In the following article, we will see all the information regarding a quality Manufacturing Audit: what it is and what it is for, objectives and the types of quality audits.
What is a manufacturing audit?
A manufacturing audit is an evaluation in which it is verified that the processes that are carried out within a company, whether they are productive, services, etc., are in accordance with the objectives of the Quality Management System (QMS). Quality audits give the company confidence in the quality manual with which it works.
It is worth mentioning that the audits are worthy of the recommendation of, in this case, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). That is why this process is focused as one of the indispensable requirements when opting for the certification of the ISO 9001 standard.
What is a quality audit for?
The audits serve to reduce inconveniences, errors, and improve the effectiveness of the company. Also, bring it closer to the levels of quality recognizable in the market and before the competition.
Specific objectives of manufacturing quality audits:
Carrying out an audit arises from some need, either due to the lack of quality or due to the constant errors in our company. For this, you must keep in mind what are the specific objectives of this process that is carried out constantly:
- It focuses on the observation and analysis of the system with a view to improving the quality of said systems, processes, and organization.
- It focuses on the observation of conditions or situations of any nature, sometimes given by errors or flaws, with a degree of evaluation and detailed detail proportional to the importance of the quality of the processes required.
- It focuses on the study of samples taken from production tests in the processes.
- Comparisons are made according to the existing references of the previous production that allow determining differences, similarities, and / or improvements.
Steps of a successful audit:
1. Plan the audit: Study and evaluate which will be the company processes in which you will apply your audit and document about the elements that you will have to analyze as actors, managers, instructions, purpose, and function of the department. Set calendars.
2. Plan audits by processes: Once the general plan is established, contact the representatives of each process and guide the audits. So, a schedule is established that allows you to dedicate the same time to each department.
3. Carry out the audit: It should start with a previous meeting with those responsible for the process and thus finalize the audit, which will range from observing the process in action to brief interviews with the workers. The auditor has the power to obtain data through the channel that he prefers.
4. Report on the audit: Once it has been carried out, there should be another meeting between the auditor and the person responsible for the process, who will be informed about the parts of the department that represent failures and their possible solution. It is advisable to leave everything in writing.
5. Follow up: It is one of the most essential steps since the correction of errors and the success of our audit are supervised.