How can you manage quality audits with limited resources?

It is important of course to know the audit scope and objective as well as the content, scoring system, and the pillars that the site, facility, or system are going to be assessed for. There is a good practice that I always introduce in my manufacturing sites where I have very limited Quality resources. You need to first of all divide the plant layout into various areas to be audited, then ask the production teams working in one area to audit an area that is not theirs every month, and continue doing this until almost each team has audited all areas of the plant apart from theirs. This practice has enabled plants to score very high on various types of Quality & Food Safety internal and external audits, and earn the best certifications

Analyzing regulatory activity trends and reports are very useful to focus audits on the critical areas of greatest regulatory compliance risk. Using multi-year trends of regulations, subparts and categories provides a data based opportunity to quantify risk and focus resources. This same information may also be used to prioritize audit findings and remediation activities.

(1) The audit objective is to determine the conformity with the audit criteria. (2) Audit criteria has a set of Mandatory requirements those are to be verified while determining conformity. Examples of audit criteria could be ISO 9001:2015 QMS or Contract Quality Plan (CQP) specific for a Customer Contract. (3) Audit Scope: While establishing the audit scope, it is important to consider the -Organizations scope of activities & processes, Contractual & legal requirements, Physical location of the Plants/offices. (4) The audit planning process shall consider- Importance of processes, risks, Previous internal / external /Statutory/Contractual audit results, independence of the auditors from activities being audited.

I couldn’t do it properly without using a project management tool to gather data from each department and graph out the visualizations. I depend on Smartsheet for all quality related things in the health care environment. The other thing is use all your resources. If the front desk lady has some free time then I find a way to utilize that because despite the budget, quality is not a one person job.

You need to have a crystal clear idea of what the audit is all about and set the objectives accordingly. I have seen a number of people who clearly diverge from the main problem at hand and get busy with necessary details in other secondary domains.

A very good method is the chalk circle method. You stand on a fixed place in the hall and observe what happens around you. Try it out, you will be thrilled what can already be observed in 15 minutes.

Managing quality audits with limited resources can be a challenging task, but it's certainly possible with careful planning and strategic resource allocation Through first of all prioritizing the audits since not all processes needs the same level of audit , so, we need to focus on critical processes and high-risk areas first and its prompt affection on the organization Try to embed technology through audit software that for example can can reduce time and effort in the phase of collecting data conduct Cross-train for existing staff to perform audits and this allows for flexibility in resource allocation and ensures that more employees are familiar with the audit process and also encourage the employees involvement.

Having a comprehensive process in place is essential. Full documentation, checklists, visual comparisons and avoiding complacency in the processes. If able, cycling auditors through different stages of the full process to gain new perspectives and experience can help with this.

Combination of auditing methods with clear scope and objective contribute to effective audit. Interviews with operation teams & observation of processes ,supported by document review are effective tools. Quality Trend analysis is good indicator to areas of concern

It is important to do a good preparation before any audit in order to concentrate resources on the areas that need most attention. 1. Understand the market and the product or / service. Try to assign auditors who are from the same field. 2. Try to find out where the organisation is in its journey with regard to the maturity and where they would like to be. It is possible that teams within the organisation maybe at different levels. Previous audit reports or self audit reports will give a good insight and help the auditor prepare in advance. 3. Use all this information for prioritizing the areas to audit. 4. Use of technology 5. Train internal auditors from cross functional teams

In order to conduct an effective audit and ensure the conformity, it is important to allocate competent resources to conduct the audits. The auditors are to be independent of the function being audited. In the event of limited resources, the organizations management need to decide if the audit can be covered in one full cycle at once or could be planned at different timeline during the calendar year. Where there are limitations on resources, organizations can – (I)hire an experienced freelance auditor not having any conflict with organizations line of business. (II) Look for possible support from their Group companies, Head Offices & Customers. If travel time is high, those sites can be audited remotely by using the online platforms.

It can be very helpful to use an external expert to do an internal audit for you. This can help you to break out of you "normal" view and get some fresh ideas, and help you to improve your Quality management. It helps if an external expert supports you in convincing your colleagues or management that improvements are needed. It does not have to be complicated, even half a day can already make a big difference and break the "but we have always done it this way" cycle...

