Customer Requests On-site Audit

G

Griff23

Hello Everyone,

I have just received an e-mail requesting an on-site audit of our facility. We are a distribution/sales/light assembly facility for our sister companies. All the manufacturing is performed over sea's and we have a small dist. warehouse and we are ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.

I'm actually unfamilier with a customer on-site audit (first request and I'm just starting my second year in quality) and I don't know what the rules are for this.

Basically I'm not sure where to start with this and I dont know where to find information about customers performing an on-site audit at my facility.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!:confused:
 

Ninja

Looking for Reality
Trusted Information Resource
Howdy Griff,

It's a pretty normal thing to have a customer audit...I have a couple dozen a year.

There are two "touchy feely" categories I've seen them fall into, and you'll want to find out which one this is:

1. The customer has a problem and they are looking for what is broken in your system so they can place blame. Not just to place blame, but primarily to get the problem solved...but placing blame determines whose site the solution is applied to. (Take this one very seriously, and work together with your customer to address the problem so that the "audit" is not the focus of the visit. Solving the problem together should be the focus of every interaction until the problem is solved.)

2. A quality engineer has a form to fill out and a checkbox to check (Yup, I audited them...next, please.)

Knowing which one of these the upcoming audit is going to be will radically shift the time and effort you spend in preparation.

Once you know the purpose of the audit, establish the scope of the audit together with the customer and have mutual agreement as to what systems will be audited. Remember that mutual agreement must be in writing (email usually) for it to be worth anything.
Often, a customer audit will be focused on "how do you make our stuff", and a process walk looking for controls, records and error proofing.

Talk to the person coming before they get there...they will have much more pertinent answers to your questions than any of us here will. The auditor is not your enemy (though they often feel like they are:))
 

qusys

Trusted Information Resource
Hello Everyone,

I have just received an e-mail requesting an on-site audit of our facility. We are a distribution/sales/light assembly facility for our sister companies. All the manufacturing is performed over sea's and we have a small dist. warehouse and we are ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.

I'm actually unfamilier with a customer on-site audit (first request and I'm just starting my second year in quality) and I don't know what the rules are for this.

Basically I'm not sure where to start with this and I dont know where to find information about customers performing an on-site audit at my facility.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!:confused:

You should know the audit scope and the criteria of this audit.
Your customer should have adviced you about the audit objective.
Did you receive some supplier evaluation form to fill in advance?
Are there any compliants from your customer that they could assess as verification of the corrective actions?
 

NikkiQSM

Quite Involved in Discussions
I also go through a good couple dozen customer audits a year.

One of the reasons they may be auditing you is that it's a requirement of their QMS, so they can keep you on their AVL.

To get a good idea on what they are going to want to see, ask for an Agenda in advance. This should break down the areas they are going to go over and you can then get a handle for what you are going to be asked.

Audits are a good thing in my eyes. Having another person look at your system can help to point out weak spots. Then you can improve. :)

In my experience, audits are basically proving what you say you do. They will look at your procedures and then say, "Prove it" (in those words or another ;) )
 

John Broomfield

Leader
Super Moderator
Hello Everyone,

I have just received an e-mail requesting an on-site audit of our facility. We are a distribution/sales/light assembly facility for our sister companies. All the manufacturing is performed over sea's and we have a small dist. warehouse and we are ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.

I'm actually unfamilier with a customer on-site audit (first request and I'm just starting my second year in quality) and I don't know what the rules are for this.

Basically I'm not sure where to start with this and I dont know where to find information about customers performing an on-site audit at my facility.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!:confused:

Griff,

A great opportunity for you and your colleagues show how you and they take seriously the customer's requirements.

You can show your management system and how its processes can be relied on to result in products that meet the customer's requirements.

Listen intently for any unmet need that the customer would like to make part of their contract with you.

Research your customer's business and what their mission is.

You may also have an opportunity to show the customer how your organization can help make them more successful in the future.

