ISO 9001:2015 Clause 9.2 Internal Audit

ISO 9001:2015 establishes the guidelines for a quality management system (QMS) and is is based on a number of quality management principles including a strong customer focus, the involvement of top management, the process approach and continual improvement.

One of those requirements focuses on internal audits.  If your organization is certified to ISO 9001 or a standard that is aligned with it, like AS9100 or IATF 16949, and you perform internal quality audits, then you should know:

• For ISO 9001:2015 and/or AS9100:2016, one of the top 10 clauses for registrar findings (Major and Minor Nonconformances) in 2019 was 9.2 Internal Audit.  

Clause 9.2 basically states that internal audits shall be conducted per planned intervals to verify the quality management system conforms to:

• a company’s own requirements,
• ISO 9001 requirements,
• and is effectively implemented and maintained.

In addition, the audit program shall be planned, established, implemented and maintained with frequency, methods, responsibilities, planning and reporting.  Utilizing the process approach takes into account the importance of business processes, changes and the results of previous audits.  A company should also define the audit criteria and scope for each audit, selecting auditors who are objective and impartial.  It is important to ensure that audit results are reported to proper managers and actions are taken without undue delay.  Retain records as evidence of the audit program and audit results.

To see some of the common findings/nonconformances written by certification bodies for Clause 9.2, read our blog Comparison of the Top Nonconformances Across 5 Standards

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