What is an ISO audit?
What is commonly referred to as an ISO audit is in fact no such thing. Rather it is an audit of a management system meeting an ISO standard and will be carried out either by company staff if an internal audit or by a third-party certification body such as DNV if an external audit. Nevertheless, it is a core part of meeting and maintaining ISO certification.
ISO Audit: meaning and definition
A vast range of ISO management system standards now exist covering matters as diverse as quality, information security, environmental, occupational health & safety and many more. Often these are referred to by the appropriate ISO standard numbers such as ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 respectively.
An ISO audit is a systematic process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are met. It is an essential part of an organization's management system that helps to assess the effectiveness of its ISO standards implementation and identify areas for improvement.
Why is an ISO audit important?
Deciding to implement a management system in accordance with an ISO standard and gain certification is normally a voluntary action by a company. However, in some instances it may be to comply with a local or national regulation. More often it can be considered as a ‘license to trade’ because partners in the supply chain, customers and other stakeholders require proof that the organization is employing best practices and is committed to improving performance on a continual basis related to areas such as products and services, environment and information security. It can also aid in the area of sustainability, such as meeting ESG principles and relevant SDGs.
ISO audits are an essential part of the process because they are designed to monitor and ensure that the organization's processes align with the defined ISO standards and verify that the system is effective and efficient. Also, audits will identify risks and non-conformities as well as providing opportunities to continually improve the system.
Types of ISO audit
There are two main types of ISO audits:
Internal audits
Internal Audits are also known as first-party audits, are conducted by the organization’s own trained internal auditors for self-assessment and improvement.
All ISO management system standards require that organization’s perform internal audits. In brief the requirement is that an organization need to plan, establish, implement and maintain (an) audit programme(s), including the frequency, methods, responsibilities, planning requirements and reporting. Internal audits is an important management tool to monitor performance and identify improvement opportunities.
ISO 19011 provides useful guidance for the audit process.
The first internal audit will usually take place in an early phase of establishing and implementing. A cycle of internal audits is also a pre-requisite before to proceed with a certification audit.
It may be wise to have a preliminary evaluation of the implementation of an organization’s management system by a certification body/registrar. The purpose is to identify areas of non-conformance or weaknesses and allow correction of those areas before beginning the accredited certification process.
Find out more about DNV Internal Auditor Training Course.
Certification audits
Certification or "external" audits are conducted by a third party certification body to verify that the management system conforms to the requirements of a specific ISO standard. A successful certification audit will result in the management system receiving a certificate demonstrating to stakeholders that the system has been independently judged as being effective.
Audits can time-consuming and expensive, so where an organization has adopted several management systems an integrated management system audit is worth considering. Most of the commonly adopted ISO management system standards uses a harmonized structure, common terms and the same core requirements. This enhances usability and help an organization to combine some or all of its management systems into one integrated system.
Mistakes to avoid in ISO audits
Implementing standardized management systems into an organization is considered the modern way to do business but it can be a large step for some companies to take. Poor quality of audits are mostly a combination of a lack of planning and preparation, insufficient communication and involvement of relevant personnel and inadequate documentation and record keeping. After the audit has taken place, failure to follow up on identified non-conformities and corrective actions is another factor to avoid.
The competence of an auditor or audit team is an important factor to ensure an effective and fruitful audit. When developing the audit programme, an organization should ensure to assign auditors with relevant training and competence for the audited area. Auditing team members will ideally have attended an internal auditor course provided by the certifying body or other training provider. DNV provides training for internal lead auditors and auditor team members.
A trained team will help to avoid most of the common mistakes that can occur before, during and after an audit. The importance of auditor quality and competence should not be overlooked. An audit will bring together people of different levels of seniority and in some cases the audit may be seen by some as an intrusion or questioning of their abilities and methods. It is important that the audit team are able to cope with such situations.
By understanding the meaning, importance, standards, types, and common pitfalls of ISO audits, organizations can better prepare for and benefit from these assessments, ultimately leading to improved quality and performance.
