Application
This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge to prepare for, conduct and document an internal audit of aspects of the laboratory's quality system. It also covers the implementation of the identified corrective action and opportunities for improvement and the monitoring of their effectiveness.
This unit applies to senior technical officers and laboratory supervisors working in all industry sectors. These people play a key role in the audit team due to their knowledge of the quality system and their broad technical expertise and specialised knowledge of procedures and technology. This unit of competency requires a thorough examination of various aspects of the quality system.
No licensing or certification requirements exist at the time of publication. However, regulations and/or external accreditation requirements for laboratory operations exist, so local requirements should be checked. Relevant legislation, industry standards and codes of practice within Australia must also be applied.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. | ||
1 | Prepare for internal audit | 1.1 | Analyse brief to determine the scope and detailed requirements of the planned audit |
1.2 | Identify procedures and/or the work area to be audited, and collect relevant information and documentation | ||
1.3 | Brief relevant personnel and allocate roles and responsibilities | ||
1.4 | Develop a detailed audit plan in consultation with relevant personnel | ||
1.5 | Develop a checklist to identify conformance and non-conformance | ||
2 | Conduct audit | 2.1 | Identify the components and elements of the quality system and work area to be audited |
2.2 | Collaborate with relevant personnel to maximise continuous improvement and ownership of the audit process | ||
2.3 | Collect sufficient evidence to identify non-conforming aspects of the quality system | ||
2.4 | Analyse evidence to identify suitable corrective actions | ||
3 | Report findings | 3.1 | Document findings from the audit process in the required format |
3.2 | Present recommendations for corrective actions | ||
3.3 | Provide strategies for the implementation of the corrective actions | ||
4 | Complete corrective actions | 4.1 | Develop and implement an action plan to improve the quality system |
4.2 | Consult with relevant personnel regarding the necessary strategies to improve the quality system | ||
4.3 | Evaluate and report the effectiveness of the corrective action after an agreed time interval | ||
4.4 | Ensure that relevant certification is maintained | ||
Foundation Skills
This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance.
Oral communication skills to:
encourage suggestions and feedback from team members to develop improved work practices or processes
interact effectively with supervisors, managers, laboratory and/or production personnel before, during and after the audit.
Other foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit.
Competency Field
Quality