•One of the biggest complaints with ISO9001 is interpretation of the standard.
Each auditor has his/her own paradigm and thus expectations. This is one of the reasons why having the
same auditors is preferred. This is also
the reason why I prefer the pre-assessment be limited to an on-site document review where the auditors
set up in offices or a conference room. There
they review the Quality Manual against the level
2’s in interviews. Level 3 documents are reviewed and objective evidence provided as requested - however, this
is all done in the conference room, NOT on
the floor. In short - Are our systems acceptable.
This type of audit is a Verification Audit as
opposed to a Validation Audit which is where they
actually hit the floor. Now - the 2 big questions:
°1) How are disputes
with an audit finding handled? Ask them to explain their system. (Request a copy of their procedure!)
°2) How does the
registrar ensure consistency
of interpretations within their company? Some companies have weekly in-house
meetings, some have conference
calls, some do nothing. THIS
IS IMPORTANT!!!