You are conducting a third-party Stage 1 audit at ABC Ltd, a single-site organisation that manufactures wooden furniture. You interview the Technical Director to learn more about the organisation. The Technical Director explains that they have had a successful year and that obtaining ISO 9001 certification will support the further growth of the business. You ask for an overview of the organisation’s structure and its interrelationships with external interested parties.

The Technical Director shows you a document detailing all business processes and interrelationships. You notice in this document that another organisation called Teak Ltd manufactures wooden furniture on behalf of ABC Ltd. The Technical Director confirms this capability has been accounted for in the scope of the quality management system. You learn that the furniture manufactured by Teak Ltd has accounted for 40% of the sales revenue over the previous 12 months.

Which two of the following options best describe how you would plan the audit of the interrelationship with Teak Ltd during the Stage 2 audit at ABC Ltd?

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You work as an external quality consultant for an organisation, ‘A’, which provides packaged food to the public. You are asked to lead a team (you as the leader and two other auditors) to audit a supplier, ‘B’, to ISO 9001 which provides packaging materials to your organisation. It is 4 pm and the audit is close to an end; you are having an internal meeting with the team to decide what will be presented to the auditee during the Closing meeting. The Closing meeting was scheduled at 5 pm.

You, as Audit Team Leader, audited top management. You explain to the audit team that you identified two nonconformities:

a. There is no documented information on Top Management Reviews, as required in clause 9.3 of ISO 9001:2015.

b. There is no evidence of Top Management Commitment as required in clause 5.1 of ISO 9001:2015. (e.g., not ensuring the availability of resources to operate the QMS, not ensuring the establishment of objectives, no promotion of improvement, no promotion of the process approach).

All agreed to present these two nonconformities. They went to meet the Top Management of ‘B’ and noticed that the General Manager and three other managers (Production, Human Resources, and Sales) were present in the meeting room.

Considering the seriousness of the two nonconformities to Top Management, as audit team leader, from the following select the best option:

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DRAG DROP

In the context of a management system audit, identify the sequence of a typical process for collecting and verifying information. The first one has been done for you.

To complete the sequence click on the blank section you want to complete so it is highlighted in red and then click on the applicable text from the options below. Alternatively, drag and drop the options to the appropriate blank section.

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Correct Answer:

Explanation:

Identifying the source of information

Sampling available data

Gathering audit evidence

Verifying objective evidence

Evaluating evidence against the audit criteria

Making audit conclusions

Evaluating against the audit criteria

According to ISO 19011:2018, clause 6.4, the process of collecting and verifying information during an audit involves the following steps1:

Identifying the source of information: The audit team should identify the sources of information that are relevant to the audit objectives, scope and criteria. These sources may include documents, records, personnel, processes, activities, facilities, equipment, etc. The audit team should also determine the methods and tools for accessing and collecting the information, such as interviews, observations, document review, sampling, etc. Sampling available data: The audit team should select a representative sample of the available data to verify the conformity and effectiveness of the management system. The sample size and selection method should be based on the audit objectives, scope and criteria, as well as the level of confidence and risk. The audit team should also consider the validity, reliability, relevance and sufficiency of the data.

Gathering audit evidence: The audit team should use the methods and tools identified in the previous step to collect audit evidence, which is the records, statements of fact or other information that are relevant to the audit criteria and verifiable. The audit team should record the audit evidence in a clear, concise and objective manner, using notes, checklists, photographs, audio or video recordings, etc.

Verifying objective evidence: The audit team should verify the accuracy, completeness and authenticity of the audit evidence collected. This may involve cross-checking different sources of information, confirming the identity and authority of the persons providing the information, examining the original documents or records, etc. The audit team should also identify any discrepancies, inconsistencies or gaps in the audit evidence.

Evaluating evidence against the audit criteria: The audit team should compare the audit evidence with the audit criteria to determine the extent of conformity and nonconformity. The audit team should also identify any opportunities for improvement, best practices, positive aspects or potential risks. The audit team should use professional judgement and apply the principles of auditing when evaluating the audit evidence.

Making audit conclusions: The audit team should consolidate the audit findings and evaluate the overall performance and effectiveness of the management system. The audit team should also consider the audit objectives, scope and criteria, as well as the context and expectations of the auditee and other interested parties. The audit team should provide a clear, concise and objective statement of the audit conclusions, which may include the degree of conformity, the achievement of the intended outcomes, the need for corrective actions, the suitability for certification, etc. Evaluating against the audit criteria: The audit team should review the audit conclusions and ensure that they are consistent with the audit criteria and supported by sufficient and appropriate audit evidence. The audit team should also ensure that the audit conclusions are communicated to the auditee and other relevant parties in a timely and effective manner, using the agreed audit report format and distribution method.

Reference: ISO 19011:2018(en), Guidelines for auditing management systems

In a third-party audit to ISO 9001, select two options of when the organisation is required to act in response to reported findings.

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Which two of the following work documents are not required for audit planning by an auditor conducting a certification audit?

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XYZ Corporation is an organisation that employs 100 people. As audit team leader, you are conducting a certification audit at Stage 1. When reviewing the quality management system (QMS) documentation, you find that quality objectives have been set for every employee in the organisation except top management.

