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Welcome to the Whittington & Associates e-Newsletter! Visit and bookmark our web site today: http://www.WhittingtonAssociates.com This e-Newsletter is in HTML format
and may not be displayed properly by some email programs. Please click on
our web site address above to see the e-Newsletter with its proper formatting.
The definition of an auditor, according to section 3.9.9 of ISO 9000:2000, is a “person with the competence to conduct an audit”. This definition may seem simple, but identifying and developing competent auditors is not easy.
Ethical Conduct Ethical conduct is the foundation of auditor professionalism. It builds trust and confidence. An ethical auditor is honest, forthright, and reliable. People know that information they share will not be improperly used or disclosed. Fair Presentation Auditors have an obligation to report their findings truthfully and accurately. They should identify any significant obstacles encountered during the audit. Likewise, they should note any unresolved, diverging opinions between the audit team and auditee. The report should highlight that the audit was a sample during a brief period of time and unreported nonconformities may still exist. Due Professional Care Management has given auditors an important task. Therefore, auditors should apply good judgment and diligence in their assignment. Auditors should ensure they have the needed competence and exercise care while conducting audits. Attributes of a good auditor would include being:
Auditors communicate in audit meetings, interviews, and reports. The communication process involves a sender, a message, and a receiver. For effective communication, the recipients of a message must not only receive it, and they must understand it. Auditors ask questions, share interpretations, and report results (verbally and in writing). Ensure the communication conveys the right meaning. Avoid facial expressions, speech tone, and body language that may send the wrong message. Interpersonal Skills Auditors should be pleasant individuals. They need the cooperation of others to identify requirements, understand processes, gather facts, and make judgments. For example:
To build trust and rapport, auditors should remember to:
The competence of an auditor affects the auditee confidence in the audit results. A competent auditor has the skills and traits to effectively carry out their assigned duties. In addition to the training to increase their auditing skills, auditors should be selected that demonstrate the suggested personal traits. To maintain their competence, auditors must be given audit assignments on a regular schedule (at least 4 times per year). The audit program manager should provide opportunities for continued development and share performance feedback for improvement. Refer to the Code of Conduct for Internal Auditors in our July 2002 newsletter.
In the past two newsletters, we covered Syntax, Vocabulary, Complexity, and Numbers from our list of writing
concepts. This month we pick up with Format and Style.
Type Size Document templates should provide a type size
that is readable in the worst conditions. Although 12 point is generally
accepted for text being read from 18 inches, a larger size may be necessary
under different conditions, especially low lighting.
Type Font
The font (typeface) gives text an appearance than can affect its readability. Choose a font that is easy on the eye. For example, Times New Roman and Arial are the fonts most often used for documents and slides. Avoid use of an ornate or complex font that may be difficult to read. Type Case
Write with mixed case (upper and lower case letters). Do not use all capitals since they significantly slow down the reader. Use capitals sparingly to emphasize a single word or phrase. White Space
White space (blank space) should be used to frame content, separate subjects, define sections, and highlight information. Use space between text lines, for page margins, between columns, for indentation, and for paragraph separation. Use indented text to indicate logic since it appears to be subordinate text. Text Indentation
Most text is left-justified (same distance from the left margin). Fully-justified text can be more difficult to read since large gaps can appear between words. Use ragged right margins for documents with short line lengths.
