Environmental Management
The management of certification audits
Since 1992 I’ve been audited to a range of standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS 4801, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 17025 (sometimes for management systems I developed and sometimes for systems that were thrust upon me). I have conducted factory audits for product marking schemes, certification audits, internal audits and 2nd party audits and over the years I’ve learnt some techniques which I thought may assist you.
I believe there are two alternate approaches to audit management. Both have merit, but the one you choose is dependent on your situation. The ‘lock-down’ approach tends to be adopted where persons are uncomfortable with the audit situation or where the management systems is immature, while the open approach is synonymous with optimising. Read on to find out which approach you should take. Read article
