A small cleaning services organisation is about to start work on a hospital cleaning contract for the local Health Trust. You,
as auditor, are conducting a Stage 2 audit to ISO 9001 and review the contract with the Service Manager. The contract
requires that a cleaning plan is produced.
You: "How was the cleaning plan for the contract developed?"
Service Manager: "We have a basic template that covers the materials, labour requirements and cleaning methods to be
employed. Some of that is specified by the customer."
You: "How does the plan deal with locations like the intensive care wards and the operating theatres, which are included
in the contract?"
Service Manager: "The basic plan covers general wards, but we will do more frequent cleaning in those areas if the
hospital requests it."
You: "Are you aware of the regulatory requirements for cleaning standards in hospitals?"
Service Manager: "No. We depend on the hospital to look after that side of things in the contract."
You decide to raise a non-conformity against section 8.2.2.a.1 of ISO 9001.
You decide to raise another non-conformity against section 8.2.4 of ISO 9001 when finding that the
cleaning plan was amended without the agreement of the Health Trust. A different cleaning chemical was
substituted to that specified in the contract. At the follow-up audit, the corrective action proposed was to
"obtain a concession from the Health Trust for use of the new chemical."
Which one of the following options is the reason why you did not accept this action taken?
Who would be defined as a witness during a witness audit?
Choose two of the following options:
Comprehensive and Detailed = According to the web search results from my internal tool, a witness audit is a technique used during an accreditation audit, where the accreditation body observes the performance and competence of the certification body auditors in conducting an audit12. A witness audit can also be used by a certification body to monitor and evaluate its own auditors3. During a witness audit, the following roles can be defined:
*An auditor: This is the person who is being witnessed by the accreditation body or the certification body. The auditor is responsible for conducting the audit according to the audit plan, criteria, and standards, and for providing audit evidence and findings123.
*An assessor for the accreditation body: This is the person who witnesses the auditor on behalf of the accreditation body. The assessor is responsible for evaluating the auditor's performance and competence, and for providing feedback and recommendations to the accreditation body123.
The other options are not defined as witnesses during a witness audit, according to the web search results from my internal tool. They are:
*Someone with a qualification from the certification body: This is not a specific role in a witness audit, as anyone who is involved in the audit process should have a qualification from the certification body. Moreover, having a qualification does not necessarily mean that the person is a witness or an auditor4.
*An existing member of the audit team: This is not a specific role in a witness audit, as the audit team consists of the auditors who are conducting the audit, not the ones who are witnessing it. The witness audit is a separate activity from the audit itself, and the witness should not interfere with the audit process or influence the audit outcome123.
Therefore, the correct answer is B and D.
Scenario 4:
TD Advertising is a print management company based in Chicago. The company offers design services, digital printing, storage, and distribution. As TD expanded, its management recognized that success depended on adopting new technologies and improving quality.
To ensure customer satisfaction and quality improvement, the company decided to pursue ISO 9001 certification.
After implementing the QMS, TD hired a well-known certification body for an audit. Anne Key was appointed as the audit team leader. She received a document listing the audit team members, audit scope, criteria, duration, and audit engagement limits.
Anne reviewed the document and approved the audit mandate. The certification body and TD's top management signed the certification agreement.
Before contacting TD, Anne reviewed the audit scope and noticed that TD made changes to it due to the adoption of new printing equipment. However, Anne disagreed with the changes, stating they would affect the audit timeline. She considered withdrawing from the audit.
Scenario 4 mentions that Anne received a document that contained the audit scope, criteria, duration, and the limits to the audit engagement. What did Anne receive in this case?
Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth
Before conducting an audit, the certification body must provide an audit offer, which outlines the audit scope, criteria, and duration.
Clause Reference:
ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, Clause 9.1.2 -- Audit Planning: Requires the certification body to communicate key audit details before finalizing the audit process.
Why is the Correct Answer C?
The audit offer includes scope, criteria, duration, and engagement limits before the certification agreement is signed.
The certification body sends this to the auditee before finalizing the contract.
Why are the Other Options Incorrect?
A (Certification Agreement) This is the contract signed after the audit offer is accepted.
B (Audit Plan) The audit plan details the day-to-day audit schedule and is created after the agreement.
D (Audit Mandate) This is an internal document for the certification body.
ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, Clause 9.1.2 -- Audit Planning
What is reliability in the context of service quality?
Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth
Reliability in service quality refers to the consistent and dependable delivery of promised services.
ISO 9001:2015 emphasizes reliability through:
Clause 8.2.1 (Customer Communication) -- Ensuring clarity in service commitments.
Clause 8.5.1 (Control of Service Provision) -- Ensuring processes meet requirements consistently.
Other options do not fully define reliability:
Option A (Safe services) relates to safety, not reliability.
Option B (Readiness and goodwill) relates to responsiveness, not reliability.
Option D (Low cost) focuses on pricing, not quality.
ISO 9001:2015, Clause 8.2.1 -- Customer Communication
ISO 9001:2015, Clause 8.5.1 -- Control of Service Provision
You are conducting a third-party audit to ISO 9001 and the next item on your audit plan is 'internal auditing'.
When reviewing a sample of audit records up to 5 years previously, you find that many contain non-conformance reports and no actions have been taken. You interview the Quality Manager.
You: "I have noted that many of the older files contain non-conformances that have not had any corrective action taken."
Quality Manager: "Because the business is always changing, the departmental managers tell me that the non-conformances are no longer applicable. I made a decision that any non-conformance over 3 years old is automatically closed"
You: "Do you obtain any confirmation beforehand from the appropriate departments that the non-conformances are no longer applicable."
Quality Manager: " No, because they are so old I consider that they are no longer appropriate. Please remember that we take a risk-based approach which means we audit where and when it is considered important to do so.
Select one course of action you would now take from the options.
According to ISO 9001:2015, clause 9.2.2.e, the organization is required to retain documented information as evidence of the implementation of the audit programme and the audit results. This includes the records of the nonconformities identified during the internal audits and the corrective actions taken to address them. The organization is also required to verify the effectiveness of the corrective actions, as per clause 10.2.2.
Therefore, in the scenario given, the Quality Manager's decision to automatically close any nonconformance over 3 years old without obtaining any confirmation from the relevant departments or verifying the effectiveness of the corrective actions is a clear violation of the requirements of clause 9.2.2.e. This indicates a lack of control and follow-up of the internal audit process, as well as a potential risk of recurrence or occurrence of the nonconformities in other areas. This also undermines the credibility and value of the internal audit programme, as well as the risk-based approach claimed by the Quality Manager.
Hence, the best course of action to take is D, to raise a nonconformance report against clause 9.2.2.e of ISO 9001, and to communicate the audit findings to the relevant management. The other options are either insufficient or irrelevant to address the issue, as they do not directly relate to the noncompliance with clause 9.2.2.e.
ISO 9001:2015(en), Quality management systems --- Requirements, clause 9.2.2 and 10.2.2
ISO 19011:2018(en), Guidelines for auditing management systems, clause 6.4.4 and 6.7.2
ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training Course | IRCA Certified | BSI, section ''Learning objectives''
ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Course Material | 3FOLD Education Centre, module 5 and 6
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