3.10 Audits

Why don't you check out our Audits Modules Video Tutorial.

 

isCompliant Tutorials: Audit Templates from isCompliant on Vimeo.

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This video shows you how to create Audit Templates within isCompliant.

For more information visit www.iscompliant.com

Creating audit templates makes the auditing process much simpler, as they can be stored and used repeatedly as required. This module allows for well-planned, structured audits and inspections. They can be carried out reasonably quickly, with relatively little disruption.

3.10.1       Creating an Audit Template

• From your isCompliant dashboard, click on the Templates link below the Audits module.
• Click the New Template button in the bottom right hand corner.
• Enter the Name of the template.
• Select the Default Auditor, Site and Room where applicable, and add a Description where necessary.
• Note: these can be amended when you arrange the audit if the details change.
• Publication Details 

• Do not share: This keeps the templates private to your organisation
• Private: Enables other companies within your Consultants network to see them
• Public: Enables all other isCompliant clients to see the templates. This can often be hand for organisations that want to advertise their capabilities in areas such as inspections and audits etc.

• Click Save.

3.10.2       Adding detail to an Audit Template

Details: As explained in Section 3.10.1, you can add the default audit details here.

Default Attendees: In the Default Attendees tab, you can add any employees who will usually attend these audits by selecting them from the green drop down box. Once you have selected an employee, a duplicate box will appear below for you to add another. If you need to delete a default attendee, click the Delete button next to their name.

Note: when an audit is scheduled using the template, you can amend this list if you need to add or remove any attendees.

Default Agenda: The Default Agenda tab allows you to add in any items that are to be routinely audited. Type the Number and Item into the green boxes, click the relevant checkbox if it relates to Quality (QUA), Health and Safety (H&S) or Environmental (ENV) matters, and click Save. A new green row will appear underneath it for you to add the next item.

Default Risks: The Default Risks tab can be used if the audit is to function as an inspection relating to a risk assessment. Select the relevant risk assessment from the drop down box.

Audits: The Audits tab shows any audits that you have carried out or scheduled using the template. You are also able to view and edit the records of those audits by clicking on the corresponding Edit button.

3.10.3       Editing or Deleting an Audit Template

You can edit an audit template by clicking on the Templates link under the Audits module on the dashboard and clicking the corresponding Edit button. If you have permission to edit within this module, you will be able to navigate the tabs as above and make any necessary changes.

To delete an audit template, click the Edit button to open it, then click the orange Delete button at the bottom right of the screen.

3.10.4       Scheduling an Ad-Hoc Audit

To schedule an ad-hoc audit without using an audit template, follow these steps:

• Open the Audits module.
• Click the New Ad-hoc button in the bottom right hand corner. Alternatively you can click the New Ad-hoc link underneath the Audits module on the dashboard.
• Enter the Name of the audit.
• If you have chosen to manually insert codes to this module, you will need to insert a unique reference Code for the record. See Section 2.3.4 on Coding Rules for more information.
• Select the Auditor, Site and Room where applicable.
• Enter a Date, Start Time and End Time, and an End Date if it is scheduled to last more than one day.
• Note: it is advisable to use the 24 hour clock when entering start and end times due to the audit invitations connecting with the employee’s Outlook calendar.
• Add an Audit Scope & Criteria where necessary.
• Click Save.
• Add details to the Attendees and Agenda tabs, as described in Section 3.10.7.
• Click Save.

3.10.5       Scheduling an Audit using a Template

To schedule an audit using a template you have already created (see Section 3.10.1), follow these steps:

• Open the Audits module.
• Click the Arrange Audit button in the bottom right hand corner.
• Find the audit template you would like to use, and click the New Audit button next to it.
• The key details that you set in your template will already be included, but you can edit any of them if you need to.
• If you have chosen to manually insert codes to this module, you will need to insert a unique reference Code for the record. See Section 2.3.4 on Coding Rules for more information.

• Enter a Date, Start Time and End Time, and an End Date if it is scheduled to last more than one day.

