....more for the mix.
Marc answered a post a couple of days back about registered organizations having to have all ISO elements present for ISO registration. Marc stated that the elements (and points within each) had to be satisfied prior to registration. With this I agree entirely!! How is this accomplished?
Here are some of my observations:
I have seen it where all elements had to be present within the Quality Program and the Quality System, and both had to pass Suitability, Compliance, and effectiveness for Registration. This was with what I consider to be a reputable Registrar.
I have seen it where all elements had to be present within the Quality Program and mostly deployed within the Quality System, and where not, a plan for deployment would suffice. Effectiveness was of little consideration, but Suitability and Compliance were reviewed (as applicable). This was done by what I would consider a less-than-reputable registrar.
In both situations, both organizations were registered. Needless to say, the registration of the organization without complete compliance surprised the heck out of me. It happens often enough, I'm sure, but should not.
Also as an observation, the Surveillence Audits of Registrars have been less than a complete Quality System audit. They hit core elements (what they consider core) and a few additional elements when performing the surveillence. The goal of the Registrar is to see all elements over the three year registration period (sometimes duplicating the core elements, sometimes not). This I akin to the Internal Quality Audits, performed in areas or for documents rather than the complete system audit. It seems to be common practice both from my experience as an observer and from information I have read (here and elsewhere).
With this stated, my position is this: A system is not the sum of its parts. The parts are not separate, and as such, should not be audited separately. However, the practice of Registrars (beyond the initial registration audit) and the other auditing programs I have seen and used successfully, suggest to me otherwise. I guess I am a bit of a hypocrit, but I can change.
Regards,
Kevin