Business Excellence Why Audit ? Why Out Source ? Process Audits Unit Audit Principles	Why Audit ? BS EN ISO 9001:2000 now includes a focused extension to quality management system requirements. It contains eight new principles drawn up by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO). Benefits can be gained by assessing the impact of these during auditing. A process approach The desired result is achieved by relating the organisation's resources and activities to the managed processes. Continual improvement Continual improvement of the organisation's overall performance should be a permanent objective of the organisation. It is important to record the areas and processes that are achieving good results and to transport these across the business as well as looking for areas that require improvement action. A system approach to management By identifying, understanding and managing interrelated processes as a system this contributes to the organisation's effectiveness and efficiency in achieving its business objectives. End to end process audits can verify the effectiveness and interrelationsof the systems and report on any weaknesses, duplications and best practices. Customer focus All organisations depend on their customers and they should be committed to understanding, anticipating and responding to every customer's requirement to give product and service excellence. Assessors can help in providing a perception of service from a customer viewpoint and can test whether the feedback from consumer satisfaction and customer complaints data is being used effectively to improve the process. Leadership Leaders should establish a unity of purpose and direction for the organisation and create an environment in which people can become fully involved in achieving the organisation's objectives. It is important to verify that the company strategy is translated into objectives and targets that are communicated to everyone in the business and that the processes and business practices are in place to achieve and monitor these objectives. Involvement of people The organisation should recognise that people at all levels are the essence of an organisation and their full involvement enables their abilities to be used for the organisation's benefit. A factual approach to decision making Effective decision-making should be based on the logical analysis of data and information available. Often people are good at corrective action but weak on preventive action. Analysing the findings and data from assessments over a period of time to look for trends rather than just taking each assessment in isolation can achieve worthwhile improvement. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships An organisation and its suppliers are interdependent and a mutually beneficial relationship enhances the ability of both to create value. As a third party we can assess the effectiveness of the suppliers processes and commitment to the customers and standards. This could be externally or internally within your company.
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