Technical audits

Laborelec is the Belgian laboratory for the electricity industry. It deals with measuring and studying problems arising with the production, transport and distribution of electricity to industrial and private customers. It has developed very diverse domains of expertise, such as acoustics, material characteristics, technical audits to telecommunications, vibrations monitoring, etc... 

Audits may differ. Some concentrate on particular facets, e.g. waste minimization, energy conservation. A management audit will probably cover organizational structures and relationships, communications, procedures acceptance and implementation, training and quality assurance. A technical audit will consider the performance of plant and equipment, monitoring and inspection programmes. Items for inclusion in auditing are listed in Table 17.12. 

Perform technical audits of SCADA devices and networks, and any other connected networks, to identify security concerns. 

Technical audits of SCADA devices and networks are critical to ongoing security effectiveness. Many commercial and open-source security tools are available that allow system administrators to conduct audits of their systems/networks to identify active services, patch level, and common vulnerabilities. The use of these tools will not solve systemic problems, but will eliminate the paths of least resistance that an attacker could exploit. Analyze identified vulnerabilities to determine their significance, and take corrective actions as appropriate. Track corrective actions and analyze this information to identify trends. Additionally, retest systems after corrective actions have been taken to ensure that vulnerabilities were actually eliminated. Scan nonproduction environments actively to identify and address potential problems. 

Technical audit and gap analysis to define initial requirements for optimisation. This should be carried out in close cooperation with the supplier. 

The second point is understanding the difference between a GLP audit, a data audit, and a technical audit. It is the industry position that these are three separate entities. All of these are legitimate EPA activities. We realize it s tempting for scientists to delve into the technical details of a particular study when conducting a GLP inspection. However, we believe this is the purview of other EPA activities and the GLP inspector should "stick to the knitting." On the other hand, we realize that one cannot be blind to discrepancies between raw and reported data, and technical... 

Accountability is, perhaps, a unique feature of the PNGV. Accountability consists of three elements hardware deliverables, visible milestones, and external technical audit. The hardware dehverables, which are obligations of the industry partners, consist of proof-of-technical-concept vehicles to be delivered in calendar year 2000 and production-feasible prototypes to be delivered in calendar year 2004. 

The technical audits shall be done by an objective inspection of the plant and machinery as well as the inffastrucmre in order to confirm that the following activities and jobs have been executed properly. 

Most organisations imdertake a technical audit (or check) of their designs. Sometimes these are formalised through their Quality Assurance process and sometimes they involve less formal procedures. They are used to ensure that the design complies with national or local standards and to minimise mistakes within the design. They may include elements of road safety but do not set out to check the final safety performance of a scheme. The audits may be carried out by a senior member within the design team or by an independent person from another design team. 

SHE audits are the main tools of Norskoil s SHE manager for follow-up on safety in construction. The contractor s site safety co-ordinator also performs audits of this type. The audit team checks actual performance against regulatory and contractual requirements and the yards SHE programmes. The audits usually consist of two parts, i.e. a system part and a technical part. In the system audit, the SHE manager checks SHE documentation and practices in relation to the commitments in the SHE programme. The technical audit is carried out as workplace inspection. The audits follow a schedule and each audit covers a separate theme. Below are examples of audit themes ... 

Management audits Department audits Technical audits Cross Department audits Contractor audits... 

Sichombo, B., Muya, M., Shakantu, W., Kalib, C. (2009). The need for technical auditing in the Zambian construction industry. International Journal of Project Management, 27, 821-832. 

Final Design Review Technical Audits Configuration Management... 

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