Customer Scorecards - Missing Scorecard from one Customer

[Crimpshrine13]

This just came up during the last third-party audit and if anyone can provide me opinions about it. We're not disputing the finding, it's just we think the auditor's finding is a bit weak in terms of going word to word on the standard.

We have some customers that are not necessarily on the top of sending the scorecards periodically. One of our customers stopped sending us the scorecards in December 2019. It had been provided to us by email in the past, but the customer had a history of intermittently stop providing the scorecards for months. We do not know the exact reason why it happened this time and they do not know why. Maybe personnel changes at customer's the purchasing department or some communication issues. We did not ask them why they had stopped providing the scorecards although it was mentioned in our management review meetings that we hadn't been receiving one from them. The auditor said that we were not proactively monitoring customer scorecards and this has been written up. But the standard says (towards the end of the section on 9.1.2.1):

The organization shall monitor the performance of manufacturing processes to demonstrate compliance with customer requirements for product quality and process efficiency. The monitoring shall include the review of customer performance data including online customer portals and customer scorecards, where provided.

But it never said that it was our responsibility to be proactive in collecting scorecards from our customers. "where provided" sounds to me is the same thing as "if provided" and it sounds like it is driven by customer than us. Are we too naïve to interpret it that way?

 

[Johnnymo62]

I would regularly send an email to the customer requesting the scorecard and save the email as evidence you tried.

 

[outdoorsNW]

Unless the customer communicated the scorecard was moved to an online portal where you were expected to go find it, the auditor needs to show you received a scorecard but did not review it for the finding to be legitimate.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

Are we too naïve to interpret it that way?

No. The CB auditor is overreaching here as you can not exercise control over your customer's scorecard distribution process. To continually bug the customer for a scorecard is against the idea of providing customer satisfaction. The evidence you mentioned that the lack of the scorecard was noted during your management review should be sufficient for the CB auditor to realize you are aware of the situation.

At most, this finding should have been reported as an observation, in my estimation, as there is no evidence that you have violated any requirement at this point.

 

[Crimpshrine13]

No. The CB auditor is overreaching here as you can not exercise control over your customer's scorecard distribution process. To continually bug the the customer for a scorecard is against the idea of providing customer satisfaction. The evidence you mentioned that the lack of the scorecard was noted during your management review should be sufficient for the CB auditor to realize you are aware of the situation.

At most, this finding should have been reported as an observation, in my estimation, as there is no evidence that you have violated any requirement at this point.

I agree and that was what we were thinking, too. The way it is written on the standard doesn't sound like that we are responsible to keep collecting the scorecards. It sounds more like "if the scorecards or access to portals are provided." Yes, it is probably better that we're proactively keeping up with it and if suddenly the scorecards are not provided, maybe we should check with them what happened, but it's not that we were completely ignoring the fact that it wasn't sent to us anymore.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

In the document available @ https://www.iatfglobaloversight.org...mpact-for-Client-Condisderation-01Feb2017.pdf the following requirement to the CB is listed:

Each audit plan shall identify a minimum of one (1) hour on site, prior to the opening meeting, for verification of changes to current customer and internal performance data, including a review of current online customer reports and/or scorecards. The audit team will adjust the audit plan based upon any new information collected, if required.

If the CB complied with that, the issue could have been identified and discussed then (prior to the opening meeting) and communication with your customer in question could have taken place about the "missing" scorecards.

 

[Johnny Quality]

What was the auditors nonconformity and against what clause?

As @Sidney Vianna says you should have had prior to the opening meeting an exchange of data including scorecards.

 

[Crimpshrine13]

In the document available @ https://www.iatfglobaloversight.org...mpact-for-Client-Condisderation-01Feb2017.pdf the following requirement to the CB is listed:

If the CB complied with that, the issue could have been identified and discussed then (prior to the opening meeting) and communication with your customer in question could have taken place about the "missing" scorecards.

It was discussed during that time before the opening meeting (but we really did not have a formal opening meeting - and drawing the line from pre-audit review, opening meeting, and the audit was not too clear), and became NC. It was remote audit due to COVID and the first time experience like this.

 

[Crimpshrine13]

What was the auditors nonconformity and against what clause?

As @Sidney Vianna says you should have had prior to the opening meeting an exchange of data including scorecards.

As mentioned in the original post, it was for 9.1.2.1.

 

[blackholequasar]

We have had this issue in the past, though not with this particular regulatory body - it is difficult to get some customers to provide feedback! And as suggested, we did just what @Johnnymo62 said. We maintained our email communication as objective evidence that we were doing our due diligence.