I am facing frequently during the ISO 9001 external audit i perform departments working without written procedure ((for example the estimation department in contracting company). I have a difficulty to establish conformity or not . could you please advise how to proceed in this case ?
Processes and undocumented procedures exist in every successful organization. Competent auditors can audit them for effectiveness.
I look for evidence of control. For example, what are the requirements and are the requirements fulfilled with intent (instead of occasionally by accident). Is the work planned and are they working their plan? Is the work monitored and corrected as the work progresses? Are repeated problems recorded and the root causes removed?
Depending on the objective of your audit (hopefully every one of your audits has an objective), focus on how well the process fulfills the requirements of its customers. For example, in estimating:
1. How do the estimators determine the risks associated with the contracts they are trying to win? The customer here is the site team having sufficient resources (clause 6.1) to safely fulfill the requirements of the contract.
2, How much money do the estimators leave on the table when their company is awarded a contract (difference between the winning bid and next lowest bid price)? The customer here may be the owner of the business who also has return on investment requirements (clause 7.1 may work here but remember; between the estimating and submitting the tender/bid a senior manager usually adjusts the price according to market and other criteria). Your audit should determine those criteria so you can then evaluate the effectiveness of the wider tendering or bidding process.
3. Are the estimates continually improved (clauses 8.1 and 8.5.1) to reflect the actual productivity or costs of labor and materials in the field? If the system is doing its job of increasing efficiency you may see evidence of this in the new rates for labor and materials.
4. Is the company winning the contracts it needs to fulfill its business objectives (this may involve other processes such as marketing so apply the requirements of clause 5.4.2)?
5. Is the estimating team allocating the time needed to fully train the field crews (visit with the QESH manager to determine the time needed to train field crews and complete any testing and inspections as part of your audit planning)?
You do not need to be an expert in the process to come up with good questions. It helps enormously to know how business works and to keep the basic principles in mind (such as process, control, customers, effectiveness, PDCA and the system of preventing nonconformity/ineffectiveness).
Make sure your audits have an written objective and that your audit's conclusion answers the question posed by the audit's objective.
Are documented procedures a crutch for not yet fully competent auditors?
