Internal Quality Auditing: "How To" Tips and Hints

Performing an internal audit of an organization’s quality management system can be a daunting exercise, especially for those who are new to the role and only recently trained. Most available internal auditor training rarely provides the learner with a viewpoint beyond simple compliance with a standard, such as ISO 9001 or a similar document like the automotive supplier requirements known as IATF 16949 or AS 91XX (soon to be IA91XX) for the aerospace sector. This may be fine for those organizations seeking a certification to those documents, however, once determined in compliance, what then? What should the internal auditors be looking for?

The ISO 9001 standard states that internal audits should determine if the quality management system is effective as well as compliant with both the standard and the organization’s requirements.

In the following series of guides for internal auditors, we lay out the various requirements and uncover auditing beyond simple compliance. The intent is not to proscribe or abrogate internal quality auditors from understanding the organization’s quality management system and related requirements, but to provide some foundational principles to guide them in evaluating such quality systems.

Since ISO 9001 adopts a “Plan, Do, Check, Act” approach to implementation of the quality management system, it follows that P.D.C.A can assist internal auditors and provide some foundation for planning audits:

·???????? What is planned for a process?

·???????? What controls a process?

·???????? What measures/monitors a process?

·???????? What actions are taken?

Auditors should also ensure an understanding of the basic structure of the subject process and, hence, can identify:

What are the inputs to be processed?

What are the expected outputs of the processing?

What resources are needed to complete the process?

What controls are necessary to ensure the output is achieved?

In this series, we’ll be putting specific and typical processes in the spotlight and discussing key facets of that process which can be evaluated by an internal auditor to show if it is being performed effectively. In the very next article, we will investigate the product design and development process (ISO 9001 8.3) and peel back the layers to see what makes an effective process.

Stay tuned. In time, if you have a particular process we haven’t covered, and would like to see it part of the series, send a DM or email me [email protected] with a request.