Remember, auditors need to be competent not necessarily qualified

So you need to do some internal audits for 9001 – but can you just be ‘competent’ as it states in the standard or is it worth going the whole hog and becoming ‘qualified’?  Certainly those of you who want to make a career of auditing are advised to take those few days away from [...]

Get your Site sorted as well as the System for that Stage 2 audit

Understandably a lot of focus is put on getting the quality system ready for that final audit but the need to do likewise around the site shouldn’t be overlooked. Whilst some may view these as very basic, those undertaking this audit for the first time might benefit from the prompt. Housekeeping is an obvious one [...]

How to check if you are ready for that 9001 audit

I often get asked this as sites get close to bringing in the auditor so I put together this summary of what I would expect to see in relation to the five main paragraphs so it is possible for anyone to gauge if they are ready. How much of the system? The QMS should have [...]

When passing an ISO 9001 audit with ‘flying colours’ flatters to deceive

Over the years there have been many instances when I see sites pin their ‘flying colours’ to the mast after their audit and it makes me wonder because I know for a fact that the site in question has major issues,  For example, the system hasn’t been managed for months; internal audits haven’t been done and customers have [...]

Be clear on the three ‘actions’ in your ISO system

One of the most confusing aspects for management representatives to get their heads round when taking on a quality system has to be the concept of Corrective, Preventative and Preventive action.  As they return weary eyed from their auditor course and laden with notes and forms they have to be clear which one to implement and [...]

Who’s up for getting Whitehall ISO approved?

Well who would have thought it. That recent report by Sir Philip Greene has condemned Government procurement practices as ‘shocking’. He then goes on to quote examples that are just too bizarre for words. Yes I know this is nothing new but uncontrolled and inefficient processes, coupled with a lack of understanding and ownership and [...]

ISO 9001 Training Guides videos start to make a difference

It is pleasing to hear that these guides are actually starting to make a difference to my subscribers with one recently responding: “So far you have already helped me with our supplier quality management and prompted me to add audit corrective actions onto the database I use for product non-conformances so I can review them [...]

Sample ISO 9001 Training Guides released

I have been well pleased with how positive the feedback has been for this series of  Training Guides.  In addition it has been fascinating to hear of the diverse reasons people have had for subscribing in the first place.   With several groups now running the next stage is to make some sample vids available [...]

Quality Manual at the beginning – or the end?

Where do you put the manual when you are creating a quality management system? Some start with it so that it maps out what procedures and work instructions or standard operating procedures need to be written. Others leave it till the end so they can capture all that has been created in the second and [...]