Page 228 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

214 P r o c e s s C o n t r o l Q u a l i t y A u d i t s 215

Internal Audits
Considering the benefits that derive from quality auditing, it is not sur-
prising that most quality audits are internal activities conducted by orga-
nizations interested in self-improvement. Of course, the same principles
apply to internal audits as to external audits (e.g., auditor independence).
Ishikawa (1985) describes four types of internal audits:
• Audit by the president
• Audit by the head of the unit (by division head, factory manager,
branch office manager, etc.)
• Quality control (QC) audit by QC staff
• Mutual QC audit

President’s audits are similar to what Tom Peters has called “manage-
ment by wandering around” (MBWA). The president personally visits dif-
ferent areas of the organization to make firsthand observations of the
effectiveness of the quality system. Audit by the head of the unit is equiv-
alent to the president’s audit, except the audit is limited to functional
areas under the jurisdiction of the head person. Quality control audits are
conducted by the quality department in various parts of the organization.
Unlike presidents and unit heads who are auditing their own areas, qual-
ity department auditors must obtain authorization before conducting
audits. In mutual QC audits, separate divisions of the company exchange
their audit teams. This provides another perspective from a team with
greater independence.

Two-Party Audits
Most audits are conducted between customers and suppliers. In this case
suppliers usually provide a contact person to work with the customer
auditor. In addition, suppliers usually authorize all personnel to provide
whatever information the auditor needs, within reason, of course. Two-
party audits are generally restricted to those parts of the quality system of
direct concern to the parties involved. The customer will evaluate only
those processes, products, and system elements that directly or indirectly
impact upon their purchases.

Third-Party Audits
One problem with two-party audits is that a supplier will be subject to
audits by many different customers, each with their own (sometimes con-
flicting) standards. Likewise, customers must audit many different suppli-
ers, each with their own unique approach to quality systems design.
Third-party audits are one way of overcoming these difficulties.

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