SC QUALITY GUILDAudit plan and schedule
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Write the objectives, scope and criteria for one audit, assign the team, build the timetable, and check it for scope gaps, double-booked auditors and auditors in their own area.
ON THE EXAM · CQA II.A.1, II.A.2, II.A.4, II.A.7, II.B.3, II.B.7 · FREE · NOTHING YOU TYPE LEAVES YOUR BROWSER
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What an audit plan contains
The audit plan turns one entry in the audit program into a working schedule. ISO 19011:2018 clause 6.3.2 describes its contents; in summary, the plan covers:
- Objectives: why the audit is being done, for example to determine conformity with the criteria or to check whether earlier corrective actions worked.
- Scope: the extent and boundaries: sites, processes, functions, shifts and the period of records covered, plus anything excluded.
- Criteria: the requirements the evidence is compared with, such as ISO 9001 clauses, internal procedures, contracts and regulations.
- Dates, places, methods, team roles, guides and the time allocated to each area.
Objectives, scope and criteria are a favorite exam trio. If a question describes "the requirements used as a reference", it means criteria; "the extent and boundaries", scope.
Choosing the team
The lead auditor is accountable for the audit and for the team. Auditors are selected for competence in the processes and criteria and for independence from the work audited. A technical expert gives specific knowledge but works under the direction of an auditor; an auditor in training audits under supervision; guides (from the auditee) and observers accompany the team but do not take part in the audit. The tool flags sessions where none of the people present is a lead auditor or auditor, and auditors placed in their home department.
Opening and closing meetings
The opening meeting confirms the plan with the auditee, introduces the team, confirms communication channels, safety and confidentiality arrangements, and sets the time of the closing meeting. The closing meeting presents the findings and conclusions so they are understood, and agrees the timeframe for the auditee's response. Team meetings in between let auditors share evidence and agree how observations will be classified before anything is presented.
Reading the checks
Scope areas that never appear in the timetable will not be audited, and areas in the timetable but outside the scope are scope creep. The plan is a guide, not a contract: the lead auditor can adjust it as evidence emerges, but changes to scope should be agreed with the audit client.
On the CQA exam
Expect scenarios asking which element is missing from a plan, who decides the scope (the audit client, with the lead auditor), what belongs in an opening meeting, and how to staff an audit fairly.