Audits defined

Do audits assess that quality and safety activities comply with planned activities, that the quality and safety system are effective and that defined procedures and methods are being followed ... 

Self-audit is a monitoring device used to establish any vaiyiiig degrees of detail or performance of an organization to define areas of deficiency and to correct such deficiencies before they cause further problems. 

Step 6 Write the Component Material Balances. The Phase II auditing steps define the pollutants and wastes that are among the team s focus. Its objective has always been to identify specific wastes or pollutants that the enterprise can reduce these are the components the team needs to assess in the material balances. It is important to note that once the material balance for each unit operation has been completed for raw-material inputs and waste outputs, it is necessary to repeat the procedure for each contaminant of concern. 

In the last chapter we discussed the importance of well-defined roles. This holds true for the inspection team. For many larger sites a union contract may exist that may specify who participates in the inspec-tion/audit process. At smaller sites, this may be open-ended. We believe that the personnel make-up of an inspection team should depend on the size, complexity, number of employees, and on-site hazards at the site in question. Again, preplanning coupled with a common-sense approach should be the driver. 

During the initial audit evidence of progress on audit and review actions, and progress toward Cl targets has to be demonstrated. Hence it is not sufficient for the supplier to have defined Cl targets, and not sufficient for internal audits and management reviews to have been conducted - there has to be evidence of achievement. 

For each quality objective you should have a plan that defines the processes involved in its achievement. Assess these processes and determine where critical decisions are made and who is assigned to make them. Audit the decisions and ascertain whether they were contrary to the objectives. A simple example is where you have an objective of decreasing dependence upon inspection. By examining corrective actions taken to prevent recurrence of nonconformities you can detect whether a person decided to increase the level of inspection in order to catch the nonconformities or considered alternatives. Any person found making such a decision has clearly not understood the quality objective. 

By producing defining specifications that prescribe requirements for products or services and also the means by which these requirements are to be verified in-house in terms of the inspections, tests, analyses, audits, reviews, evaluations, and other means of verification... 

The standard requires suppliers to define the type and extent of control exercised bp the supplier over subcontractors and goes on to require that these controls be dependent upon the type of product, the impact of the product on the quality of the final product, and, where applicable, on the quality audit reports and/or quality records of the previ-ousty demonstrated capability and performance of subcontractors. 

Planned arrangements is another unusual term, especially when throughout the standard the terms documented quality system and documented procedures have been used. However, so that audits are not restricted to documented procedures and policies, the term planned arrangement has been used. It encompasses contracts, specifications, plans, objectives, strategies - in fact any arrangement made by the organization to satisfy customer needs. You therefore need to define what constitutes your planned arrangements. 

The process audit to verify that the result-producing processes control products and service within the defined limits. This is now required in ISO/TS 16949 clause... 

You can show compliance with this requirement by defining where the auditors fit into the organization by means of an organization chart and by giving position titles in the reports of the audit. 

Conduct the audits to the defined plan and procedure with a clear objective. 

In which documents have you defined your procedures for planning and implementing internal quality audits ... 

Don t audit for the sake of it - define your objective and make it important enough for management to take notice of the results. 

We need to transition from quasi-computerized methods, in which the different elements of the analytical process are treated as discrete, paper report tasks, to a comprehensive informatics approach, in which the entire data collection and analysis is considered as a single reusable, extensible, auditable, and reproducible system. Informatics can be defined as the science of storing, manipulating, analyzing, and visualizing information using computer systems. [3]... 

The advantages to using MSDSs for chemical inventories are that MSDSs are publicly available and required by law. There is no extra cost or labour needed to supply them. The limitations to using MSDSs as a source of inventory data are that currently, in the United States, a standardized reporting format is not mandatory. MSDSs are not verified or audited and MSDS information can be incomplete and/or inaccurate. In addition, OSHA s definition of hazard does not include the broader scope of hazard used in green chemistry. Therefore, chemicals that are potential hazards from the green chemistry perspective but are not defined by OSHA as hazards, are not required to be identified on a MSDS. 

The coordinated approach contracting relationships built on collaboration, trust and close interpersonal ties define the coordinated approach. This approach means that the producer inherits the responsibility and costs of social auditing as they are passed down the supply chain. This is achieved, however, within the framework of close retailer-supplier relationships. Although subcontracting exists, known networks of traceable suppliers are involved. As such, it is possible to exert considerably greater control over the ethical trading process. 

A laboratory must have a defined quality management system, which is described in the Quality Manual. The procedures for auditing and reviewing... 

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