Excuse Me, Mr. Auditor, Can I Phone a Friend?

It’s OK to ask for a co-worker’s clarification during an audit

There you are, in the middle of an internal or external audit, and the auditor asks you a question that you are truly not sure about. What do you do?

1. Hit the panic button.
2. Ask the audience for a hint.
3. Phone a friend.

Well, there isn’t a studio audience, and chances are the auditor didn’t bring a panic button. You might not think of it, but phoning a friend might really be an option for you. If you want to phone a friend, you simply must be smart about it: Know what’s going through the auditor’s mind, and then you can seek help from a co-worker in the right way.

Auditors smell fear

Did you know that auditors can smell fear? They can tell if you’re scared from a mile away, and they will pounce at the first sign of weakness. If an auditor asks you a question and senses you are nervous or indecisive, he will immediately start digging until you have no other thing to say except, “Yes, this is my fault. I admit it; we are not complying with the standard.” In essence, your fear is seen as a reflection of a process that is out of control.

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Comments

Questions during an audit

Hi Miriam,

I agree with your point, although I feel the depiction of the auditor as being intimidating may be a bit extreme. As a former Lead Assessor and currently a consultant, I have always viewed the assessor-client relationship as more of a partnership. The client (with my assistance) has designed and implemented a Quality Management System to ensure that their product or service will meet/satisfy customers' requirements on an ongoing basis.

Internal Audits should have identified weaknesses in the QMS, which should have been corrected through the CAPA system. The Management Review should have identified areas to be improved (quality objectives) and action plans should have been developed as a result.

However, no matter how strong the QMS might be, it can always be improved and the assessor is another set of "objective" eyes that should be able to identify some areas of weakness (or potential weakness) that can then be corrected before they can affect the product or service. Assessors see a lot of operations and are supposed to have experience in the industry in which they conduct audits. Thus, they should be able to contribute to the continuous improvement of the QMS. While its true that they cannot "consult" with the client, they can certainly share information through the audit report and resultant discussions.

In my opinion, if an assessor conducts an audt and does not have any findings or comments, I have to question the value of the audit. Registration to a standard does not add value to an organization's operations if it merely produces a certificate "suitable for framing". It must improve the QMS to add value, which implies that it also intiates change (which is necessary to improve).

I advise my clients (and their employees) to be open and honest with the assessor. They are coached to not volunteer information, but answer the interview questions based on their training. After all, the documented processes should (must?) reflect the actual processes being performed. So, they should simply be able to do what they do every day, without any fear of an assessor. If there is a situation in which an individual becomes flustered, they should simply refer the question to a supervisor, which is what they would do with any question for which they required assistance in the everyday work setting.

If the QMS is designed well and is truly being used as it should be, it will be "assessor-ready" all the time. If it is not in such a state, there is a lot of work to be done prior to asking a registrar to send in an assessor to conduct an audit.

ISO 19011

The misunderstanding arise from lack of knowledge of iso 19011.

I'm auditor since 2000 but i never had problems. If you're "human", no problems!

Best regards :)

an ok article

Hi Mariam,

reading this article, I can only partially agree and partially disagree with the approach described.

Step 1) You build your system the way it should be, using basic knowledge and logical thinking. If you do that, you will have a system that is already close to ISO 9000 requirements.

Step2) Use the ISO to see if you have any 'gaps' in your system, and expend your system to fill in the gaps

Step3) Invite the auditor. Answer their questions. Take note of their comments. Defend your choices. When your right, your are right and no problem telling the auditor that. When your wrong, accept the comment and report you will work on it, and maybe even ask him more about for example his experience or advice.

Step4) Audit done. If your system was OK, no problems, if you had some small mistakes, you still get certified and you pick-up the errors that you agree on very quickly (Same day if possible). If you failed, your system was crap and you failed at step 1 and 2.

No need to be scared of any auditor, as the truth is:

1) You know your company best and better then him

2) He/she knows the paper-world better then you

3) He gets money from you to be there. You are his customer. His aim is to make you happy while ensuring you meet requirements. He is your partner, not enemy.

This should world always with any audit. Hasn't failed me yet, with all customer visits, audits of ISO and other standards by class societies such as BV, ABS, DNV and many others.