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Wed, Nov 27, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 25, 1446 | DXB
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How do I pass an ISO audit?
An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) audit investigates an organisation's compliance with the recommendations outlined in its standards.
During an ISO audit, an auditor typically verifies the organisation's management system's conformity to the requirements of the relevant ISO standard. An auditor also verifies the management system's conformity to internal requirements such as policies or procedures. The level of effectiveness of processes and systems is assessed to identify if the quality objectives are being met. The purpose of the ISO audit is not only to identify nonconformities but also to be on alert for any improvements that can be made to the system. An ISO audit is important as it provides a third-party measurement of the organisation against basic quality standards. It forces management to look at their business processes, systems and people and procedures to ensure that they conform to the set of ISO standards the organisation is attempting to follow.
Moreover, it provides credibility to a set of elements within the organisation, giving shareholders, consumers and other interested parties confidence that the organisation's products and systems are authentic, functional and safe. With so many benefits associated with an ISO audit, it becomes essential to understand ISO audit qualifications. The following article will give pointers on how to pass an ISO audit, going on to describe the ISO audit process.
The First stage of the ISO audit process; Examining policies and plan of action
The first stage of the auditing process mainly involves confirming the scope of activity for the future audit. It doesn’t matter if you tend to get an ISO 14001 audit or any other ISO audits; Typically, a desktop review of the management system’s documentation takes place. Examples of documents that are examined during this stage comprise the scope of the management system, policies, objectives and plan of action. Based on the type of organisation, the auditor can also go through the monitoring and measuring resources, records of competency in staff, product/service requirements, design and development input and output records, traceability records, control records and results of the management review. If the first audit results are fair, the organisations are recommended to proceed to the second stage. However, if all requirements are not met, a report will be created detailing the issues that need to be resolved before the audit.
The Second stage of the ISO audit process; How to prepare employees for ISO audit?
In the second stage of the audit, the auditing documentation is reassessed, but the focus now shifts to the operational aspects of the organisation. The ISO auditor asks questions to employees, seeing across the roles they perform and examining their understanding of the policies. By scrutinising various aspects of the operation, the ISO auditor can identify if the corrective and preventive steps suggested in the ISO audit report have successfully eliminated all non-conformities. After eliminating all nonconformities, a final audit report is prepared if the organisation's operations comply with ISO standards. A successful audit report leads to the acquisition of the certification.
What is the ISO audit checklist? 4 ways to be evolve sufficiently readied for an ISO audit
Before obtaining the ISO certification, the auditor will ensure that an organisation's documents meet the standard’s requirements. Moreover, depending on your findings, the ISO auditor will either suggest corrective actions or would grant you your certification.
Here is a list that can help you become better prepared for:
- Prepare in advance: The management system that you are attempting to get ISO certification for should be a living entity that is constantly optimised and updated. Hence, for you to acquire the ISO certification, you have to establish a schedule to conduct tasks, internal audits and reviews. It is vital to stick to a schedule so as not to rush at the last moment.
- Never underestimate the importance of internal audit: Internal audit is essential to maintaining operational efficiency and safeguarding assets. By leveraging analytics across the business, internal audits can provide targeted and insightful data. Conducting rigorous internal audits allows organisations to catch any serious non-conforming issues before they become risks. Moreover, an additional benefit of an internal audit is that it prepares the employees for the interview process by an external body.
- Implementation of corrective actions: A single occurrence of a non-conformity does not endanger your certification. However, recurring nonconformities imply that there is something that the organisation is missing. A major non-conformance implies a degradation of one of the processes and suggests a significant failure in addressing key ISO requirements. To handle these non-conformities, corrective actions suggested by the ISO auditor/consultant must be applied. During the certification audit, the ISO consultant/auditor examines if the corrective actions have been implemented. Failure to implement the corrective actions can potentially delay your certification and leave you scrambling to fix the issues as quickly as possible.
- Conduct regular management reviews: a management review allows you to identify and evaluate the management system's performance. As a result, the need for change and improvement of business policies and objectives are determined. The management review should be detailed and well documented as its findings will lead to the creation of an action plan that reduces issues identified during the meeting. The management review should be done well in advance of the audit so that necessary changes can be implemented promptly.
In this article we have answered the most asked question “How do I pass an ISO audit?” and explain about it. As we said, ISO audit propels the administration to look at their business strategies, methods and people and procedures to guarantee that they coordinate with the set of ISO standards the organisation is trying to follow. Now you can name two important stages of the ISO audit process. Besides, you can prepare your organisations properly before getting an ISO audit.
Edara Systems can help you to get the most important ISO certifications like ISO 14001, ISO 27001, ISO 45001 and ISO 9001 as an ISO Consultant in Australia and New Zealand. Edara Systems also is the best way to get ISO audits for your organisations. It prepares your employees for getting an ISO audit too.