ISO 9000 Quality System Assessment Handbook

Book excerpt: Quality System Assessors are deployed both by registration bodies to verify an organisation's compliance with the standard and also by companies seeking registration who have to assess their system before being audited by an external body. Most of their time is spent walking around companies asking questions, so there is a real need for a handy book to assist auditors on the move which will help jog the memory when planning an audit away from home. A book containing many lists and tables is the ideal solution. The first five chapters cover the auditing process, first in outline and then more thoroughly, the four phases of an audit. There then follow another seven chapters each intended to assist auditors in some aspect of their job. Also included are some statistics on ISO 9000 which auditors can use to help others, a bibliography and a dictionary of auditing terms placed at the back for ease of use. There are also anecdotal case studies throughout the text which illustrate in a memorable manner the key concepts being examined.