Internal Quality Audit
Internal Quality Audit
Internal Quality Audit
Services
1 Scope
This procedure defines the way in which the Faber LLC will perform Internal
Auditing of the Quality Management System.
It applies to all Internal Quality Audits;- which will generally be performed against
the requirement of the Company's Quality Manual, Procedures and Work Instructions.
Specific deviations from this procedure will be at the discretion of the Company's
Managing Directors.
The Managing Directors are responsible for nominating suitably qualified individuals
to perform Internal Auditing - these individuals may be company employees
(independent of the area under examination) or external consultants.
2 Purpose
The purpose of Internal Auditing is to ensure that the Quality Management System is
being operated correctly and effectively, by performing planned and documented
checks, designed to ensure that:-
The Quality System documentation adequately defines the needs of the business
The documented Procedures and Work Instructions are practical, understood and
implemented.
The training of employees is adequate to allow them to do their tasks
The purpose of Internal Audits is not to search for the guilty, or to find fault with
individuals' performance. The System is being audited - not the individuals.
Persons performing audits, (Auditors), must be suitably qualified, and must approach
this important task with the seriousness it deserves. Auditors may be Company
employees or external consultants.
Internal Audits are the most effective way of continually assessing the effectiveness
of the Quality System - they provide feedback.
Other types of Audit may take place - Health & Safety, Financial etc. - but they are
outside the scope of this procedure.
An auditor is a person who is qualified to carry out the task of auditing the Company's
Quality Management System.
He will survey and sample the Quality Management System by questioning, listening,
observing, challenging, and noting facts, which allows him to compare the activity
with the planned arrangements in an impartial manner.
Wherever possible, the Auditor will be independent of the process / activity being
audited.
An Auditee is the person who is being Audited. He must supply information to the
Auditor. In many audits there is more than one auditee.
3.4 Responsibilities
The Quality Manager is responsible for ensuring that the Internal Audit programme
takes place, for allocation and training of Internal Auditors, and for preparing and
approving the Internal Audit Schedule.
4 Process
The Schedule should cover all aspects of the Quality Management System at least
once a year - although particular activities may be audited more frequently depending
on their importance.
The Schedule should leave room (time) for unscheduled audits in response to:-
· anticipated problem areas
· actual problems
· requests from Management
· unforeseen changes in circumstances
4.3 Auditing
During the Audit, the Auditor will :-
· make use of standard Auditing Techniques to collect objective information
concerning the subject being audited
· not respond to rumour and hearsay
· avoid confrontational situations and arguments
· make notes to aid in the writing of the Audit Report
· collect documentary evidence of conformity or nonconformity
· note where current procedures could be improved
· keep the Auditee informed as to the progress of the Audit and any findings
As soon as practical after the Audit, the Auditor will prepare an Audit Report which :-
· classifies the findings of the Audit as follows :-
The Auditor is responsible for checking that follow-up actions have taken place. If an
Auditee persistently fails to carry out the assigned follow-up actions, the auditor must
inform the Managing Director, who will take steps to ensure that the follow-up
actions take place.
As the follow-up actions are completed the Auditor will record them by up-issuing the
original Audit Report. Once all follow-up actions have been completed, the Auditor
will sign-off the Audit Report as 'complete'.
5 Quality Records
Completed Audit Records are stored as Quality Records - and have the following
important functions:-
Allowing analysis of types of problems - and identifying the most common problems
so that preventative action can be taken
Allowing the Auditor to prepare for Audits by reviewing the past Audit Reports for
that area or function
Providing valuable summary for use in Management Reviews of the Quality System
6 Process flowchart