What does your Internal Audit Reveal?

[v9991]

this question is partly related to the focus-areas; root cause identified during the investigation and CAPA proposed for closing the audit observations.

Do you perform the analysis of your internal audit observations and how often does it lead to revision of focus areas/agenda of internal audit?

(btw your individual-options polled above are not made public, so go ahead and contribute to poll...let us help ourselves have current understanding on trends of audit observations)

 

[ssz102]

exsist in more or less problems in different company or indurstry,only is that the number of the non-compliance are difference

 

[v9991]

The point is not get lost in pursuit of only compliance...(of course compliance shall remain a key area of internal audit but as one of the objective internal audit )
but to bring comprehensive approach by integrating/adding the objectives of simplification - improvement etc.,

inorder to do that, system/organizations need to handle couple of variables...such as
1) floating people/personnel(continuity of committed & competent staff)
2) need for efficiency, dynamism in systems at the same time meeting the compliance.
3) exceptional/exigency situations.etc.,

also another aspect is about ensuring the effectiveness of CAPA...

and finally, refocus on improvement/simplification opportunities. (internal audit as one of the key-tool to adopt/drive) of course it requires other tools as well to drive/direct the improvement. (viz., balanced score card..., metrics etc.,)

in short...we get what we target/focus!!! so recalibrate the targets of various systems(in this case internal audit) such that, it can cater to current needs and help orgaization to move to next level. (not just maintain the current/minimum standards)

i remember my maths lecture on limit theory, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_limit_theorem )
for y=1/x,(y-->infinity)=0, (interpretation is... x will never reach infinity...since infinity cannot be quantified/characterized...so y will never reach 0.
the point is, as we put focus on compliance we tend to reach, but real benefit of attaining zero is always distant target...
so instead of taking infinity=compliance, lets target infinity=compliance+improvement+simplification etc.,

let me try to make it further simpler...
pursue excellence, success automatically follows...(excellence...improvement, simplification, & success=compliance)

 

[somashekar]

On a different note ..., our internal audit reveals that the internal audit can be done much more better and deeper ~~~

 

[ScottK]

My internal audits reveal three things:

1. OFI's
2. Places where the work instruction or SOP doesn't match the actual process
3. Places where there is a potential gap between documentation and requirements.

I've started Internal audit programs in several companies and in each as the system matured 3 reduces to nothing, 2 reduces significantly, and 1 increases.

 

[v9991]

current tally is as follows.
overview percent
NC to current procedures (28%)
improvements (22%)
insufficient/inadequate (17%)
Repeat obs (14%)
No assessment (14%)
No observations (6%)

what are you experiences/thoughts on following approaches...
a) is it reasonable to except internal audit as one of the tool to monitor/drive the maturity of quality systems/processes.?
b) is it reasonable expectations from QSR to embark on go through the phases which get reflected in some sequence/areas.
insufficient-inadequate<-->repeat obs <--->no obserations <--->improvement;
c) should integration of above approach reflect the next orbit of quality systems management.(if nt ws then atleast internal audit systems maturity)
d) what are the challenges which come in way of integrating the a suitable assessment mechanism of internal audit observations

1) OFI's
2) Places where the work instruction or SOP doesn't match the actual process
3) Places where there is a potential gap between documentation and requirements.
I've started Internal audit programs in several companies and in each as the system matured 3 reduces to nothing, 2 reduces significantly, and 1 increases.

its desirable to have procedures quite aligned with requirements & actual practices (3) (2)

however, how do you interpret the increasing trend of (1) indicate?
Does it mean that focus has shifted from quality/compliance? dynamic work/product environment...floating personnel(training challenges)...!!!

 

[Ninja]

Increasing (1) could just as easily mean that employees recognize the benefit that a well operating system has given, and are now looking harder for ways to improve even further.

When non-conformances decrease, the focus can shift from fixing problems to continuous improvement. A culture shift toward continuous improvement would show an increasing trend in OFI's.

 

[ScottK]

current tally is as follows.
overview percent
NC to current procedures (28%)
improvements (22%)
insufficient/inadequate (17%)
Repeat obs (14%)
No assessment (14%)
No observations (6%)

what are you experiences/thoughts on following approaches...
a) is it reasonable to except internal audit as one of the tool to monitor/drive the maturity of quality systems/processes.?
b) is it reasonable expectations from QSR to embark on go through the phases which get reflected in some sequence/areas.
insufficient-inadequate<-->repeat obs <--->no obserations <--->improvement;
c) should integration of above approach reflect the next orbit of quality systems management.(if nt ws then atleast internal audit systems maturity)
d) what are the challenges which come in way of integrating the a suitable assessment mechanism of internal audit observations


its desirable to have procedures quite aligned with requirements & actual practices (3) (2)

however, how do you interpret the increasing trend of (1) indicate?
Does it mean that focus has shifted from quality/compliance? dynamic work/product environment...floating personnel(training challenges)...!!!

Sorry - I've been away....

Exactly what Ninja says above. It's a culture shift.

 

[v9991]

Sorry - I've been away....

Exactly what Ninja says above. It's a culture shift.

indeed that is cultural shift not only from system perspective but also from personnel and organization system perspective
actually what i meant was that, does your audit process really drive/focus on the OFIs ; and how do you objectively measure it. what kind of assessment is done to differentiate short-cuts vs alternatives/simplifications... (i can imagine it to be routed thru change control but ...what kind of assessment/metrics(monitoring) is carried out)

thank you

 

[JLang]

Those are some good points being made. Currently our internal audits seem to focus mostly on compliance rather than processes and areas for improvement. I have only just recently taken on the responsiblity of auditing (2 months) and am looking to change up our procedure to become more focused on processes and observing rather than the Q/A sessions that it currently seems to be set up as.