What is a quality audit

It is practically proven that the importance of internal quality auditing lies in preventing the low level of the quality management system adopted in any company on the one hand, and on the other hand, providing accurate information on the areas for developing the system.

It is self-evident that the final achievement of these two aspects prepares the appropriate ground for achieving the satisfaction of the beneficiaries of the company’s products through rapid experiments with their desires, needs and expectations, whatever they may be, in application of the main principle of marketing activity that states (the beneficiaries are always right), and this principle is what governs the relationship between producer and consumer.

The audit process is a continuous process performed by individuals who are independent of the audited work, and it requires the availability of the skill, qualification and sufficient training of the auditor so that it can achieve its objective. The audit task remains to correct the course of work and not to blame anyone or search for errors. It also emphasizes working on the principle of doing the thing. Right the first time.

The goal of applying quality is the suitability of the product or service for use and its conformity with the needs and specifications expected by the beneficiaries, and the continuity of this work means ensuring or confirming the quality.

Definition of audit:

It is a systematic, independent and documented examination process for the purpose of obtaining reference evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria specified in ISO 9001 of 2008 have been met.

In short, it is an independent systematic evaluation process.

What is meant by evaluation is the evaluation or weight of activities related to the quality function by comparing what is with what should be.

By regular, it means that the audit must be carried out in accordance with the check lists and in accordance with the requirements of the international standard ISO (9001) for the year 2001.

What is meant by the independent is that the audit must be carried out by the audit or an auditor from another department, i.e. impartiality.

The audit standard includes a set of policies, procedures or requirements that are used as a reference.

Scope of audit – audit boundaries such as: location – organizational units – activities and processes that will be audited.

* Audit objectives: The audit process aims to prevent the level of effectiveness of the quality system from decreasing from the level determined by the ISO 9001 standard expressed in the requirements within the internal quality audit component through: –

1- Identify the problems

2- Ensuring continuous improvement in quality.

3- Identifying the extent of the expected and planned impact through monitoring and auditing.

4- Determine the source of information related to achieving quality.

5- Focusing on the indicators that achieve the goal.

6- Simplifying work procedures to achieve better productivity and better quality.

7- Creating continuous feedback.

8- Provide a good tool to verify the effectiveness of the system and support senior management in decision-making

Reasons for checking:

The audit is carried out for the following reasons:

1- When the organization wants to ensure the effectiveness of the quality management system.

2- When the customer wants to make sure that the supplier’s system qualifies him to supply the product / service that has been audited (whether before or during processing).

3- If a fundamental change occurs in the system applied in the organization.

4- The desire of the organization to obtain a certificate of conformity to international quality management systems, as internal auditing is a major requirement of the ISO 9001 standard.

Qualities of the auditor: The personal characteristics required to be available in the auditor are:

1- Decent, loyal, honest, respectful, honest, calm, wise.

2- Open-minded, diplomatic, tactful, observant.

3- He does not get angry quickly (frank, clear, quick-witted, able to persuade, understanding)

4- Flexible (able to adapt to circumstances)

5- Deliberate (able to quickly identify a problem without using reasoning).

6- Able to overcome difficulties.

7- Social (able to win and work with others at all levels).

8- Organized (able to formulate the problem in a logical and organized manner)

There are other qualifications related to eligibility that the auditor must have:

1- Adequate scientific and practical qualification.

2- Impartiality and independence in the examination and review process.

3- Exert due and reasonable care when performing the audit task.

* The auditor’s relationship with others

The internal auditor rarely has personal powers to take corrective actions, and the responsibility rests with senior management and its representatives. The role of the auditor remains neutral, but he must contribute to creating conviction among the management to take corrective measures and prevent recurrence of criticism.