Question
Can the Management Representative be part of the internal auditor team?
Answer
Thank you for contacting ASQ’s Ask the Experts program. Concerning your question, ISO 9001:2008, clause 8.2.2, only prohibits persons from auditing their own work. So provided that the Management representative is assigned to audit processes that are outside his/her work responsibilities, there is no other restriction in with regard. ISO 19011:2011,clause 4.0, “Principals of auditing” as well as clause 6.3.3, “Assigning work to the audit team”, should be reviewed for additional insight and understanding.
I hope this helps.
Best regards,
Bill
Bill Aston, Managing Director
Aston Technical Consulting Services, LLC
Kingwood, TX 77339
Office: (281) 359-ATCS (2827) or Toll Free: (888) 968-9891
Website: www.astontechconsult.com
For more on this topic, please visit ASQ’s website.
I believe that the MR can’t really understand management of the internal audit program unless he/she does some number of audits. Understanding management of the entire company quality program is greatly enhanced if the MR gets out and does some hands on work.