 

• Note: it is advisable to use the 24 hour clock when entering start and end times due to the audit invitations connecting with the employee’s Outlook calendar.
• If there are open actions remaining from previous audits using the template, you will be asked if you would like to include them in your Agenda for this audit. They will be included by default, but if you do not wish to include them you can click on the checkbox to untick it.

• Click Save.

 

Note: It is prudent to check the Agenda tab when scheduling a meeting from a template in case you need to edit, add or delete any items specific to this meeting.

3.10.6       Inviting Attendees to an Audit

To invite attendees to the audit, the Status of the audit will need to be changed to Prepared. You can do this manually by opening the Audit Details tab and changing the Status to Prepared in the drop down list. Alternatively, the default Status is Automatic, meaning that isCompliant will establish the status of your audit; this will be shown next to the Automatic status. The status will automatically change to Prepared when you open the Responses tab and copy the agenda items into it (see Section 3.10.7).

3.10.7       Recording an Audit

The quickest way to document your audit is to record the responses directly into isCompliant whilst the audit is taking place. Open the Audits module, find the relevant scheduled audit, and click the Edit button. You can add all the relevant detail by working through the following tabs:

Audit Details: As explained in Section 3.10.4 - 3.10.6, you can add the key details of the audit and set its status to Draft, Prepared, Completed or Cancelled. If the Actual Completion Date of the audit is different to what was scheduled, you can add the new date here.

Attendees: In the Attendees tab, you can add any employees who you would like to invite to the audit by selecting them from the green drop down box. Once you have selected an employee, a duplicate box will appear below for you to add another. If you need to delete an attendee, click the Delete button next to their name.

Agenda: The Agenda tab allows you to add in any items that are to be audited. Type the Number and Item into the green boxes, click the relevant checkbox if it relates to Quality (QUA), Health and Safety (H&S) or Environmental (ENV) matters, and click Save. A new green row will appear underneath it for you to add the next item.

Responses: To record audit responses against the agenda items, open the Responses tab and follow these steps:

• Select the green drop down box and Copy ALL. This will paste your agenda items in the Responses tab, with space ready for you to record a response against each one.
• As you audit each agenda item, add the number and the relevant response in the corresponding green box.
• Note: After each response, we recommend you click Save to avoid losing any responses if you lose internet connectivity or isCompliant times out.
• If you need to write multiple responses against one agenda item, you can duplicate it. Save the minutes you have already recorded, then click the green drop down box at the bottom left of the screen and select the agenda item you would like to add further response to. There is no limit as to how many responses you can record for each agenda item. 
• If an item is discussed that is not in the agenda, click the green drop down box at the bottom left of the screen and select Ad-hoc Response.
• Once you have filled in all the responses, click Save.

If there is an Observation or Non-Conformity to be logged against any of the responses, or an action that needs to be taken, follow these steps:

• Click the Save button to ensure all your recorded responses have been saved.
• Click the New button in the Issue column against the relevant minute; a green issue code hyperlink will appear.
• Click on the green code and the screen where you can create an issue will open.
• Follow the steps in Section 3.16.2 to create the Issue; you can create multiple actions against the Issue where necessary.
• To return to your audit responses, click the Back button in your browser.

Summary: You can type out the audit Summary in this tab.

Risks: The Risks tab can be used if the audit is to function as an inspection relating to a risk assessment. Select the relevant risk assessment from the drop down box.

Actions: If you want to create an Action relating to the overall audit rather than a specific response, open the Actions tab and follow the steps set out in Section 3.6.2.

Once the audit is finished and all the responses, issues and actions are recorded, return to the Audit Details tab and change the Status to Completed.  

3.10.8    Editing or Deleting an Audit

You can edit an audit by opening the Audits module and clicking the corresponding Edit button. If you have permission to edit within this module, you will be able to navigate the tabs as above and make any necessary changes.

To delete an audit, open the record and click the orange Delete button at the bottom right of the screen.

Once an audit has been marked as completed, you will only be able to edit or delete it if you are the Auditor.