ISO certified remote audit

ISO certified remote audit instructions

When you seek ISO certification, the certification body will conduct an audit to determine whether your organization meets the required standards. Before COVID-19, audits were always conducted through on-site visits, but today most ISO audits in the UK are conducted remotely-using technology to make this possible.

What is remote "desktop" auditing?

To assess whether your organization complies with ISO standards, we review the evidence of how you delivered the product or service. This evidence includes reviewing documents, systems, processes, and behaviors. Traditionally, we would visit your premises and conduct an assessment on site, but now there is another option.

The remote "desktop" audit means that neither our assessors nor your team need to complete the audit on site. The whole process can be carried out remotely using online platforms (such as Microsoft Teams). If an on-site visit is required for the audit, the audit plan will identify the elements of a specific site, which will need to be reviewed by our auditors as part of this process.

How does remote audit work?

1. Determine if remote auditing is appropriate

We first conduct a risk assessment to determine whether your organization is eligible for remote audits. We may ask you to provide more information to complete this operation. If you don’t have the proper technology to support remote audits, don’t worry, on-site audits should still be possible. However, due to the occurrence of COVID-19, we will need to conduct a second risk assessment to determine whether the on-site audit is safe.

2. Meet your auditor

If remote review is possible, we will contact you to arrange a convenient date. Then, shortly before your review, your reviewer will contact you to introduce yourself and determine which online platform/online platforms you will use to complete the review. Then, you will receive a meeting invitation for remote review.

You should ensure that all necessary documents are prepared in advance—just like an on-site audit—and that all suitable team members can be interviewed on the same day.

Your auditor may also ask you to send documents in advance, such as internal audits, management reviews, key processes, and site plans. This will help ensure that the process is efficient and give auditors more opportunities to focus on certification-related process-based activities during the audit.

3. Prepare your remote audit platform

Microsoft Teams is our recommended platform for completing remote audits. It provides chat, video conferencing and file exchange, and can be used for free. You also need a reliable Internet connection-Microsoft recommends at least 2Mbps.

You can also use video chat services on mobile devices, such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Zoom, and Skype, to conduct interviews and field trips; phones that cannot choose video; text chat to share information; and document sharing tools such as OneDrive and Dropbox. If you have an online management system, such as BAB Activ, we can also remotely audit your management system.

We recommend testing the platform and tools you agree to before the audit day, and ensuring that everyone who needs access has it. Although most remote audits do not have any technical problems, if there is a problem, such as a poor Internet connection, the auditor will do their best to continue.

4. On the day of review

Just like an on-site audit, your remote audit will start and end at the agreed time. The only difference is that the interaction will take place remotely via your preferred platform. The auditor will not be online with you all day, and there will be reasonable rest periods throughout the day.

You will receive an audit plan in advance, which will serve as a timetable for the day, detailing the time for the audit process and the time for your personnel to conduct interviews. If necessary, the plan will also confirm any necessary site visits in the future.

What are the benefits of remote auditing?

The occurrence of COVID-19 means that not all organizations can do business as usual, but this is the perfect time to think strategically and take measures (such as the ISO management system) and make sure you are prepared for the next thing. We have been developing remote audits for some time and have worked closely with UKAS to ensure they are as effective as possible.

Here are some benefits:

• Remote auditing has less impact on daily business.

• No matter where your team is currently working, they are delivered according to the same standards as on-site audits.

• Video technology can be used to remotely visit the site when needed.

• No need to worry about taking COVID-19 measures for your auditors.

• Maintain the latest standards without affecting the health and safety of the team.

  
  

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If you think that remote auditing may be the right way for your company to obtain ISO certification, just click the "Get a Quote" button and fill in the quotation form, and one of our experts will contact you.