Plan, run and close an internal audit

Run your own audit programme. Association admins plan and run audits; on builders' and other businesses' accounts a Safety officer (HSEQ) can too, and a Director or executive reads them.

Before you start

• Audit & Quality is on in Settings → Your packs.
• With Site Safety Records on, a non-conformance raises a corrective action. Without it, you record how each was fixed and checked.

How to plan an audit

1. 1Step 1: Open Internal audits from the menu.
2. 2Step 2: Under Plan an audit, type a Title and tick the Standards (ISO 9001 quality, ISO 14001 environment, ISO 45001 work health and safety, or Custom scope).
3. 3Step 3: Tick the Clauses (the shared clause headings 4 to 10), and add Custom scope topics one per line if you like. Add a Scope.
4. 4Step 4: If you use sites, choose System audit or Site audit and the Site.
5. 5Step 5: Choose the Auditor from your team, or someone outside and type the External auditor's name.
6. 6Step 6: Set the Planned date and Repeats (one-off, or every 3, 6, 12 or 24 months). Optionally start the checklist from an inspection checklist.
7. 7Step 7: Select Plan audit.

How to run it

1. 1Step 1: Open the audit and select Start the audit.
2. 2Step 2: For each checklist question choose Conforms, Non-conformance, Observation, Opportunity for improvement or Not applicable, and write What you saw (needed for anything but Conforms and Not applicable). Add your own questions in the empty rows.
3. 3Step 3: Select Save checklist as you go.
4. 4Step 4: Open Record a finding: choose the Kind (major or minor non-conformance, observation or opportunity for improvement) and Clause, describe the Finding and the Evidence (needed for a non-conformance), and the Root cause if known. With Site Safety Records, choose the Action owner and Action due (a major defaults to 7 days, a minor to 14). Select Record finding.

How to close findings and complete the audit

1. 1Step 1: For each finding, add the Root cause (Save root cause).
2. 2Step 2: Write How you checked the fix worked and select Close finding.
3. 3Step 3: When every checklist question is answered, write a Summary under Complete the audit and select Complete audit.

Report (PDF) downloads the audit. Cancel this audit, with a reason, stops one that won't go ahead.

What happens next

• Completing an audit that repeats plans the next one.
• An audit still planned or in progress after its planned date is Overdue. Its auditor (or, without one in your team, your safety officers, or your association admins) is emailed on the first overdue day and then weekly until it's done. Email only.
• The list shows Planned and in progress, Completed or All, with each audit's findings and open non-conformances.