Don’t bite off more than you can chew, space audits apart in a manageable timeline and ensure that stakeholders are equipped to respond and act on findings with their resource availability as well. Be firm but flexible with timings and ensure the team is aware of the audit requirements and process so it can be as efficient as possible. If there are significant issues then approach the team in terms of increasing the size of the auditor teams available.

Great comment Michael. Limited Resources need Creative Measures. Ask your accountant or bookkeeper to help audit. Ask a manager to audit. These people audit everyday. Use them. Give them what they should ask daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually. Make it part of their meetings.

All of these items need to be mentioned in the project quality plan. Audit schedule shall be part of the project quality plan which will define to name a few: team roles and responsibilities, type of audits" first party, second party audits", list of applicable standards, procedures applicable to project scope of work, verification matrix against adopted standards, project quality policy, objectives, reporting methods. Items related to budget, contingency and risks have to be mentioned in the project management plan. Cost of quality report should also be considered to define cost of conformance and cost of non conformamce

Managing quality audits with limited resources in a catering business: ? Prioritize critical areas. ? Perform regular self-audits. ? Train and educate staff. ? Streamline processes. ? Use digital documentation. ? Monitor and manage suppliers. ? Cross-train employees. ? Develop a HACCP plan. ? Consider external auditing services. ? Focus on continuous improvement. ? Collaborate with local authorities. Managing quality audits with limited resources in a catering business requires careful planning, continuous vigilance, and a commitment to maintaining high-quality standards. By implementing these strategies you can improve your chances of passing audits and ensuring the safety and satisfaction of your customers.

Collection of objective and impartial evidence is key to conduction of audit. By developing audit checklist against each item, reference "standard, procedure, manual, work instruction" shall be added this will facilitate determination of the objective evidence against audit criteria whether fulfilled or not and ease the process of writing the audit report and classification of non-conformities, opportunities for improvement and observations. It will not be time consuming task.

Before presenting, we have to do a closing meeting where we need to let auditee know about the NC/OFI. Also they have to agree on the same point based on the evidence you kept during audit.

Audit report should be clearly worded without any vague references. It should be written in a formal business language. Any non-conformances (NC) noted should be clearly referenced to the relevant clause(s) of the standard on which the audit is being conducted.

You may wish to add the following: 1. Root cause analysis for NCRs. 2. Quick fix or correction for NCRs and negative observations It is highly recommended that recommendations and follow up actions as well as tables, graphs and charts to be included in two stand alone documents that will capture these data from all projects within the organizations. It may be included in Quarterly KPIs reports, lessons learned reports, actions check list in the top management alert reports

In one of the audits where I was present as a consultant, the auditor recorded one of the requirements related to the previous edition of the audited standard as non-compliance and did not accept the word of the audited team that this clause was not required and a special audit program imposed on the company and caused additional costs to it. The auditor must be aware of the latest revision of the audit sources in order for the audit to be effective.Finally, the company decided to replace the CB in the next period.

Effectively managing quality audits with limited resources demands a strategic approach. First, identify high-risk areas and prioritize them. Streamline audit processes by embracing technology and reducing paperwork. Cross-train employees to act as internal auditors, leveraging their existing skills. Foster a culture of quality across the organization. Implement lean methodologies to eliminate waste and optimize resource utilization. Collaborate with suppliers and stakeholders to ensure quality throughout the supply chain. Continuous improvement is crucial for long-term success. #QualityManagement #ResourceOptimization

Target the areas with most problems such as cost and risk. Pareto can help here but don't be distracted by numbers of defects prioritise defects in products or process costing more to resolve or areas of risk to customers and to the organisation. Neil

Hotline (whisleblowing) could be checked also. But the key is always to define what are you looking for at the process: cause the more general is the subject or title for the scope - the least detailed and convinsing woud be the result.

Risk assessment is one of the key areas in audits that needs to be assessed comprehensively. Moreover, audit is about fostering cooperation and inculcating a sense of quality throughout the organization rather than being seen as a method of punishing shortcomings.

Third party audits can be an affordable option compared to building an inhouse audit-departement. Third parties can also bring fresh eyes and experience to Your business.