Chapter 17: Advanced Quality Planning: Quality Audits and Assessments
Abstract : A "Quality Audit" is a systematic process of evaluating an organization's processes, systems, and products against established quality standards to identify areas for improvement, ensuring compliance with regulations, and verifying adherence to set quality objectives, typically conducted by an internal or external auditor; while a "Quality Assessment" is a broader evaluation of an organization's overall quality performance, often including subjective analysis alongside objective data collection, to identify potential strengths and weaknesses . Key points about Quality Audits: Purpose: To verify that an organization's quality management system (QMS) is functioning effectively and meeting predetermined standards, identifying non-conformities and requiring corrective actions. Process: Planning: Defining the audit scope, objectives, criteria, and methodology. Execution: Conducting on-site reviews, document checks, interviews ...