# Preparing for Auditing Success

*Submitted by Robert Blyth, U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations
Office (NE-ID)*

*For more information contact Bob Blyth @
[**Robert.Blyth@nuclear.energy.gov**](mailto: Robert.Blyth@nuclear.energy.gov)*

# 

# 

## This is the first in a series of articles containing auditing techniques and tools acquired over the years by leading and participating in Quality Assurance (QA) audits across the DOE complex. These techniques and tools supplement DOE G 414.1-1A, Management Assessment and Independent Assessment Guide that you can use to become a more effective auditor. We hope you improve on the tools you use and share your improvements with the rest of us. Any credit for the presented information should go to the National Spent Nuclear Fuel QA program staff. They developed most of what will be presented. I am merely the collector and disseminator.

## 

# Our primary objective as participants in the auditing process is to consistently deliver high quality, professionally conducted, value adding audits. You simply can't do this without a lot of preparation. Every hour spent in audit preparation will save the audit team at least two hours of either field investigation or report writing time. The more preparation you do as a lead auditor, the easier it is for your audit team and the auditors to produce a useful product. 

# 

# I like to start with a [**Lead auditor checklist**](#lead-auditor---auditor-preparation-checklist). It identifies the things I have found to be important for a successful audit. Although the items are numbered, I suggest working on the items in an order that works best for you. The checklist should be modified to suit your situation, primarily serving as a reminder of key items that need to be accomplished and their status. Most items are self-explanatory. The rest of this discussion will explain the use of certain key items in more detail. 

Ideally, the audit notification and plan are issued to the audited
organization 30 calendar days before start of field activity. This helps
the Audit Team Lead (ATL) and the audited organization prepare to
conduct an effective and efficient audit. The audit plan should be
issued with the formal audit notification. The included [assessment plan
example](#AssessmentPlan) is certainly not as comprehensive as
Attachment 1 of DOE G 414.1-2A, but it does contain the key information
to the audited organization. You may not always have all the information
in time to issue the plan 30 days before field investigation begins.
TBDs work fine, and in fact serve as good reminders of yet-to-be
completed actions. As a lead auditor, the self imposed 30 days prompts
me to assemble my audit team and get on with the other audit preparation
in a doable time frame.

# 

Getting your audit team what they need to succeed is one of the primary
jobs of the ATL. Having team members familiar with each other is
beneficial. At the first team meeting, if all the audit team members
haven't worked together in the past I ask each auditor to briefly
introduce themselves, explaining their auditing background and a little
about their personal lives and how to contact them. Distributing the
short auditor biographical sketches used in the report makes this go
even better. Conference calls work well when the team can't meet
together physically. After the introductions I go over the audited
organization work scope, audit type, requirements basis (i.e.
NQA-1-2000), any areas of emphasis, any travel logistics and my contact
information.

This is usually a good time to establish audit area assignments. My
preference is to let the auditors self select the areas they want to
cover, giving the ATL final adjustment authority. This is usually a good
ending point for the first team meeting.

At this point the auditors can contact each other to trade audit areas.
Jointly emailing what I call the [Audit Staffing, POCs and Completion
Status Summary
Sheet](#audit-staffing-pocs-and-completion-status-summary-sheet) works
well for this. It is very easy for auditors to overload themselves,
especially the good ones. To minimize this I have developed an [Audit
Work Load](#AuditWorkLoad) spreadsheet that calculates the percentage of
NQA-1-2000 requirements assigned to individual auditors. To use it,
Insert auditor names in cells G1, H1, I1 and J1, and then paste these
names in the appropriate row of column C. The percentage of requirements
assigned is totaled at the bottom of the column headed by the auditor
name. Additional auditors can be easily added by copying column J, then
pasting it and appropriately modifying it in the columns to the right of
column J. I use the results of this spread sheet as part of the final
ATL assignment adjustments. Distributing the final spreadsheet to the
audit team helps create an atmosphere of openness and fairness.

After auditor area assignments are finalized on the Summary Sheet, I
email the summary sheet to the audited organization point of contact,
asking them to insert the audited area organization points of contact,
their contact information; and return it me. I then e-mail it to the
audit team. This contact information sharing is essential in setting up
appointments, getting appropriate audited organization documents to the
auditors before field investigation and gives the auditors and their
audited organization points of contact the information they need to
begin their informal audit preparations. I also use the status column to
keep track of field investigation and report completion progress.