The Quality Manager complains that this has created a lot of resistance to the QMS, and the Chief Executive is asking questions about how much it will cost. He asks for your opinion on whether this is the correct method of setting objectives.

Three months after Stage 1, you return to XYZ Corporation to conduct a Stage 2 certification audit as Audit Team Leader with one other auditor. You find that the Quality Manager has cancelled the previous quality objectives for all employees and replaced them with a single objective for himself. This states that "The Quality Manager will drive multiple improvements in the QMS in the next year". The Quality Manager indicates that this gives him the authority to issue instructions to department managers when quality improvement is needed. He says that this approach has the full backing of senior management.

He shows you the latest Quality Improvement Request that was included in the last management review.

After further auditing, the issues below were found. Select three statements that apply to the term ‘audit trail’

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Select the phrase that best describes the purpose of a quality management system to ISO 9001 in relation to the performance of an organization.

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You are auditing an organisation that has been certificated to ISO 9001 for ten years. The organisation is a privately-owned, multi-site car tyre fitting organisation. You are auditing one of the sites. You are auditing the car tyre fitting service. You are interviewing the Site Manager (SM).

You: "Would you explain the car tyre fitting service?"

SM: "Of course. Customers typically call us by phone with their requirements. We ask them what they want. We check whether we have the tyres

they need in stock. If we don’t have the tyres in stock, we contact our supplier to confirm when they would be able to supply the tyres. We then determine the cost. We then check what availability we have in our busy schedule to fit the new tyres. We then inform the customer with details of cost and when we can fit the tyres. If the customer is happy to proceed with the booking, we update our Work Schedule. The same process applies for customers who walk into our office and for online requests."

You: "What information do you retain should there be a defect reported by a manufacturer of tyres that you have fitted?"

SM: "We maintain records of customer names, addresses and contact phone numbers. We maintain a record of the type of tyre fitted and the tyre manufacturers batch information. We also maintain a record of the registration numbers of the vehicles we have fitted tyres to. All records are in our Work Schedule."

Which two of the following options you would take to enable you to gather further audit evidence to validate what the Site Manager has told you?

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DRAG DROP

You, as auditor, are in dialogue with the quality lead and managing director of a small business that supplies specialist laboratory equipment and furniture.

You: "I’d like to look at how you manage change in the organisation.

What changes have you made as a business, say, over the last 12 months?"

Auditee: "We have made some strategic changes, the main one being that we no longer manufacture our

own products in house."

You: "That sounds like quite a significant change.

What has been the impact of that?"

Auditee: "We now mainly sell other manufacturers’ products, under their brand names, and have outsourced manufacture of our own brand products to one of our suppliers. Unfortunately, we had to make six members of our staff redundant. This represents about 20% of our workforce, so this has been quite a challenging time."

You: "I’m sure.

What were the reasons for making the change?"

Auditee: "Our manufacturing section was a small operation, and we struggled to cope with fluctuations in demand. During busy periods, we found it hard to meet lead times, and in quiet periods we had staff with little to do. This was having an impact on customer satisfaction and meant we had to charge premium prices that made our product uncompetitive."

You: "How did you go about the change?"

In relation to the auditor’s question about how the change was managed, the auditee mentions the steps listed below. Match the ISO 9001 clauses to the steps.

To complete the table, click on the blank section you want to complete so it is highlighted in red and then click on the ISO 9001 clauses listed below. Alternatively, drag and drop each clause to show which step the requirement applies to.

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Correct Answer:

Explanation:

Here is the correct matching of ISO 9001:2015 clauses to the steps mentioned in the change management process:

We identified risks and opportunities and fed these into our risk management processes.

Clause 6.1 (Actions to address risks and opportunities)

We found a suitable supplier.

Clause 8.4 (Control of externally provided processes, products, and services)

We monitored customer feedback and noticed an increase in negative feedback about lead times. Clause 9.1.2 (Customer satisfaction)

We put together a plan for implementation.

Clause 6.2.2 (Planning to achieve quality objectives)

We monitored the performance of the new supplier.

Clause 8.4.2 (Type and extent of control of external providers)

We noticed that productivity targets were being missed.

Clause 9.1.1 (Monitoring, measurement, analysis, and evaluation)

We communicated the plan internally.

Clause 7.4 (Communication)

We looked at the data at the management review and decided we needed to do something different. Clause 9.3.2 (Management review inputs)

We reorganised the staffing and implemented redundancies.

Clause 7.1.2 (People)

We set an objective to effectively implement the transition and outsource manufacturing.

Clause 6.2.1 (Quality objectives and planning to achieve them)

This aligns the steps of the change process with relevant ISO 9001:2015 clauses related to risk, planning, communication, and monitoring.

Takitup is a small fabrication organisation that manufactures steel fencing, stairs and platforms for the construction sector. It has been certified to ISO 9001 for some time and has appointed a new Quality Manager. The audit plan during a surveillance audit covers the organisation’s improvement actions and the auditor asks to see the most recent management review meeting minutes.

The auditor finds that the management review report records that none of the improvement actions set by the previous review has been realised for a second time. A new Quality Manager has been brought in at the middle management level to rectify the situation as the organisation is concerned that it might lose its certification.

Select three options that would provide evidence of conformance with clause 10.3 of ISO 9001.

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