Objective auditing has always been a challenge, and this is especially true now for ISO 9001:2015 audits. To better meet customer expectations, fundamental changes have been introduced to the standard to address current business realities and advancements in technology. Much of the responsibility of meeting the new requirements falls on leaders, and a careful, objective audit to the standard can help them.

It’s human nature that with knowledge and experience comes a touch of ego, but an auditor with an ego can be a liability. Experienced auditors must guard against a tendency to add subjective opinions to their audit reports and focus instead on providing objective inputs. In this way they can help leaders make rational, objective decisions. This challenge is further compounded for auditors experienced in auditing to ISO 9001:2008, with its emphasis on preventive action. ISO 9001:2015 no longer addresses preventive action but instead focuses on establishing risk-based thinking throughout the management system. What’s the best way to audit this?

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