Before the second team meeting, I send out audit check lists and any
other forms the auditors will use during the audit. Checklists are
essential to auditor preparation, thorough field investigation and good
use of interviewee time. The EH web site has some good check list
[examples](http://www.eh.doe.gov/sqa/lessons_learned/SS_SW_check_list_no_upgrades.doc).

At the second team meeting, I like having the audited organization point
of contact participate. This can take the place of a pre-audit visit. By
listening to and being part of this discussion they can get a better
understanding of how the audit will be conducted and often have
suggestions on how we can best work together. In the meeting I go over
how the audit will be conducted. This includes the audit time line,
which contains the audit report, meeting times, and expectations for
auditor attire. If they don't know the ATLs expectations, they can't
meet them. We then go over the checklists and forms that will be used
during the audit. I also use this meeting to discuss logistics with the
point of contact, such as where the team should meet on the first day,
any required training or other access requirements, computer needs,
editorial support needs, the location and time for the Inbrief and
closeout, whether I need a projector for both the Inbrief and closeout
meeting, etc.

I like to conclude this meeting by asking the auditors to request from
their audited origination points of contact, documents the auditor will
examine during the audit. Having the audited organization point of
contact participate in this discussion really helps. E-mailing the
requested information or posting it on a private website works well.
Where email/internet can't be used a CD containing the requested
information also works. I also request that the auditors set up their
interviews, using the contact information contained on the summary
sheet. Again having the audited organization point of contact
participate will help make this happen. Setting up the appointments
ahead of time is critical to completing the field investigation with
minimal impact to the audited organization. If the auditors don't have
interviews set up at least a week before field investigation begins,
they won't have time to prepare in advance and will lose at least the
rest of the day after the entrance meeting. The attached [audit
interview and activity schedule](#AuditActivitySchedule) example is one
way of recording this schedule information.

I like to hold the last team meeting about a week before the field
investigation begins. By then I will have distributed a copy of the
audit report shell to the team. The report shell is the audit report in
as complete a form as possible. You will know the format, audit title,
number, scope, auditors, what will be in the appendices, etc. This will
give the audit team a chance to see what the report will look like; how
they need to complete their part and any questions they have about the
report. This meeting also gives the team a final chance to fill in any
information gaps and make any last minute adjustments. By this time you
and your audit team should be fully prepared to begin the audit field
investigation.

# 

The next installment in this series will discuss some very useful tools
for developing managing and communicating issues encountered during
audit field investigations.

*Credit for developing the presented information goes to the National
Spent Nuclear Fuel QA program staff. Ken Scheffter with Project
Enhancement Corporation, Karen Brown with Parallax, Inc., Tom Lewallen
with Global Technologies Inc. and Don Armour with Battelle Energy
Alliance also contributed to this article.*

### 

###  

###  [Lead Auditor - Auditor Preparation Checklist]{.underline}

+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| **Nu   | **Item**                            | **Status**           |
| mber** |                                     |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 1.     | Staff the Audit                     |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 2.     | Auditor Qualifications              |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 3.     | Audit Notification & Audit Plan     |                      |
|        | Issued                              |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 4.     | Auditor access issues resolved      |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 5.     | Audit team facilities               |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 6.     | Auditor audit areas / elements      |                      |
|        | assigned                            |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 7.     | Check lists                         |                      |
|        |                                     |                      |
|        | > Prepared                          |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Issued                            |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 8.     | Audited Org Docs to team            |                      |
|        |                                     |                      |
|        | QPP                                 |                      |
|        |                                     |                      |
|        | Work plans etc                      |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 9.     | Past Audits to team                 |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 10.    | PC availability for Auditors        |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 11.    | Audit forms to auditors             |                      |
|        |                                     |                      |
|        | > People Interviewed                |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Documents reviewed                |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Entrance Meeting Attendance       |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Exit Meeting Attendance,          |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Issue Development Sheet[^1]       |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Form 1^1^                         |                      |
|        | >                                   |                      |
|        | > Form 2^1^                         |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 12.    | Audit protocols, conduct of         |                      |
|        | auditors                            |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 13.    | Entrance meeting slides             |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 14.    | Exit meeting slide outline          |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+
| 15.    | Report Shell to Team                |                      |
+--------+-------------------------------------+----------------------+