Enjoy,

John
 
R

Reg Morrison

Griff,

A great opportunity for you and your colleagues show how you and they take seriously the customer's requirements.

You can show your management system and how its processes can be relied on to result in products that meet the customer's requirements.

Listen intently for any unmet need that the customer would like to make part of their contract with you.

Research your customer's business and what their mission is.

You may also have an opportunity to show the customer how your organization can help make them more successful in the future.

Enjoy,

John
John, I believe that this is a little too idealistic and rosy for a rookie auditee. There are times when customer will perform a supplier audit with a hidden agenda and they do come with preconceived notions and bias and their mission IS to find where and how the supplier is screwing up.

As previously suggested, it would be extremely beneficial to know as soon as possible what is the reason behind the request. Are there complaints? Are there returns?

Or, once again, as already suggested, it could be an audit for audit-sake. It is in someone's calendar to audit that supplier and, very likely, it could be an inconsequential audit all together, where the main challenge is to have management to approve the purchase of an extra dozen jelly donuts for the auditor's breakfast.

To the OP, I would say, don't be afraid to ask the customer the purpose of the audit, what exactly they will be seeking, how long will they be there and how many people will come. Make sure also you ask for a debriefing of the audit summary before they leave. Even though, as customers, they have much more flexibility than a 3rd party auditor, you should protect yourself.

If there are sensitive areas/products that a customer auditor should not see because it relates to another customer, make sure this is addressed with them as soon as they arrive.

Good luck.
 
G

Griff23

Thank you for all of the great comments! I am confident in our QMS but this being a first customer on-site audit is a bit unnerving. I will definitely request and agenda and turn this into a positive audit.

Thank you again for your help, I'm feeling more confident about the audit now!
 

Big Jim

Admin
Hello Everyone,

I have just received an e-mail requesting an on-site audit of our facility. We are a distribution/sales/light assembly facility for our sister companies. All the manufacturing is performed over sea's and we have a small dist. warehouse and we are ISO 9001 and 14001 certified.

I'm actually unfamilier with a customer on-site audit (first request and I'm just starting my second year in quality) and I don't know what the rules are for this.

Basically I'm not sure where to start with this and I dont know where to find information about customers performing an on-site audit at my facility.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated!:confused:

All other comments are good.

Specifically to your request to know the "rules", you should know that the rules are just exactly what your customer wants them to be. In other words, there are no "rules". It can be and usually is a pleasant experience, but it can become a brawl.

Guidance for 2nd party audits can be found in ISO 19011, but don't really expect to glean much help here. Most customer auditors haven't read it, and thus you are back to my beginning statement of "there are no rules".
 

Wes Bucey

Prophet of Profit
I pretty much agree with the foregoing:

(I have one question: Is this an actual customer who is currently buying stuff from your company or a "prospective customer?"
- Often folks writing here in the Cove have used a generic term "customer" to include both current and prospective customers.)


These points pertain to audits by CURRENT customers.

  1. ASK if this is "routine" or if there is something in particular that sparks the customer's concern [enough concern to spend the money to send an auditor and his expenses to your shop.]
  2. Inquire whether the customer realizes your operation is just a distribution center and that no products are made at your facility (you'd be surprised how often a customer doesn't investigate closely BEFORE placing an order.)
  3. Double check your past two-way communication with customer - any clues as to the reason (damaged goods in delivery? delivery lapses? product returns not due to damage? bad counts?)
 

TWA - not the airline

Trusted Information Resource
Quick addition: It might be that even though your customer knows that most of the manufacturing is done at your sister companies, they might expect that you can provide information about what happens there, i.e. they might think that you are responsible for what the sister companies do.
What is the contractual relationship between you and the sister companies? Do you have a quality agreement with the sister companies? Are they approved vendors for you? Do you audit them? Do you do incoming inspection and what certs do you get with every shipment?
 
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