60 Seconds with NQA Auditor Mark Roberts

What standards do you audit against?

ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 9001:2015

What is your most memorable auditing moment?

I was auditing at a large defense contractor and I was in a classified area.  I was asked if I would be interested in visiting an aircraft that was under repair.  It turned out to be Air Force One.  It was the one where it had the communications capabilities. That was pretty cool!

What is the most common non-conformance you encounter?

The most common is document control, but it’s more important in my opinion to focus on the calibration of measuring equipment in manufacturing environments.  So when they don’t do a product evaluation to determine the impact of the out-of-tolerance condition, the product is basically suspect until the evaluation is done.

What is the greatest client benefit you have seen gained from ISO certification?

The most common comment I get is that ISO allows them to standardize their processes.  It increases their efficiencies and it’s a positive impact to the people resources from a training standpoint.

What's your top tip for making the most out of your management system?

For me, it’s having a value-added management review process.  The management review has to align with the strategy of the business and if the management review doesn’t focus on that there is no value to it.