The article above dealt with text formatting. This article is about text styles. Your writing style can make a document easier to read and more effective. Conversational Style Use a conversational style. If the text doesn’t read well when spoken, then it should be rewritten to simplify the wording. Active or Passive Voice The subject of the sentence performs the action in the active voice. For example, “The supervisors initiate corrective action”. The subject receives the action in the passive voice. For example, “Corrective action is initiated by the supervisors”. Write active sentences to clearly communicate and identify responsibility. Emphasis Techniques
Complaints occur when the delivery of a product or service does not meet the expectations of a customer. The complaints may relate to fitness for purpose, delivery deadlines, product information, conditions of sale, use of personal data, after-sales service, and guarantees. National laws and regulations may not provide a framework adequate to deal with the problem when, for example, the supplier and customer are located in different countries. When the ISO 10002 complaints-handling process is implemented, the customer will benefit from responsive treatment of the complaint, while the organization will benefit from the focus on problem areas pointing to opportunities for improvements and savings. ISO 10002:2004, Quality Management - Customer Satisfaction - Guidelines for Complaints Handling in Organizations, brings together the best thinking of international experts from two fields: quality management and consumer issues. It details a complaints-handling process that can easily be integrated with the implementation of a quality management system based on ISO 9001:2000, which requires top management of the organization to focus on customer satisfaction and continual improvement. "At the same time, the standard is complete enough for stand-alone implementation, or in support of other quality management and customer satisfaction tools, including Customer Relation Management and Six Sigma," commented Bill Dee, the expert leading the ISO working group that developed ISO 10002. "The standard gives complete guidance - including principles, issues for consideration and structural aspects - for the management of the overall complaints-handling process, with numerous checklists, sample forms, and practical examples." Annemarie de Jong, secretary of the technical subcommittee to which the working group belongs, explained that ISO 10002 and two other standards currently under development by ISO together form a comprehensive system for all phases of managing customer complaints. "The trio distill international best practice in codes of conduct (ISO 10001), complaints handling (ISO 10002) and external customer disputes resolution systems (ISO 10003)," she said. "ISO 10001 and ISO 10003 are currently working drafts. They are expected to be published as International Standards in 2006."
Can you trust electronic documents? With business relying heavily on electronic documents,
a new ISO technical report on electronic storage can be used to help demonstrate
the trustworthiness of electronic information, such as in contract negotiations
and in regulatory and legal contexts. Organizations have a vested interest
in ensuring the authenticity and integrity of electronic image files from
initial capture to eventual destruction - as evidence of business transactions
and events. ISO/TR 15801:2004, Electronic Imaging - Information
Stored Electronically - Recommendations for Trustworthiness and Reliability,
provides a complete list of controls that an organization can use to safeguard
trustworthiness and reliability of electronically stored information - including
policies, security measures, procedures, technology requirements, and audit
trials. Regardless of the size of the enterprise, the type
of organization, or the quantity of information, users will benefit from
reviewing their electronic storage activities against the technical report's
best practice guidelines. "The technical report is expected to result in improved
access, reduced requirement to keep paper originals or copies, better long
term accessibility, and improved confidence in electronic storage," said
Alan Shipman, Project Leader of ISO/TR 15801:2004. "Anyone who stores information
electronically, and needs to be able to rely upon their contents, perhaps
because of legal and/or regulatory requirements, will find the technical
report very handy."
We are proud to announce a new service from Whittington & Associates
for web site design: WhittingtonWeb.
4. Set up domain hosting. As part of our services, we arrange for the hosting of your web site. 5. Search engine optimization. We set up your web site to have it clearly recognized by search engines. 6. Site Maintenance. We help you keep your site fresh with frequent updates. WhittingtonWeb provides such a simple administration function, most organizations maintain their own web site (without having to use a special language). To see some of the web sites we have designed:
We create low cost, customized solutions for every client, so please contact us for a quote.
To enroll in these public classes, go to Class Schedule at our web site, or call us at 800-404-7585. Classes taught by Larry Whittington are shown in yellow. ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor
(RAB Accredited) - BSI Management Systems
ISO 9001:2000 Internal Auditor (RAB Accredited) - BSI Management Systems
ISO 9001:2000 Auditor
Update - The Process Approach
Implementing ISO 9001:2000
Understanding ISO 9001:2000
Understanding ISO 9001:2000
Requirements (Atlanta Only - $295)
Quality System Documentation
(ISO 9001:2000)
The above public courses
can be offered on-site at your facility. In addition, we offer these on-site
courses:
To arrange an economical on-site class, please call us at 800-404-7585.
© 2000-2004 Whittington & Associates, LLC. All rights reserved. You may copy this e-Newsletter provided you copy it completely, do not change it, and include this copyright notice. |
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