ISO 9001 & IATF 16949 Surveillance Audit Guidance
Companies are struggling to keep up with audits specifically Surveillance and Re-Certification audits across Canada and America. When standard is not treated as live document, it is difficult to keep the system running while complying with the paper requirements. Companies encounter most of the nonconformities during ISO 9001 & IATF 16949 Surveillance Audit.
Kadmar Consultants helps organizations to avoid ISO & IATF repeat failures during any audit and keep them audit ready throughout the year by strengthening their Quality Management Systems.
Surveillance Audit Failure- Manufacturing Related
Outdated ISO & IATF Documentation
When documented information is not captured correctly and operations are not standardize, it becomes difficult to update documents as per requirements.
Common fallout are; Work Instruction, procedures, Control plans, PFMEA not integrated and linked with one another, Annual reviews missed, and document not gets updated after process change. These reasons become the main factor for audit failures.
Solution:
Kadmar Consultants understands the importance of surveillance audit and customer demand- We help standardize processes and documents the system keeps running.
Corrective Actions Are Not Closed
Another major reason for surveillance audit failure is ineffective corrective action or if corrective actions are not closed properly. The reason that leads to ineffective corrective action is poor problem analysis and investigation. Missing 5 Whys and 8D reports and missing the entire verification and validation steps also leads to corrective action failure.
Solution:
Kadmar Consultants provides integrated Complaint Handling System that helps with eliminating repeat issues and provides a structured approach for corrective action process.
Weak Internal Audits
Internal audits keep the system compliant and check the health of the Quality Management System (QMS). If internal audits are not planned, structured and does not follow the process approach they will not be able to give the intended result and eventually the QMS will fail.
Struggles with Internal Audits Companies Faces
- Internal auditors are not competent.
- Internal audits do not cover all processes.
- Internal audit frequency is not based on risk factor and does not follow 3-year cycle.
Solution:
Kadmar offers ISO 9001 Internal Auditor Training and IATF 16949 Internal Auditor Training across Canada and America that strengthens your QMS and keeps system running. We also serve as QMS admin and drive your QMS so you can achieve operational excellence.
Surveillance Audit Failure- Automotive Related
Management Review Gaps
The most common surveillance audit failures are due to poor management review process. Management review process not including all the inputs and outputs as required by the standard and poor evaluation and review process.
The common inputs that are missed are as below,
- Customer-specific requirements.
- Internal Audit and External Audit Results.
- Warranty performance.
- Field returns.
- PPM trends.
If these are missing — NC guaranteed.
Lack of Continuous Improvement Evidence
ISO and IATF are continuous improvement tool that help organization run in Plan Do Check Act cycle and continually improves the performance. Most organization that do not treat ISO 9001 and IATF as strategic tool have difficulties in improving its performance and are unable to show evidence of improvement.
Competence & Training Records Missing
Another major failure, not only for the audit but the organization as a whole, is missing the intend of the standard. If organization personnel are not trained, and competent- KPI will not be achieved, issues on the line will continue to increase, operator error will increase and organization will continue to run in reactive mode.
Supplier Management System Weak
Companies that don’t review their supplier’s performance and don’t assess risk, are caught during surveillance audit. Companies that ignores supplier audits, supplier scorecards and don’t tracked corrective actions will eventually lead into decline state and will lose customer trust.
Poor Communication
Poor communication is another reason of audit failures. When cross-functional teams from top to bottom don’t align on company’s scope and vision- The company’s performance will eventually decline. Employees are asset and must be trained on company’s primary processes and documents. Employees unaware of quality policy, ISO objective and IATF customer-specific requirements shows big gap in the QMS foundation and causes difficulty in successful audit.
FAQs
Q1: Why do companies fail ISO & IATF surveillance audits?
Ans: All of the above reasons explained are the contributing factors of failing the audit.
Q2: How often are ISO and IATF surveillance audits conducted?
Ans: Every 12 months during the 3-year certification cycle.
Q3: What happens if a company fails an IATF or ISO audit?
Ans: They may receive major NCs, require immediate corrective actions, risk suspension, or lose certification.
Q4: How can companies prepare for ISO 9001 & IATF 16949 surveillance audits?
Ans: By following the above guidelines you will be able to pass your audits with no issue.
Q5: How does Kadmar Consultants help companies with ISO and IATF audits?
Ans: Through training, consulting, gap assessments, Internal auditor, corrective action support.
Contact Us Today
- ISO 9001 Consulting.
- IATF 16949 Consulting.
- ISO & IATF Internal Auditor Training.
- Core Tools Training (FMEA, MSA, SPC, APQP).
- GAP & Pre-Assessment Audits.
- Corrective Action & Root Cause Analysis Training.
- Serve as QMS Admin- Kadmar acts as Internal Auditor for your QMS.
Book your ISO 9001 & IATF 16949 Internal Auditor Training Today and get 20% Discount.
Author: Asma Rashid
Kadmar Consultants helps Canada & America manufacturers achieve ISO 9001 and IATF 16949 certification through consulting, training & audit.