FWIW, I think Noboxwine has an important point. From a strict ISO9001 compliance standpoint your auditor may simply look for an environment that meets the minimum requirements for making good product. However, common sense, personal experience, and the stories of others tells us (or should tell us) that our customers will likely take a dim view of any company that is dirty, messy, and disorganized. While that company might make great products, often customers will consider it a risk to do business there and if possible will use a competitor who does not have that problem.
An analogy: If you were applying for a job with a company you really wanted to work for, would you visit them to pick-up your application, drop off your resume', or go to your interview in dirty, old, casual clothes and 2 days growth of beard and expect the employer to overlook your hygiene and trust that you will do good work despite your appearance? Perceptions mean a lot -- often as much or more than "concrete" parameters. Just ask any advertising person, and ask yourself - you make decisions based on perceptions every day.
I don't know where most auditors will draw the line here, but to me it just makes sense to keep a relatively clean and organized workplace for reasons beyond ISO compliance. And, for the record, I hate cleaning and am anything but a neat freak, but I consider it a necessary task.
An analogy: If you were applying for a job with a company you really wanted to work for, would you visit them to pick-up your application, drop off your resume', or go to your interview in dirty, old, casual clothes and 2 days growth of beard and expect the employer to overlook your hygiene and trust that you will do good work despite your appearance? Perceptions mean a lot -- often as much or more than "concrete" parameters. Just ask any advertising person, and ask yourself - you make decisions based on perceptions every day.
I don't know where most auditors will draw the line here, but to me it just makes sense to keep a relatively clean and organized workplace for reasons beyond ISO compliance. And, for the record, I hate cleaning and am anything but a neat freak, but I consider it a necessary task.