[]{#AssessmentPlan .anchor} **[Assessment Plan Example]{.underline}**

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **1. Assessment Number:**                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **2. Assessment Title:**                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **3. Assessing Organization:**                                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **4. Assessed Organization:**                                         |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **5. Schedule Dates:**                                                |
|                                                                       |
| > Field Investigation -- date from -- date to                         |
| >                                                                     |
| > Entrance meeting -- date, time and location                         |
| >                                                                     |
| > Exit meeting -- date, time and location                             |
| >                                                                     |
| > Report issued by - date                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **6. Assessment Team:**                                               |
|                                                                       |
| > ATL -- Auditor 3                                                    |
| >                                                                     |
| > Auditor 1 Auditor 4                                                 |
| >                                                                     |
| > Auditor 2                                                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **7. Assessment Scope:**                                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **8:** **Objective**                                                  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **9. Applicable Requirements/Criteria:**                              |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| **10. Any Special or Technical Items to be Verified:**                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| > ATL -- Printed Name and Signature                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

#  

#  Audit Staffing, POCs and Completion Status Summary Sheet

+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
|      | **Element**    | **Au    | **Audited Org     | **Status**   |
|      |                | ditor** | POC**             |              |
+======+================+=========+===================+==============+
| 1    | Organization   |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 2    | Quality        |         |                   |              |
|      | Assurance      |         |                   |              |
|      | Program        |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 3    | Design Control |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 4    | Procurement    |         |                   |              |
|      | Document       |         |                   |              |
|      | Control        |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 5    | Instruction,   |         |                   |              |
|      | Procedures and |         |                   |              |
|      | Drawings       |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 6    | Document       |         |                   |              |
|      | Control        |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 7    | Control of     |         |                   |              |
|      | Purchased      |         |                   |              |
|      | Items and      |         |                   |              |
|      | Services       |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 8    | Identification |         |                   |              |
|      | and Control of |         |                   |              |
|      | Items          |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 9    | Control of     | #       |                   |              |
|      | Special        |         |                   |              |
|      | Processes      |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 10   | Inspection     |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 11   | Test Control   |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 12   | Control of     |         |                   |              |
|      | Measuring &    |         |                   |              |
|      | Test Equipment |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 13   | Handling       | #       |                   |              |
|      | Storage and    |         |                   |              |
|      | Shipping       |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 14   | Inspection     |         |                   |              |
|      | test and       |         |                   |              |
|      | Operating      |         |                   |              |
|      | Status         |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 15   | Control of     |         |                   |              |
|      | Nonconforming  |         |                   |              |
|      | items          |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 16   | Corrective     |         |                   |              |
|      | Action         |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 17   | Quality        |         |                   |              |
|      | Assurance      |         |                   |              |
|      | Records        |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 18   | Audits         |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+
| 2.7  | Software       |         |                   |              |
+------+----------------+---------+-------------------+--------------+

[]{#AuditWorkLoad .anchor} **[Audit Work Load]{.underline}**

  ------------- ---------------- ------------- ---------------- --------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ------- --------
  **Element**   **Title**        **Auditor**   **\# of          **check   \% of    Auditor 1 Auditor 2 Auditor 3 ATL     
                                               Requirements**   list      Total                                          
                                                                pages**                                                  

  1             Organization     ATL           6                2         1.5%     0.0%      0.0%      0.0%      1.5%    

  2             Quality          ATL           34               5         8.8%     0.0%      0.0%      0.0%      8.8%    
                Assurance                                                                                                
                Program                                                                                                  

  3             Design Control   Auditor 3     75               7         19.3%    0.0%      0.0%      19.3%     0.0%    

  4             Procurement      Auditor 3     19               2         4.9%     0.0%      0.0%      4.9%      0.0%    
                Document Control                                                                                         

  5             Instruction,     Auditor 3     3                1         0.8%     0.0%      0.0%      0.8%      0.0%    
                Procedures and                                                                                           
                Drawings                                                                                                 

