Audits are designed to verify the compliance, conformance and effectiveness and efficiency of our Quality management System (QMS) as well as to improve our ability to satisfy our customers and run our business effectively. Internal audits of the QMS are systematically performed to ensure conformance with the ISO 9001 Standard and planned arrangements and to determine the overall effectiveness of the QMS. The overall intent of the internal audit program is to provide top management with relevant information on which to make sound business decisions.

The Audit program is designed so that the QMS processes are audited at an appropriate frequency based on their status (process performance metrics, complaints, changes, previous audit results, etc.) and importance (risk / effect of potential failure).  An audit schedule is maintained by the Quality Manager and regularly reviewed and updated as part of the Management Review Process.

One of the activities that should be regularly performed during process audits is evaluation of training effectiveness.  This is accomplished by sampling recently hired and/or trained employees and asking them relevant questions on the procedures, measures and improvement goals relating to their job function as well as customer feedback relevant to their job.  Additionally, recently changed or issued procedures should be sampled and implementation / training effectiveness assessed in the same manner.