Tales from an auditor
has been an auditor for more than 20 years and over that time had numerous extraordinary experiences. Over the forthcoming issues of INform he will be sharing his most interesting and amusing anecdotes
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Many people like to feel that they planned their careers and I certainly planned mine. However, as so often happens, changes do occur and it was through one such unplanned change that I became involved with quality. |
During my earlier audits I would return home and if something unusual had happened I would make a note of it on my computer. Looking back, it was these experiences that helped to make me a better auditor. I hope they will prove to be of interest to other auditors. They might well promote discussion amongst less experienced auditors.
Both a science and an art
The basis of all science is facts. Early scientists examined basic facts and then studied the information they collected in an attempt to correlate the facts and thereby build up their knowledge. Later, theories were established that enabled predictions to be made about what will happen in the immediate or the distant future.
One does not have to be a scientist in order to be a good auditor, but any decisions made by an auditor must be based on the facts that have been ascertained. An auditor must not take into account opinions or hearsay when making decisions as to whether the requirements of a standard have been addressed and implemented satisfactorily.
Auditing is also an art. A good auditor must have the requisite personal skills for obtaining the information that is needed from an auditee. Such skills are not easy to define but a good auditor, who is used to working with all kinds of people, can respond appropriately to any reply from an auditee.
People can respond in many different ways to questions from auditors. At one extreme an auditee, when asked a simple question, will try to list every aspect of the work that he or she has been doing. It is as though the auditee’s boss has never asked what he or she has been doing for months and so, perhaps understandably, he or she goes into overdrive. A good auditor will restrain such a person tactfully, while at the same time obtaining the core information that is required.
At the other extreme, an auditor might find that an auditee objects to being questioned about what they are doing. After all, the auditee has been doing the same job for months or perhaps years. As an external auditor you are an outsider, so how can you possibly understand what he or she has been doing for so long?
A good auditor will persevere tactfully and should be able to win over the difficult auditee, perhaps by introducing a little humour, praise, or whatever comes to mind to get the needed answers to his or her questions.
Auditors must look upon any such difficult situation as a challenge and a challenge that will ultimately result in questions being answered truthfully. An auditor, however, must never lose their temper, however unresponsive or rude the auditee.
About the author
Dr Dennis Green is an international consultant and principal auditor on ISO 9001 and the author of five books on Quality Management Systems. Three of his books were recently published by BSI: Quality Patient Care in Hospitals, Quality of Care in Residential Homes for the Elderly and Medical Devices: ISO 13485 and ISO 9001.
It is important to emphasize that an auditor’s work must always remain confidential to the organization being audited, the certification body and, most importantly, to the auditor. The anecdotes published here have not breached these requirements.
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