Are ISO 9001 Lead Auditors in demand?

[Roger1723]

Hello All,

Does anyone know if any of the registrars are looking for ISO 9001 Lead Auditors? My wife has plenty of experience doing audits in multiple industries and is considering taking a Lead Auditor course next month, and we are wondering, will it lead to any work.

Thanks much for the help.

 

[Reg Morrison]

Re: ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Demand

From what I hear, ISO 9001 lead auditors are a dime a dozen now. On the other hand, if you can qualify for certain specialty schemes such as AS9100 or ISO 13485, you would be a professional in high demand, and to an extent, name your price.

If you are one of the few who qualify in multiple standards and can perform combined audits, you are in even higher demand.

But, as you must know, the life of a competent auditor is full of TSA security lines, delayed flights, cramped coach seats and life on the road....

 

[Randy]

Re: Are ISO 9001 Lead Auditors in demand ?

More like 2 for a nickel Reg, it's the most common thing out there except for Nitrogen in the atmosphere.

Unless someone has the ability to do multiple standards, integrated standards and/or multiple industry codes they'll be pretty hungry and not able to stand in those TSA lines, wait on those flights, and so on.

 

[Jen Kirley]

Re: Are ISO 9001 Lead Auditors in demand ?

It's true ISO 9001 auditors are not in much demand, but another consideration is the SIC(s) your wife has enough experience with to audit.

 

[kzachawk]

Re: Are ISO 9001 Lead Auditors in demand ?

Not really,
Since the great bubble crash of 2007, and the relatively flat GDP growth that followed and the vast array of implemented government regulation in the United States, companies have adopted a very cautions approach to business globally. Business men and women are not stupid, they know the results of increasing money supplies and a market that appears to rise from the ashes over night to nose bleeding highs. Most companies have a financial cushion (reserves) set aside for when the next financial catastrophe occurs. No one is going "All In" at this point.

We have unpredictable results in the Middle East and with the Worlds Reserve currency (US Dollar), therefore caution is the order of the day at this point, which effects registrars and registrations.

With this latest version of ISO, I fear auditors will meet with increased devastation as many companies who were volunteer will figure its no longer beneficial to become registered to the new standard and they will maintain their own system related to 2008 and their internal audit system (which many are far better than the registrars anyway), and call it a day.

I may be eventually proven wrong but I feel this latest revision of ISO is going to cause more de-certifications than certifications (call it a gut feel). Its simply difficult to tramp on your customers in a rebounding or unstable economy and that is where this current revision places registrars and Lead auditors I'm afraid.

 

[AndyN]

Re: Are ISO 9001 Lead Auditors in demand ?

Many here are also overlooking the fact that the vast majority of CB auditors are probably within a few years of retirement, so, for anyone to be dismissive of your wife, Roger, would be foolish. Since we wouldn't be so bold to ask her age, it could well be that those of us who are smart, might look at the demography of the auditor pool in your region and identify opportunities to be "up to speed" as existing auditors fade from the market...

 

[Colin]

I would add to Andy's comment that a significant number of auditors decided to call it a day following the revision of ISO 9001 in 2000 - they either couldn't or didn't want to change their audit style to the new requirements - perhaps something similar will happen again.

However, as stated by others, I would always recommend having more than 1 standard in my toolkit.

 

[John Broomfield]

Hello All,

Does anyone know if any of the registrars are looking for ISO 9001 Lead Auditors? My wife has plenty of experience doing audits in multiple industries and is considering taking a Lead Auditor course next month, and we are wondering, will it lead to any work.

Thanks much for the help.

Roger,

If your wife is expert in business process management and in her understanding of how organizations work as systems to identify and realize opportunities while managing risk then her certified lead auditor certification is a bonus.

Despite more than 15 years notice, I'm not sure if certification bodies have adjusted their specification of auditor competencies to influence their recruiting yet.

John