internal-auditor.com

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February, 2000

This Month's Feature:

Time Management

Time is beyond all doubt the auditor's worst enemy! Many auditors find themselves running behind the audit schedule on just about every audit. Audits are often not a thorough as they should be, which tends to diminish their effectiveness.
So, how do we manage this thing called time? The first step is to "audit the audit". That is, to debrief the audit process. If time (or lack thereof) has affected the audit, determine why time became a constraint. Here are some typical time mismanagement elements.

The three biggest causes of auditor time constraints are:

• Lack of preparation
• Out-of-Scope Issues
• "Friendly" chatting

Lack of preparation: It is hard to maintain a schedule if you aren't prepared. You lose valuable time in a hasty bid to organize, but when you start, you are still unprepared.

Out-of-Scope Issues: We discussed this earlier, and discovered we waste resources by chasing items that are beyond the scope of the audit. This does not include a change in scope! If the scope changes, the audit plan should be adjusted accordingly.

"Friendly" chatting: It is very easy to become distracted and carry on conversations that have no relevance to the audit. Auditees must find a method of breaking the ice, and relaxing the auditee without excessive chit-chat.

Okay, you know what caused the problem, now how do you deal with those problems? Here are the keys to a successful audit (as far as time goes).

• Prepare in advance
• Use the Checklist
• Defined audit scope well
• Interviewing techniques

(Continued on next page)

Featured Book:
Title: Successful Internal Auditing to Iso 9000
Author: Tom Taormina
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Notes: Successful Internal Auditing to ISO 9000 demonstrates how to perform nonconfrontational audits that don't just check paperwork, but contribute powerfully to ongoing quality improvement throughout the enterprise.

You can order this book from internal-auditor.com at: http://www.internal-auditor.com/books.htm.

Tips/Tricks/Laughter:

Most organizations perform a post-audit debrief at the conclusion of the audit. But try this...perform a second debrief following the corrective action. Did the audit record the right non-conformances? In some cases, while performing a root cause analysis, it is discovered that what the audit found was not the largest symptom of the root cause. How accurately did the audit articulate the fault? Don't be alarmed if it didn't. This is more than just writing to the wrong element.

You can use this information to improve your audit process. The end result should be to have nonconformances which are more precise, and more effective.

Observations from the field:

If you company has email…try to set up a paperless audit system where the only thing you would need to "print out" and hand write would by your audit worksheet, which you take withy you to collect your evidence/samples. We have a paperless system here - we are able to email out notification forms and audit summaries without ever printing a sheet. It works EXCELLENTLY! We even File our paperless paperwork electronically for when our third -party auditors come to audit!

internal-auditor.com

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February, 2000

This Month's Feature continued:

Prepare in advance: This will undoubtedly come easier as time progresses. Initially, policies, procedures and work instructions will have to be read carefully. With experience, these can be just refreshed, or possibly just changes noted. Be careful here though…Don't think you know the procedure well enough not to spend some time preparing.
Preparing in advance also means deciding how big a chunk the audit team can consume. We will discuss this further in just a bit.

Use the Checklist: The checklist in an invaluable tool to keep an audit on track. Some organizations even place reference times on their checklists. The checklists also aid in coordinating and organizing the audit, allowing coordination and organization time to be devoted to the actual audit.

Defined audit scope well: A well defined audit scope saves time because it prevents taking time from the audit to examine if an item is within scope or not. We've already discussed "Out-of Scope" issues
The audit scope must be determined as part of the audit preparation. It must be matched to the team, and the complexity of the part of the quality system being audited.

Interviewing techniques: The checklists can also be of assistance in developing proper interviewing techniques. Once again, this will come with time, but stick to the point. Questions need to be clear, concise, and brief. We will handle interviewing techniques in a later issue. Understanding timing here is a delicate matter. You don't want to waste time, but you also do not want to short change the audit, by being too superficial.

Internal Auditor Resources:
Internal Quality Audit handbook Offers a free handbook on quality audits.
This site, and others can be located on our links page at: http://www.internal-auditor.com

Questions and Answers:
Q - Should auditors decide on how operations should be performed?
A - The only judgment an auditor should make is on the conformance to either the standard, or to the procedure. However, as with any employee, auditors should feel free to make recommendations to improve the overall operation. Internal audits should be tools for improvement, not just compliance.

Element Understanding:

4.17 Internal Quality Audits [Part 4]

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