ISO 19011:2018 Clause 7.2.3 Knowledge and skills

ISO 19011:2018 5 Minutes

7.2.3.1 General

Auditors should possess:
a) the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the intended results of the audits they are expected to perform;
b) generic competence and a level of discipline and sector-specific knowledge and skills.
Audit team leaders should have the additional knowledge and skills necessary to provide leadership to the audit team.

Auditors should possess the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the intended results of the audits they are expected to perform. Auditors play a key role in ensuring the effectiveness of these audits. Here are some essential knowledge and skills that auditors should possess:

  1. Understanding of ISO Standards: Auditors must have a comprehensive understanding of the specific ISO standard they are auditing against. This includes knowledge of the standard’s requirements, structure, and interpretation.
  2. Audit Principles and Techniques: Auditors should be familiar with audit principles, methodologies, and techniques. This involves knowing how to plan and conduct audits, gather and evaluate evidence, and report findings.
  3. Industry Knowledge: Depending on the type of organization being audited, auditors should have industry-specific knowledge. This helps them better understand the context and specific challenges of the organization they are auditing.
  4. Communication Skills: Effective communication is crucial for auditors. They need to communicate clearly with the auditee, gather relevant information, and report findings in a way that is easily understood by all stakeholders.
  5. Analytical Skills: Auditors must be able to analyze information and make informed judgments based on evidence. This includes the ability to identify non-conformities and assess the severity and impact of these findings.
  6. Ethical Behavior: Auditors must adhere to a high standard of ethical behavior. This includes maintaining confidentiality, avoiding conflicts of interest, and ensuring impartiality during the audit process.
  7. Documentation and Reporting: Auditors should be proficient in documenting their findings accurately and in a systematic manner. Writing clear and concise audit reports is essential for conveying information to the organization being audited and other relevant parties.
  8. Teamwork and Interpersonal Skills: In many cases, auditors work as part of a team. Being able to collaborate effectively with colleagues and auditees is important for a successful audit.
  9. Continuous Learning: ISO standards are subject to updates and changes. Auditors should stay informed about any revisions to the standards and engage in continuous learning to enhance their skills and knowledge.
  10. Regulatory Compliance Knowledge: Depending on the industry and location, auditors may need to be aware of and understand relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

By possessing these knowledge and skills, auditors can contribute to the success of ISO audits, ensuring that organizations comply with standards and continually improve their management systems.

Auditors should possess the generic competence and a level of discipline and sector-specific knowledge and skills. Thestatement emphasizes the importance of auditors having a combination of generic competence, discipline, and sector-specific knowledge and skills. Let’s break down each aspect:

  1. Generic Competence:
    • Audit Principles and Techniques: Auditors should be well-versed in the fundamental principles and techniques of auditing, irrespective of the industry. This includes understanding how to plan and conduct audits, collect evidence, and assess compliance with standards.
    • Communication Skills: Effective communication is a generic competence that is crucial for auditors. This includes verbal and written communication skills to convey findings, discuss issues with auditees, and produce clear and concise audit reports.
    • Analytical Skills: The ability to analyze information objectively and make sound judgments is a generic competence that applies to auditors across different sectors.
  2. Discipline:
    • Ethical Behavior: Discipline is vital for auditors to adhere to ethical principles, maintain integrity, and ensure impartiality throughout the audit process. This includes handling confidential information responsibly and avoiding conflicts of interest.
    • Documentation and Reporting: A disciplined approach to documenting audit processes and findings is essential. Auditors should follow established procedures and ensure that their reports are accurate, thorough, and comply with relevant standards.
  3. Sector-Specific Knowledge and Skills:
    • Industry Regulations: Depending on the sector, auditors need to be familiar with industry-specific regulations and standards. This knowledge is essential for accurately assessing compliance and identifying potential areas of improvement.
    • Technical Understanding: Sector-specific audits may require auditors to have a technical understanding of the processes, products, or services within the industry. This knowledge helps in evaluating the effectiveness of the management system.
    • Risk Assessment: Understanding sector-specific risks is crucial for auditors. This involves identifying potential risks and evaluating how well an organization’s management system addresses and mitigates those risks.

In summary, auditors need a balance of generic competence, discipline, and sector-specific knowledge and skills to perform effective and meaningful audits. This combination enables auditors to assess organizations in a comprehensive manner, taking into account both general principles of auditing and the unique aspects of the specific industry or sector being audited.

