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Ever wondered what being an Internal Auditor really involves?
All 100 plus of our Google reviews bring smiles to our faces but a recent review by Mike Rutland of Modularwise, manufacturers of modular buildings, brought great gusts of laughter and a flurry of internal emails congratulating our trainer on a job well done.
We simply had to share it with you as we were hooked from the very first sentence…
“I recently had the absolute pleasure to be promoted to such dizzying heights within my company that I attracted the job title of “Compliance Manager” instantly making me as popular as a case of Ebola with the staff.
They automatically assumed that I would become a stuffed shirt and, like a full nappy, hang around their backsides all day giving them grief. Well, until I could do so, I needed to be trained in the mystical ways of the auditor.”
You’re not alone, Mike. Being a compliance manager is often viewed as having carte blanche to embark on a one person power trip, a position rarely met with equanimity by other members of the team. You were wise to seek the help of an auditing ninja, although we’d recommend implementing an auditing schedule which doesn’t put your life at risk.
“To be an auditor, I thought I would need a frontal lobotomy, have all personality removed and my sense of enjoyment in life drained – so when the company booked me training with ISO Quality Services I was expecting all the joy to be drained from my corporeal body.”
Forgive us, Mike, but we don’t think one day would have been long enough remove all your personality, you clearly have bags of it. However, that would never have been our plan, even on a five day residential. Our values include ‘approachable’ and ‘authentic’, we greatly prefer collaborating with clients to draining them of vital signs of life.
“When my trainer arrived, his name was Dan, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was not only human, but a bloody good one with a sense of humour to boot.”
We’re increasingly relieved he has a sense of humour too, Mike.
“He was instantly set up ready to train, went through the basics with me, we had plenty to work at and before I knew it, it was lunchtime and we had covered loads of information. Not once did my brains dribble from my ears. He made the whole process painless and simplistic enough for me to do.”
Brain dribbling is in contravention of our clean floor policy (clause 3, subsection 4). We’re glad Dan remembered this.
“I went out onto the factory floor and he observed me taking live audits and even the guys on the shop floor responded positively. By the end of what turned out to be a very intensive, but highly enjoyable (yes, good people auditing can be fun) time, Dan was pleased to announce that I had passed the auditor training and I am now qualified to audit to ISO standard internally and externally.”
He’s a nice chap, our Dan. We can take him anywhere. He even manages to have fun whilst losing on our charity golf days (do come along, we think it’d be fun to have you).
“Would I do this again – in a word, yes. It was a great course, professionally delivered and excellently executed. Would I use ISO Quality Services Limited again? Let me ask you this – why wouldn’t you use them?”
Mike, it’s mutual. If ever we need a modular building, we’ll be straight round to yours.
A CLOSER LOOK AT MODULARWISE
Modularwise have built over 300 houses, flats and public spaces, comprising of nearly a thousand individual modules to date. Each one has an ITP, an Inspection Test Plan, which accompanies it throughout construction from the very first stage through to installation at site. The ITP lists the processes needed to complete each section of each building. It’s a great audit tool for Mike as he can quickly rattle down it checking that each task has been done.
ITPs are scanned and stored on the system so, in the unlikely event of an issue, Mike can look up who was responsible for that step or component. If it’s what Mike calls a ‘Friday afternoon’ issue, no further action is necessary other than fixing the problem on the affected building. If it looks like the problem could have been repeated on other buildings, he can use ITP records to identify which may be at risk so he can take remedial action.
THREE AUDITING TIPS, AS SHARED WITH MODULARWISE
Dan says, “Mike already had a very good understanding of the quality management system, so being able to fine tune his auditing ability was fairly straight forward.
Three tips I would offer anyone who finds themselves undertaking internal auditing are:
- Attend an ISOQSL Internal Auditor Training Course (I’m not biased at all, but this is by far the best training course around for internal auditing!)
- Ensure sufficient planning takes place prior to undertaking any internal auditing, for example, ensuring you have access to the relevant processes, procedures, documentation and people.
- When undertaking live audits, question everything using the 5 W’s – What, Where, When, Who and Why? Don’t forget the H which is critical to process and working practice alignment … How?”
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