|
ISO 19011: 2002 (Guidelines
for quality and/or
environmental management
systems auditing) ,
was published in October
2002 in response to demand
for guidance on combined
management system audits. It
replaced BS EN ISO
14010:1996, BS EN ISO
14011:1996 and BS EN ISO
14012:1996.
It offers comprehensive
guidelines for quality
and/or environmental
management systems audit.
The objective is that by
using this document,
organizations can save
effort, time, effort and
expenditure by:
 |
Avoiding confusion
over the objectives
of the environmental
or quality audit
program.
|
|
|
Ensuring audit
reports follow the
best format and
contain all the
relevant
information.
|
|
|
Securing agreement
of the goals for
individual audits
within an audit
program.
|
|
|
Evaluating the
competence of
members of an audit
team against
appropriate
criteria.
|
|
|
Reducing duplication
of effort when
conducting combined
environmental/quality
audits.
|
Whatever the reason for the
audit (certification,
internal review, contract
compliance, etc) it is
intended that organizations
can move efficiently through
the process by applying
these guidelines.
It is always worth
remembering that the final
cost of failing an
environmental management
systems audit can take a
number of different forms,
amongst them:
 |
organizations can lose
valuable contracts or
important third party
certifications;
|
|
|
an expensive range of
improvements may be
demanded by a client;
|
|
|
there may be a resultant
erosion of efficiency;
etc.
|
|
SIMS Quality Management System (QMS) Consulting & Training