Audit team leaders should have the additional knowledge and skills necessary to provide leadership to the audit team. The role of an audit team leader is pivotal in ensuring the success of an audit. Here are some additional knowledge and skills that audit team leaders should possess:

  1. Leadership Skills:
    • Team Management: The ability to effectively manage and lead a diverse team of auditors is crucial. This involves assigning responsibilities, coordinating activities, and fostering a collaborative team environment.
    • Motivation and Inspiration: A good audit team leader should be able to motivate and inspire team members to perform at their best. This includes recognizing and appreciating individual contributions.
    • Conflict Resolution: Leadership skills also involve resolving conflicts within the team and ensuring a harmonious working relationship among team members.
  2. Audit Process Expertise:
    • Comprehensive Understanding: A team leader should have a deep understanding of the entire audit process, from planning to reporting. This includes knowing how to effectively execute each phase of the audit.
    • Quality Assurance: Ensuring the quality and consistency of audit processes and outcomes is a key responsibility. Team leaders should implement measures to maintain high standards throughout the audit.
  3. Communication and Stakeholder Management:
    • Effective Communication: The ability to communicate clearly and effectively is crucial for a team leader. This includes communicating with team members, auditees, and other stakeholders.
    • Stakeholder Management: Team leaders often interact with various stakeholders, including senior management and external parties. Being able to manage these relationships is essential for the success of the audit.
  4. Decision-Making and Problem-Solving:
    • Decisiveness: Audit team leaders need to make informed and timely decisions, especially when unexpected issues arise during the audit process.
    • Problem-Solving Skills: The ability to identify and solve problems is critical. This includes addressing challenges related to the audit itself or any interpersonal issues within the team.
  5. Risk Management:
    • Risk Identification: Team leaders should be skilled in identifying potential risks that may impact the audit process and outcomes.
    • Risk Mitigation: Developing strategies to mitigate risks and ensure the smooth progress of the audit is an important aspect of leadership.
  6. Continuous Improvement:
    • Learning and Development: Leading an audit team involves promoting a culture of continuous improvement. This includes identifying areas for team development and facilitating learning opportunities.

In essence, audit team leaders play a central role in orchestrating a successful audit. Their leadership skills, combined with a solid understanding of the audit process and effective communication, contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire audit team.

Published by Pretesh Biswas

Pretesh Biswas has wealth of qualifications and experience in providing results-oriented solutions for your system development, training or auditing needs. He has helped dozens of organizations in implementing effective management systems to a number of standards. He provide a unique blend of specialized knowledge, experience, tools and interactive skills to help you develop systems that not only get certified, but also contribute to the bottom line. He has taught literally hundreds of students over the past 5 years. He has experience in training at hundreds of organizations in several industry sectors. His training is unique in that which can be customized as to your management system and activities and deliver them at your facility. This greatly accelerates the learning curve and application of the knowledge acquired. He is now ex-Certification body lead auditor now working as consultancy auditor. He has performed hundreds of audits in several industry sectors. As consultancy auditor, he not just report findings, but provide value-added service in recommending appropriate solutions. Experience Consultancy: He has helped over 100 clients in a wide variety of industries achieve ISO 9001,14001,27001,20000, OHSAS 18001 and TS 16949 certification. Industries include automotive, metal stamping and screw machine, fabrication, machining, assembly, Forging electrostatic and chrome plating, heat-treating, coatings, glass, plastic and rubber products, electrical and electronic equipment, assemblies & components, batteries, computer hardware and software, printing, placement and Security help, warehousing and distribution, repair facilities, consumer credit counseling agencies, banks, call centers, etc. Training: He has delivered public and on-site quality management training to over 1000 students. Courses include ISO/TS -RAB approved Lead Auditor, Internal Auditing, Implementation, Documentation, as well as customized ISO/TS courses, PPAP, FMEA, APQP and Control Plans. Auditing: He has conducted over 100 third party registration and surveillance audits and dozens of gap, internal and pre-assessment audits to ISO/QS/TS Standards, in the manufacturing and service sectors. Other services: He has provided business planning, restructuring, asset management, systems and process streamlining services to a variety of manufacturing and service clients such as printing, plastics, automotive, transportation and custom brokerage, warehousing and distribution, electrical and electronics, trading, equipment leasing, etc. Education & professional certification: Pretesh Biswas has held IRCA certified Lead Auditor for ISO 9001,14001 and 27001. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a MBA in Systems and Marketing. Prior to becoming a business consultant 6 years ago, he has worked in several portfolios such as Marketing, operations, production, Quality and customer care. He is also certified in Six Sigma Black belt .

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