The term “audit” generally induces visions of tax audits. You imagine endless questions and boxes of records, as you attempt to produce documentation to defend what you’ve done. Importantly though, these visions are not what should come to mind when you think of a quality assurance or safety third-party audit.
Third-party audits for QA and safety are not a penalty or a punishment – they are procedures to ensure compliance with ANSI/TPI 1 and OSHA regulations. In fact, audits provide many benefits.
What Audits Contribute
The following demonstrate some of the benefits of third-party audits conducted by non-biased professionals.
- Validation: An audit verifies your compliance with ANSI/TPI 1 and OSHA regulations and guidelines.
- Perspective: An audit puts another set of eyes on your operations from a person with a broad perspective. The auditor has an advantage that is improved with compliance audits experience in multiple environments and styles.
- Risk Control: An audit identifies potential issues or problems that can escalate and lead to losses and liability for the component manufacturer.
- Objectivity: An auditor’s basis is a standard of quality. It is a series of best practices that are shared among the auditor’s clientele. This sharing strengthens each individual’s quality program.
- Knowledge Base: An auditor’s knowledge of the codes and requirements are to a level of detail that is not reasonably obtainable for a component manufacturing manager.
- Uniqueness: Audits are inherently unique to each plant and personnel. They are specific to the plant’s safety and quality program.
- Accuracy: Due to its objective position, the results of a third-party audit often provide a more accurate view of what is occurring within a plant environment.
- Graded Results: While initial results often show lower audit scores, many fabricators realize that the results and evaluation can uncover long-standing issues of non-compliance and opportunities for loss that can be immediately fixed, thereby leading to a positive ROI for the audit program.
- Targeted Attention: Audits conducted by third parties are not a stress on in-house time and labor resources. Unlike an in-house quality review, the third-party auditor enters a location for the sole purpose of conducting the audit. They are not interrupted by the need to complete a job, conduct an employment interview, or deal with a customer situation.
The Bottom Line
The use of a third-party audit can bring great value to any manufacturer. Companies in other industries have seen that using a third party to conduct all audits throughout an organization or supplementing a third party for some of the audits brings a fresh set of eyes and a different approach to the research, review, and analysis of shop results, which can lead to reduced loss and overall earnings improvement.
Instead of dreading your next audit, consider it an opportunity to review your business and ensure you’re protecting your product quality and your bottom line.