How to ask probing questions during Audits..?

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Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Staff member
Admin
#22
our company systems....they demand we use a standard checklist to conduct the audit while we are auditing our suppliers.
I'm going to make a guess that the intent here was to help make sure all the desired ground gets covered when doing a supplier audit.

That's the rosy explanation. The darker option is that the expectation was to have auditors without sufficient skills to do a good job without these checklists.

Such can be the case in management systems that have not been operating long enough to mature into functional, people centric organizations with the needed skills and desire to perform without being told to breathe in and out.

The checklists are good as reminders to look for this, that and the other thing. However, using them as scripts tends to invite a superficial, low value approach to a supplier audit. You might as well just send them the checklist as a survey!

Why not use the checklist as a survey, but also visit to look at concerns your organization has with the supplier and inquire about the processes involved? In this way you can directly communicate your needs and perhaps offer suggestions or options to help get your needs met. For example, "Have you tried XYZ Transport? We have found they are very prompt and affordable, and our goods haven't been damaged when they do the shipping."
:2cents:
 
T

The_TBCD

#23
Thanks jane......if found them ,myself...yesterday...Now I have completed the test as well.. :))

thanks anyway..
You may find some useful info here on further "probing questions".

A useful distinction is between closed and open questions. Try Googling for closed questions vs open questions & you should find a lot.

Closed question = one where a single response usually 'closes' the exchange, because it can be answered by just a yes/no or a fact. eg:
  • Are you British?
  • Are you an employee or contractor?
  • Does company policy permit smoking in office buildings?
Open (or open-ended) questions = ones that open up an exchange, invite further information. Good auditors use a lot of open-ended questions! eg:
  • Could you tell me more about how that works?
  • What is the usual practice when that occurs?
  • How does that help achieve the outcome?
Note that both are required, eg, there are times when you want to ask closed questions (Is your correct address 1234 High St?) and other times when open-ended questions are needed.

Nervous interviewers/inexperienced auditors often ask too many closed questions, and not enough open ones.
 
R

ralphsulser

#24
Questions such as:
What do you do if you find out of spec. dimensions or parts?
What happens if you drop a gage?
How have you been trained to do this job?
How and where is your training documented?
What do you do in your job to satisfy the customer?

These are helpful to determine the training competency and compliance with the requirements of the system and customer specifics.
 
B

Bob Bonville

#25
Checklists are not locked in concrete. They can and should change based the documents from which the requirements originate and the audit history. It is like anything else, If you never have a finding associated with a particular audit question, then consider eliminating it, changing it or doing something like a skip sample using the particular question.


All kinds of approaches.

Bob
 

Jim Wynne

Staff member
Admin
#27
In your world, Bob, maybe. But as a consultant for many years I've seen the use of those 'concrete' checklists - by many people!
I think checklists are a bad thing if they're used for anything other than as mnemonic devices--something to help you remember what you're trying to accomplish. Outside of that, I think that most checklists should be "locked in concrete," or somewhere else where no one can get to them.
 
B

Bob Bonville

#28
Jim, I get your point. For all the good they do some auditors, they should perhaps be put in a time capsule.

Bob
 
L

little__cee

#29
One more thing: I always make sure that I ask a question such as "what do you need to help you do your job better?" or "what would make your work easier?" -- something with that intent - before I finish auditing an area.

Some of the replied can't be printed here, others (usually) have to do with alcohol - beer, specifically, but once in a while I get a really great idea out of someone that wouldn't have been covered had I not asked the question.

One person replied "a printer that works" - turns out this individual had the world's oldest printer which frequently malfunctioned - new printer arrived and the person's workload became much easier.
 
#30
One person replied "a printer that works" - turns out this individual had the world's oldest printer which frequently malfunctioned - new printer arrived and the person's workload became much easier.
Audits shouldn't be used as a substitute for poor supervision! In this case, what was the person's supervisor doing? If they weren't aware of the inefficiencies caused by an old printer, then that's pretty poor management.

Sure, several kudos points for the auditor, but that's all!
 
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