Internal Auditor

[Lulugrey]

Hello everyone,
I have a question about internal audits for ISO 9001:2015. I am a lead auditor and have always worked for small companies where I have been the only auditor. I now have a team of people from across the company training to be internal auditors. A member of my team is very keen on taking over the responsibility from me, of being in charge of the internal audits, the auditors, the schedule, everything. She just passed her internal auditor course last week. She said she did this for a previous employer under ISO 17026. Is this possible under ISO 9001 or do I still need to take the lead?

 

[geoffairey]

You’ll have to assess that.
Lead auditor qualifications tend to be more of a concern for external and full system audits. There’s nothing in ISO 9001 which requires a lead auditor to be in control of the internal audit programme.

 

[Sidney Vianna]

I am a lead auditor and have always worked for small companies where I have been the only auditor.

So you were a “lead auditor” of a team of one? Apparently this new person has more experience in managing an audit program (as per ISO 19011) than you, so why not let her take the lead?

 

[Golfman25]

So you were a “lead auditor” of a team of one? Apparently this new person has more experience in managing an audit program (as per ISO 19011) than you, so why not let her take the lead?

That would be a team of three -- me, myself, and I. The arguments between auditors are epic.

 

[Randy]

Do whatever you want or what floats your boat, the only question is Competency and passing a test only provides evidence of passing a test.

 

[Lulugrey]

So you were a “lead auditor” of a team of one? Apparently this new person has more experience in managing an audit program (as per ISO 19011) than you, so why not let her take the lead?

I am not saying I won't let her take the lead. I have been a lead auditor for over 20 years. She has just trained as an auditor 2 weeks ago. I was concerned that she might be taking on too much.

 

[Cari Spears]

Let her do her thing under your supervision for a while and see. If she has experience managing internal audits to another ISO standard, she should be able to transition easily to ISO9001. Review her audit plans and auditor assignments before they're executed, and review the results afterward. Double check her for a while until you're confident that she is able to manage the internal audit program well - or not.

 

[Johnnymo62]

What does your boss say?

Be careful to not correct her in front of people.