review the documents for their area

– Verify everyone knows and follows document control processes

– Confirm that past non-conformities have been fixed

– Brief employees on how to interact with auditors

– Communicate a positive view about the audit – it’s a learning opportunity

Your employees should:;

– Understand the quality policy

– Understand the management system objectives for their area

– Know where their documents are located

– Be able to quickly retrieve their records

– Be prepared to demonstrate their activities

– Provide brief and honest answers to questions

– Be cooperative, not misleading or defensive

– Ask for clarification if they don’t understand a specific question

Remember to consider this simple tips the next time that you have an audit, and always take good notes for possible follow-up actions . After all, it is a improvement process.