Question: What's the one thing that ISO Auditor Training
can't give you?
Answer: Competency.
Repeatedly, ISO management system standards tell us that true competence has four elements, namely,
Element 1. Auditing Skills,
Element 2: Knowledge of the standard
Element 3: Technical expertise appropriate to the processes being audited, and
Element 4: Practical experience in auditing.
Whether you are an internal auditor, external auditor, audit program manager, or ISO consultant, you will need to work at building competence on a sound foundation of ISO Auditor/Implementer Certification.
Time and again, as a Certification Body auditor, I have found training records for internal auditors and for audit program managers/management representatives that claim competence but satisfy only one of the four criteria, the third one – technical expertise.
It’s as if the others don’t matter and one can learn as much as is required by mimicking colleagues who are ‘experienced’ auditors.
No one ever seems to recognize that this approach will perpetuate bad habits as well as good ones. And I have never seen an internal audit of an Internal Auditing Procedure that included interviews with the internal auditors to check their competency.
I say: Get your auditors trained! But then again, I would – I have a vested interest. But don’t let that blind you to the real benefits that should accrue to your organization. These include …
Benefit: External auditors, including those from customers and potential customers, will have far fewer nonconformities to find during their audits.
Benefit: Customer satisfaction and regulatory compliance is not left to chance. You’ll have objective evidence of the fulfilment of requirements here.
Benefit: Step-change improvements are rare. But, with the myriad of small improvements that internal audits can provide, significant reductions of waste, and improvements in efficiency can be achieved.
Historically, finding training courses for internal auditors has been problematic especially if standards other than ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 are involved. No more. With our online Auditor Training Courses, you can plan training to suit your own schedule. And the cost savings versus traditional training methods are significant too.
So, perhaps it’s time to reconsider training for your internal auditors?
An appropriate combination of technical skills (such as a relevant university degree, apprenticeship or other third level qualification) and of experience within the sector being audited is essential if an auditor doing internal audits, supplier audits or managing an audit programme if that auditor is to understand the context, processes, methods and the culture of the organization concerned. Three years of experience would be an absolute minimum here.
Since the 2010 version of ISO 19011, an ISO Auditor Certificate cannot be considered to bestow competence on the holder. Competence being defined in terms of one's ability to apply knowledge and skills has meant that since 2010 Certification Bodies have been required to keep records of the auditing practice and participation of their Lead Auditors that is the basis of the claim of their competency.
So, it's not about having a card in your wallet that says you've been registered on a meaningless ISO Auditor Register; it's not about having a Certificate on the wall behind your desk. It's about having put the skills and knowledge gained during your ISO Auditor training into practice by undertaking an ongoing series of audits. And a minimum of three audits per year has traditionally been taken as the minimum number of audits needed to maintain your Competence. Best of luck with your ISO Auditing.
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We have chosen ISO 21001 certification because, unlike IRCA and Exemplar badges (which, in our opinion, are commercially compromised), it is based on independent third-party assessment. It is a ‘university grade’ standard globally by schools, colleges, and universities to demonstrate their competence.