A question that we regularly get asked by business owners and managers who are looking at purchasing one of our Management System templates is “how much work is required to get ready for an audit after purchasing a template?”.
As we have spent many hours refining our templates to cut out most of the work that you have to complete, the main items that you have to complete are:
- Adding your company name and logo to the documents
- Adding a brief description of the history of your company and the current products/services that you provide
- Updating the organisation chart to accurately reflect your staffing arrangements and company structure
- Reading through the procedures to make sure that you’re comfortable with the activities and frequency of those activities (i.e. the frequency of toolbox talks)
At this point, you would be ready to submit your documentation for a Stage 1 Audit (aka Document Review) with a certification body. You can then move on to preparing for the Stage 2 Audit which involves following the provided implementation activity schedule which lists about eleven items that need to be completed including:
- 12 Month Internal Audit Schedule,
- 2 internal audits,
- Introducing staff to the management system,
- Adding details to the Management System Registers (e.g. Training & Competency, Hazard and Risk, Calibrated Equipment),
- Displaying the Management System Policies in the workplace,
- Removing all obsolete documents that have been replaced by the Management System,
- Setting up a folder structure on your server or in hard copy with you Management System documentation,
- Documenting team and onsite meetings,
- Raising Action Request for items that need corrective and preventive action,
- Collating customer feedback in the form of testimonials and satisfaction surveys, and
- Adding your suppliers to the Accredited Suppliers List.
The above list will vary slightly depending on the Management System template that is selected although thorough guidance is provided in the implementation guide that explains exactly what is required for each activity.