  6             Document Control Auditor 3     7                2         1.8%     0.0%      0.0%      1.8%      0.0%    

  7             Control of       Auditor 2     40               6         10.3%    0.0%      10.3%     0.0%      0.0%    
                Purchased Items                                                                                          
                and Services                                                                                             

  8             Identification   Auditor 1     13               8         3.4%     3.4%      0.0%      0.0%      0.0%    
                and Control of                                                                                           
                Items                                                                                                    

  9             Control of       Auditor 1     7                2         1.8%     1.8%      0.0%      0.0%      0.0%    
                Special                                                                                                  
                Processes                                                                                                

  10            Inspection       Auditor 2     14               2         3.6%     0.0%      3.6%      0.0%      0.0%    

  11            Test Control     Auditor 2     21               3         5.4%     0.0%      5.4%      0.0%      0.0%    

  12            Control of       Auditor 2     13               2         3.4%     0.0%      3.4%      0.0%      0.0%    
                Measuring & Test                                                                                         
                Equipment                                                                                                

  13            Handling Storage Auditor 2     8                2         2.1%     0.0%      2.1%      0.0%      0.0%    
                and Shipping                                                                                             

  14            Inspection test  Auditor 1     5                1         1.3%     1.3%      0.0%      0.0%      0.0%    
                and Operating                                                                                            
                Status                                                                                                   

  15            Control of       Auditor 1     17               2         4.4%     4.4%      0.0%      0.0%      0.0%    
                Nonconforming                                                                                            
                items                                                                                                    

  16            Corrective       ATL           4                1         1.0%     0.0%      0.0%      0.0%      1.0%    
                Action                                                                                                   

  17            Quality          Auditor 3     21               3         5.4%     0.0%      0.0%      5.4%      0.0%    
                Assurance                                                                                                
                Records                                                                                                  

  18            Audits           Auditor 2     16               2         4.1%     0.0%      4.1%      0.0%      0.0%    

  2.7           Software         Auditor 1     65               11        16.8%    16.8%     0.0%      0.0%      0.0%    

                                               388              64        100.0%   27.6%     28.9%     32.2%     11.3%   100.0%
  ------------- ---------------- ------------- ---------------- --------- -------- --------- --------- --------- ------- --------

[]{#AuditActivitySchedule .anchor}[**Interview & Activity Schedule**
**as of xx/yy/zzzz**]{.underline}

+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| **Day      |             |             |             |             |
| One**      |             |             |             |             |
+============+=============+=============+=============+=============+
| **Time**   | **Auditor   | **Auditor   | **Auditor   | **Auditor   |
|            | 1**         | 2**         | 3**         | 4**         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 8:00 --    | Audit Team  | Audit Team  | Audit Team  | Audit Team  |
| 9:00       | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 350         | 350         | 350         | 350         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 9:00 --    | Entrance    | Entrance    | Entrance    | Entrance    |
| 10:00      | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 350         | 350         | 350         | 350         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 11:00 --   | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee |
| Noon       | 1           | 2           | 3           | 4           |
|            |             |             |             |             |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 351         | 352         | 353         | 354         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Noon       | Lunch       | Lunch       | Lunch       | Lunch       |
| --1:00     |             |             |             |             |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 1:00 --    | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee |
| 2:30       | 5           | 6           | 7           | 8           |
|            |             |             |             |             |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 351         | 352         | 352         | 352         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 2:30 --    | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee | Interviewee |
| 4:00       | 9           | 10          | 11          | 12          |
|            |             |             |             |             |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 351         | 352         | 353         | 354         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 4:00 --    | Audit Team  | Audit Team  | Audit Team  | Audit Team  |
| 4:30       | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   | Meeting -   |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 350         | 350         | 350         | 350         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 4:30 --    | Mgmt        | Mgmt        | Mgmt        | Mgmt        |
| 5:00       | Briefing -  | Briefing -  | Briefing -  | Briefing -  |
|            | BLDG X RM   | BLDG X RM   | T BLDG X RM | BLDG X RM   |
|            | 350         | 350         | 350         | 350         |
+------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

[^1]: Use of this will be explained in the second article of the series