Quality Auditing: Understanding the Basics and Importance

Posted on Apr 17, 2024 at 10:04 PM

Quality auditing brings significant value to the organisations that use it in their business. It plays a necessary role in optimising growth and evaluating business efficiency. In addition, quality auditing identifies the root causes of deficiencies so an organisation can take corrective action quickly and effectively.

These are just a few of the benefits of the quality auditing process. Continue reading today's comprehensive article to learn more about auditing, its importance, and how it is done correctly.

What is Quality Auditing?

It is a critical component of the ISO 9001 Quality System standard. Quality auditing is the systematic and independent review and evaluation of an organisation's internal quality management system (QMS) approved within companies to determine whether quality activities and systems align with strategic plans and are implemented effectively and appropriately to achieve objectives.

Quality auditing aims to evaluate the degree of conformity of the company's manufacture and preparation of services and products with the programmes and standards determined by its quality tracking and control programme. Including a statistical quality control programme.

Quality auditing consists of two stages: the first is the analysis of the product or service configuration system, and the second is the analysis of the items themselves.

The quality auditing process is typically conducted by internal auditors and is called (first-party audit). Or by external auditors who understand the company's policy and operations, and it is called (the second or external party audit). Or by a team specialised in auditing at specific and agreed-upon periods, and it is called (third-party audits). This ensures a transparent system or programme for quality control of processes and implementation culture. 

Why is Quality Auditing Important for Business?

Audits are an integral part of regulatory compliance policies, processes, and procedures and are essential for evaluating the success of processes, products, and systems—whether existing or newly implemented. They are also a vital tool for verifying objective evidence of operations, providing evidence to reduce and eliminate any problem areas.

To ensure maximum benefit for an organisation, a quality auditing programme should include examples of good practice rather than simply identifying non-conformances, process issues, and corrective actions. This will allow other departments to share information and adjust their working practices, resulting in continuous improvement and auditing of the entirety of the company and its operations.

What Are The Common Types of Quality Auditing Processes?

There are different types and forms of quality audits, categorised into 3 forms as follows:

• Process Audit:

This type audits the various operations within the company, whether they are implemented within the specified standards and the extent of their effectiveness. It measures the compliance of operations with operational conditions such as temperature, pressure, composition, required time, and execution accuracy.

It also measures the compatibility of the various resources, including materials, equipment, and people, to achieve appropriate outputs, the methods followed, the environment in which they are implemented, and others.

• Product Audit

This type of audit examines whether a product or service conforms to the requirements and standards—specifications, customer requirements, or performance standards.

• System Audit 

A system audit verifies that all management system elements are effective, appropriate with quality requirements, and have been developed, documented, and implemented per specified requirements.

What Is The Role of The Quality Auditor in Compliance With The Standards?

Quality auditors understand all the foundations, standards, and systems associated with quality and the industry to conduct their audits. They are directly responsible for obliging organisations and companies to provide services and products that comply with industrial standards, and they must have extensive experience in quality and related systems in general. Therefore, a Certified Quality Auditor Course in Dubai can help prepare qualified auditors for this speciality.

Types of responsibilities of quality controllers include:

• Analysing data to identify potential causes of problems and recommend solutions

• Evaluate practices and procedures for compliance with international and governmental laws and regulations, such as employment laws, prohibition of discrimination, and size of wages.

• Interviewing personnel to determine the cause of problems and identify possible solutions

• Conducting investigations and audits to ensure compliance with internal policies and regulatory standards 

• Relying on educational and training courses, which include possible methods of quality control, identifying areas that the company should support to improve the skills of its employees, and investing in education.

• Operations management and control to ensure that they comply with the company's standards in terms of quality and accuracy

• Identify potential risks or issues that could impact the company in the future.

• Reviewing employee performance evaluations to ensure compliance with hiring and quality policy requirements

• Studying operations implementation plans and evaluating workflow procedures.

How Can The Quality Auditing Process Be Properly Conducted? 

Quality auditing can be challenging if not done right. Therefore, the following steps must be followed to ensure its correct implementation:

• Determining the scope of the audit:

The first step of quality auditing focuses on identifying high-risk areas in the organisation. The goal is to analyse performance and give employees a clear direction between audits.

• Planning and preparation:

Good preparation is the key to audit success. Audit officers should take the time to plan and prepare for the audit. The process begins with the appointment of auditors (internal or external auditors). After that, work starts with the auditor to determine the general form of the audit, after which sufficient time is left before the audit starts. Thorough planning and preparation of the audit process should include:

• Scheduling timed intervals with advance notice of when the audits will take place 

• Determine the required resources.

• Gathering and organising the required paperwork

• Completing the audit

• Reporting the results

• Following up on corrective actions

• Audit execution

This step aims to start the actual fieldwork of the auditing and includes:

• Interviewing employees.

•  Audit management 

• Evaluating process and system controls

• Ongoing communication with stakeholders throughout the company.

• Reporting and Follow-up

After completing the audit, a comprehensive and detailed report must be prepared containing all the results and detailed information on the conformity or nonconformity of the products and processes with the established requirements. This allows performance and quality to be tracked and improved.

• Corrective action

If the results need to meet industry or company standards, a solution must be found immediately. Focus on and improve one or two areas and then track progress. Through regular and periodic examination and improvement, it is possible to ensure compliance with quality standards over time.

In Conclusion,

Audits can tell a person a lot about organisations and a business. They clarify a company's success and reassure investors, executives, and other stakeholders of the general state of its work to improve if needed.