60 Seconds with Martin Little

WHAT STANDARDS DO YOU AUDIT

I audit to the ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, TS 16949 and the new IATF 16949 standards.

MOST MEMORABLE AUDITING MOMENT

I once spent the day auditing Scaffolding, Acoustic Tiling, Welding, NDT and painting aboard a 'T' Class Nuclear Submarine, at HMS Drake, whilst it was in dry dock.

GREATEST CLIENT BENEFIT GAINED FROM ISO CERTIFICATION

I have seen many clients gain a far deeper understanding of how their organization works as they implement their management system. They not only gain a better understanding of their daily processes but also the value adding steps within those processes that make them work. It also helps to achieve a new appreciation of the demands place on the individuals tasked with completing these steps and from this understanding they often find new ways to improve.

TOP TIP FOR GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A management system is just like diet and exercise; you only get out of it what you put into it. If you plan big and do little then the return is very little, but if you work it hard you can get real gains. Also, the client should always remember that the management system is theirs. It's there to benefit their organization and not to just satisfy clients and auditors. They should use all of their processes and all of the tools available at their disposal to get the biggest bang for their buck and in the way that works best for them. So don't always do the same thing year in and year out and don't always do what everyone else has always done. 

If you find it more beneficial to complete management review more often then do it.  It doesn't always have to be a boring, annual sit down meeting and can be far more dynamic, frequent and relevant to keeping your organization on track. Also for internal audits, don't follow the same audit plan every year. Use your audits to validate new clients, new employees, new processes, new equipment and changes or to validate the effectiveness of corrective actions following an issue. Use them to make sure you're achieving the results you need. Don't allow them to be some dull record that gets plopped out to satisfy an auditor once a year. Remember your management system is there for you!

MOST COMMON NON-CONFORMANCE

As I mostly audit manufacturing sites the most common non-conformances I raise are for process documentation that doesn't match the current manufacturing process or for effective corrective action not being taken for identified non-conformance or measured poor performance.