Remote Audit Experiences - June 2020

jmech

Trusted Information Resource
Does anybody have experiences undergoing remote audits for ISO 9001 (or similar) that they can share? Specifically:
- How was the remote audit experience different from an on-site audit?​
- Was there any increase in audit duration due to it being a remote audit?​
- Do you think the remote audit was more or less effective than an in-person audit?​
- Did you notice any difference in the findings?​
 

Pjservan

Involved In Discussions
@jmech I can share the feedback that I have received based on the the remote internal audits that we have conducted:
  • Most participants have been surprised how effective it was
  • All our audits were completed within the duration that was originally establish- same as on-site
  • Audits has helped organizations understand the importance of having well organized records electronically. Some starting to consider software now.
  • Findings have a tendency to go toward weaknesses in documentation vs what actually is being done, or small gaps in records (missing objective evidence to show compliance to standard, customer requirement or own requirement)
Hope this helps.
 

Cari Spears

Super Moderator
Leader
Super Moderator
jmech - are you scheduled for a remote audit soon? We have our AS9100 recertification audit scheduled in July - it will be remote. I'll have some feedback then.
 

Golfman25

Trusted Information Resource
So we just had ours. It went surprisingly well. A couple of points:

1) It requires organization and planning to be effective. Exactly what, where, who, is to be audited? Pre-submitting documents helps a ton.

2) Doesn't require as much "babysitting" of the auditor. Ours did a section of the audit, then we disconnected while he did his write up. Then did another section. Rinse and repeat. I didn't feel like I had to poke into the conference room to make sure everything was moving along.

3) Find a good platform. You probably want some type of mobile option, so you can show things out on the floor if needed. We used an Ipad which worked well. Also, a platform that you can share screens on would be helpful. A lot of "documents" are now spreadsheets and the like. It's easier just to open it up and share your screen with the auditor. We used skype and had to try to show some docs via the camera -- which was a little more difficult.
 

yodon

Leader
Super Moderator
I've done some remote supplier audits and can share that. It does take a little longer since you're dealing with electronic files (can't spread things out over a table) and some delays due to file transfer. I try to mitigate this by doing as much pre-work as possible.

Kind of by definition, they can't be as effective since you can't observe body language and you're kind of operating with blinders on. Even if you have a floor tour with live video, you're only seeing what the camera operator wants you to see.

I had a colleague who did a remote internal audit for a company. In the subsequent ISO audit, the auditor raised "concerns" that the internal audit may not have been effective (no evidence and no nonconformity). I've heard BSI state that they will not audit the Design & Development and Production & Service Provision processes. Not really sure why not the D&D but I can understand the Production & Service Provision part for the reasons given above (plus many operations are shut down or minimal production).
 

jmech

Trusted Information Resource
Thanks for the comments so far.

Cari - we have an external audit scheduled for August. It's currently scheduled to be on-site but might get switched to remote. I'd appreciate your feedback after you undergo your audit in July.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
I've already got a couple dozen days delivering remote MS audits since March (9001, 14001, 45001, 18001, RC), most common platforms are email, phone & Skype. I've done a couple Webx and Teams as well.
 

Sidney Vianna

Post Responsibly
Leader
Admin
Not really sure why not the D&D
I don't know for sure, either, but I suspect that it might have to do with the sensitive nature of the intelectual property over product design. Subjecting this type of data to a virtual/remote audit, which can be hacked, is a risk hard to manage.

The ISO APG Paper on Remote Audits is available by clicking on

Annotation 2020-06-03 140017.jpg
 
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