Marc said:
Has the status on the requirement for a business plan stabilized?
Had this pop up in a TS upgrade audit for a client a few weeks ago. The auditor asked to see the business plan. We stated there was no document called a business plan, but rather the complete system, measurables, objectives, etc. equaled the business plan. The auditor insisted it had to be a document and was threatening a major NC. I was not allowed to participate in the audit (very strict about consultants being around, so I stayed off site). I told the client to make the auditor show her where in the standard it required a document. After several hours and calls back to the registrar technical manager, the auditor backed off. He interviewed the owner about his strategy, goals, plans, etc. Since he had a good plan in his head, it was accepted as the business plan.
It still ended up being a minor NC because the quality manual wording indicated that there was a formal document. Just changed the wording to correct it.