Articles and Presentations Library
Knowledge-based Auditing
Many internal auditors have now developed a good understanding of the key elements and requirements that are contained within the ISO 14001 standard. Relatively uncomplicated matters such as control of documents, management review, policy and objective setting are audited to ensure that the key requirements are being met and without such scrutiny the effectiveness of the management system would surely falter and eventually become a worthless collection of procedures and records. However, as the amount of detail that is contained within an EMS increases, the auditor is required to develop more highly-tuned skills and abilities in order to make sense of this level of complexity.
A recent audit highlighted this situation as the number of potentially complex audit trails that could be followed were running into double figures and this highlighted the need for a carefully constructed checklist and timetable. These provided clear topic areas for the audit as well as restricting the scope to a couple of specific locations within the factory. In this case, the company was involved in engineering and manufactured a range of automotive components that were packaged and shipped around the world. On the day of the audit, the requirements of the packaging regulations were examined in detail. Although the site was in a compliance scheme, the information submitted to the managing company had not been audited internally, and a number of minor discrepancies were revealed that were classified as one minor nonconformity. As the audit trail progressed, it became clear that an important class of packaging had been missing from the submission data due to a ‘technical’ misunderstanding and this generated a more significant nonconformity for the company.
Investigations involving a greater degree of technical understanding and knowledge have increased as the level of detail increases within the regulatory framework. Understanding the detail associated with the carbon emission trading scheme, the hazardous waste regulations, the upcoming WEEE regulations, planning law and many others requires that the internal EMS auditor has to develop at least a basic understanding of a wide range of topics. This enables the right questions to be asked that has relevance to the area under investigation.
For the certification auditor, the necessary level of understanding and knowledge of environmental issues should extend well into specialist areas and beyond the requirements of ISO 14001. Demonstrating progress towards higher level qualifications and success in the attainment of recognised professional standards within the membership schemes that are available is a reflection of this need and should be encouraged at every opportunity.
John Marsden (FIEMA)
info@marsden-international.com
John is an independent management system auditor who works for a number of international certification bodies.
