After an audit has been completed, there is occasionally the need for a concern to be raised by a client and resolved in an organized fashion. Disputes – also known as “appeals” – are officially-filed disagreements on the auditee’s part regarding one or more of the conclusions drawn by their auditor. These usually refer to nonconformances, but there is no strict definition of what can be raised in a dispute.

Regardless of why a dispute is filed (usually they are based in disagreements over evidence or the relevancy of audit criteria), it’s important for PJR clients to know that our auditors are encouraged and trained to be forthright and transparent. This helps the final decision in an audit to be as informed as possible.

Nevertheless, disagreements happen – and the appeal process is clearly outlined in PJR’s PRO-10 procedure, as required by ISO 17021-1:2015. Once the steps of the dispute process are followed, there are three possible outcomes:

1. The disputed nonconformance is upheld.
2. The disputed nonconformance is overturned.
3. The disputed nonconformance is upheld but reduced.

At the end of the day, our goal at PJR is for clients to trust us as partners in their certification process both during the audit and beyond. Offering a straightforward dispute process allows open communication, and maintaining a team of experienced, well-trained auditors reduces the number of disputes we might see; in fact, an average year may only see 20 appeals!

If you have questions about the dispute process or the post-audit relationship with PJR, don’t hesitate to reach out.

For those businesses without an existing QMS or ISO certification, the process can be intimidating – avoiding these nine missteps can smooth the way!

1. Avoid overcomplicating your system. Documentation, forms, and other parts of the QMS are supposed to help daily business, not slow it down or make it harder.
2. Uncommitted management. No QMS can function effectively if upper management is not supportive and involved.
3. Total reliance on one individual. “Dumping” development, execution, and maintenance of your QMS onto one employee is the opposite of the systemic structure that a QMS entails!
4. Rushing. Ensure that your QMS is well-developed and offers provable results before charging head-on into certification.
5. Copy-pasting other companies’ systems. Just like no two businesses are exactly alike, no two QMS should be exactly alike; build around unique strengths and challenges for best results!
6. Insufficient training. Robust training and employee awareness campaigns are a must to ensure awareness of what the QMS is and how it works at all levels of a business.
7. Lack of customer awareness. Customer satisfaction is a key aspect of a QMS; being aware of your customers’ wants and needs should be a no-brainer!
8. Improper corrective action. Though complex and often frustrating, Root Cause Analysis is a cornerstone of a thorough QMS. Not sure how to approach it?
   Check out PJR’s webinar on the topic!
9. Poor internal auditor. Be sure to choose an internal auditor who is experienced and well-trained in your industry and is properly qualified for your certification standard of choice!

While quality is king today in almost every industry, it only achieved formal study and definition in the early 20th century. We can thank the Industrial Revolution and the birth of mass production for giving us two principles key to certification: Quality Control and Quality Assurance.

Those new to manufacturing or to certification may wonder – “What’s the difference between the two? Isn’t Quality just… Quality?” While quality is as quality does, control and assurance are certainly two different concepts.

Quality Assurance (QA) is focused upon providing confidence to both consumers and internal staff alike that quality requirements will be met. In broad terms, QA is understood to be made up of all process controls, training activities, signage, machine engineering, etc. that is implemented to ensure product compliance.

Quality Control (QC) focuses on catching errors; it includes all various inspection and testing activities performed by an organization (both in-house and by subcontractors).

QC can be considered a part of QA, but an effective QA policy cannot be made up of only QC controls and processes.

One of the most common points of confusion in the audit process is Root Cause Analysis. How do you know if you’ve truly found (and corrected) the root cause of an issue that caused a nonconformance?

The simple answer is that once the issue can be turned on and off like a light switch by applying or removing the corrective action, then it can be assumed that you’ve found the root cause! Treating only the individual issue, rather than the underlying systemic issue, is similar to taking a fever reducer rather than treating an underlying bacterial infection; you’ve addressed the symptom, but not cured the problem causing it.

Corrective actions should be followed by preventive actions, and not confused with each other. Preventive actions address one of these questions:

“What other systems exist that might have similar flaws that could become the root cause of a nonconformance?” or “What system(s) could I have had in place to prevent this from happening?”

The mindset of regularly looking for ways in which to improve systems to eliminate the need for future corrective action is a key aspect of ISO certification; make it a part of your routine!

Perry Johnson Registrars, Inc. (also known as PJR) is an accredited third-party Certification Body offering a wide range of audit and certification services to popular standards such as ISO 9001, Responsible Recycling (R2), ISO 27001, AS9100, and more! With auditors located around the world, we’re proud to offer our years of experience in the certification industry to clients all over the globe.

In addition to certification, PJR offers a number of complimentary learning tools – completely free of charge! – to both clients and prospective clients alike. From free online training courses on ISO 9001 and 45001 to regularly-scheduled live webinars and myriad whitepapers to the very blog you’re reading now, PJR is committed to keeping you up-to-date on the latest and greatest news and information in the industry. Don’t see a resource you think would be useful? Let us know! We are always open to suggestions for new webinar topics, articles, and the like.

As for this blog, we hope to start a dialogue on various topics as well as more easily share information – we look forward to engaging with our audience with this and future entries!