I've only recently got back into ISO9000 issues - back when I was involved on a day to day basis I wrote the following and circulated it to those departments which were due an external audit from BSI. I need to blow the dust of this and use it again - any comments on it would be appreciated as I wrote it seven years ago in the days of ISO9001:1994.
______
The following is to help you be prepared for next months audit.

The ISO 9000 audit - in few words.
Expect the auditor to ask you to:
· Tell him what you do
· Demonstrate what you do
· Show him what documentation you use - make sure that you know where to find this documentation on the intranet or any other location that you may be using.
·
Be helpful and honest - if you don't know something then say so. The auditors experience should tell him if someone is trying to "cover up". Conversely, don't tell him more than you have to as this can be confusing.
Pre Audit Checklist

Make sure that you can answer the following questions:

· Do you have a job description ? Are objectives set and agreed ?

· Can you describe your job and how it fits into the organisational structure of XXXXX Company?
Who do you receive work from, what do you do to it then, who receives your work ?
What performance standards do you use ?
Have you had sufficient training to do your job properly ?

· What procedures and work instructions are relevant to your job ?
Do you know where to find them ?
Are they approved and marked with an issue number and date ?
Where is the master index of the procedures and work instructions used in your department ?
Have all outdated procedures and work instructions been disposed of ?

· How do you make changes or improvements ?
How do you identify a problem ?
How do you identify and implement the corrective action ?
How does your change control system work ?
How do you confirm that change was a benefit ?

· What records do you keep and how do you store and organise them so that documents are not lost and can be easily and quickly retrieved ?


If you don't know the answer to any of these, then ask your manager

__________

Brian

I think, Brian, that your list of questions is a good starting point, but if I was an operator out on the floor and/or my first language is not English, well, I'd be seriously out looking for another job as soon as I saw this.

Don't get me wrong, I think providing some helpful hints on "proper audit behaviour" is a great idea, but what message are you trying to get across? There were a lot of YOU's in the list...and yet, auditing is not about the individual, but rather the System. That needs to be stressed here.

People can get nervous under audit...especially if they have never been audited before. The reasons for auditing and the proess of auditing should be communicated to everyone.

My last job put together a handy little reference book that fit in everyone's shirt pockets. My current job put articles in crew meeting presentations and in company newsletters. Find a communication medium that works best for you and your organization.

So...items to consider for communication...


What is auditing?
How can an audit impact me? (i.e., a few minutes away from the job?)
How can I help during an audit? (i.e., turn phone off, focus on auditor, answer only what asked, it's okay to say "I don't know" but help the auditor find the answer, etc.)
How do I impact Quality? (i.e., few auditors ask "What is your quality policy"...instead, they want to know if people know of their ability to impact meeting Customer requirements)
How do I know how to do my job?


Personally, I'd stay away from the documentation and record issue. If I am an operator, I know my job, know how I know my job, know how the company is doing (key indicator meetings or other forms of communication), and, most important, how my job can impact whether or not we meet the Customer's requirements.

I'd also put at the end a little statment about how if they have any questions, they can see their supervisor/manager or feel free to come up and visit me.

Not knowing much about your company, would "lunch time discussion meetings" be an option? A great way to not only soften the approach of audits (reading about it can be scary to some), but they get to see you, hear what you have to say, see how much you (and Management...they MUST be there, too) care...and they get a free lunch.

Hi Roxanne

Thanks for those very useful comments - getting another viewpoint is a great way to find the weaknesses and opportunities for improvements. As you say, it't not about the person but the system - my document doesn't make this clear

Best Regards

Brian