iComply

ISO 9001 has outlined explicit guidelines to help devise homogenized strategies for ISO 9001 certification, and these guidelines are centred on the implementation of a reliable quality management system or QMS.

Every business will face technical glitches and operational obstructions during implementation.  Before the certification audit, businesses need to overcome their nonconformities. So, how these issues be identified and addressed? An internal audit will reliably and effectively identify and eliminate nonconformities, and you will need an ISO 9001 internal audit to get ISO 9001 certified.

What is an Internal Audit?

The internal audit examines internal quality controls and corporate governance, ensuring compliance with certain laws and regulations. Also, maintaining good management reports and data records will become easier with this audit. It provides critical management tools that will help with attaining operational efficiency by identifying problems and resolving them before they are reported during certification audit.

What are the Three Major Goals of ISO 9001 Internal Audits?

Three main goals of ISO 9001 internal audits are:

Demonstrating compliance with the planned structure of QMS,

Streamlining the processes and functions as per the model,

Defining how the QMS processes should be implemented and maintained.

What are Benefits from Internal Audits?

Some benefits from the ISO 9001 quality management audit are:

It ensures compliance with organizational requirements, industrial requirements, and global regulations,

Determines clear management, environmental, and qualitative objectives,

Improves the QMS,

Guides top management.

What is needed for a ISO 9001 Quality Audit?

There are four critical components needed to perform a quality internal audit, these are:

Internal auditors- Internal auditors should be unbiased, and they should not belong to the same department.

Audit Plan- This plan should clearly define how, when, and where the audit should be conducted.

Audit Checklist- This checklist should be constructed with the requirements included in ISO 9001:2015 guidelines.

Audit Schedule- An audit schedule refers to the ordered arrangement of audit actions of performing the audit.  Having a well-organized schedule should be a main goal; otherwise, the audit would be a mess.

What is the Best Way to Perform the ISO 9001 Quality Audit?

There are two ways to perform a ISO 9001 quality audit, namely a documentation review or an interview and observation approach.

The internal auditors will choose one of these methods based on the scope and objective of the ISO 9001 internal audit.  Regardless of what method is chosen, the following two aspects must be addressed:

The audit must be unbiased. If using in-house resources, the auditors must not audit the department they ordinarily work in.

Also, it should cite and evaluate documents and records to prove the company is compliant with the ISO 9001 standard.

A Final Takeaway

iComply Offers Quality Management Audits within Budget

If there are only a few days left for quality management audits, let iComply perform the audit. Our trained auditors will quickly arrange the auditing program, schedule, and carry out the audit.

Why Are Quality Management Audits Important for Organizations?

An internal audit is a tool that ensures the optimal performance of a quality management system (QMS), as it reviews and determines whether the system is compliant with ISO 9001 standard.

Quality Management Audit

Laboratories should understand how an audit checklist can be developed and utilized for ISO 9001 Standard. This blog discusses how you should prepare the audit checklist for your laboratory.

Why ISO 9001 Internal Audits Are Important

ISO 45001 Internal Audits are Getting Easier

iComply, a leading ISO internal audit firm, is committed to providing you with cost-effective ISO 45001 internal auditservices. We have an experienced team of dedicated auditors who have been dealing with ISO 45001 Standard for years.

To know more about our services, give us a call at 833-229-1215. 

Internal audits are intended to evaluate the effectiveness of your organization’s Quality Management System or QMS, and assess the overall performance of your business. There are many reasons for performing internal audits, such as:

• Ensures compliance with the requirements of internal, global, and industry regulations, and customer requirements, • Determines the efficiency of the implemented system with meeting the specific requirements associated with the quality, environment, and finance, • Explores new opportunities for improvement, • Meets all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements.

To conduct this audit, learn the principles of ISO 9001 quality management audits. This audit has a common goal, which is to be effective and provide the organization with back up to support management policies. A clear insight into these principles will build the base of a successful ISO internal audit program.

These principles are:

• Ethics- Authenticity, integrity, privacy, and discretion are critical to auditing, • Presentation- Audit findings, conclusions, and reports  demonstrate the credibility and accuracy of the audit activities, • Professional care- Auditors should be careful while they will be dealing with important areas, • Independence-Auditors should be independent of the activity and their actions should be based on specific objectives, • Evidence-based approach-Evidence should be verifiable and it must be based on the relevant information.

Selecting Auditors

The competence level of auditors can be evaluated by training, participation in earlier audits, and experience in performing audits. No matter whether the auditors are internal, external, or personnel, ensure that they are impartial. When auditors are selected, establish a mechanism to meet the objectives of the ISO 9001 internal audit.

Three Areas to Audit

The internal audit is a ‘first-party’ audit that can be performed by an organization to demonstrate compliance with ISO 9001 requirements and business requirements. To meet the primary goal of the ISO internal audit program, know which areas the auditors must review, such as:

System Audits

Following a checklist is the easiest way to deal with system audits. This type of internal audit focuses on quality management as a whole, and compares planning activities and broad requirements that ensure that each requirement is implemented.

Process audits

Process audits are an integral part of quality management audits. It is an in-depth analysis that monitors processes to find whether the management system is performing according to the plan. If any gaps are found between the real-time actions of the management system and the planned arrangement, you will be able to fill the gap before the certification audit.

Product audits

This is a series of audits that review the manufacturing process, quality of the products, and delivery of the products. This report will determine whether you are meeting customer satisfaction or not.