ISO9

As required by the ISO 9000 Standard, you must conduct internal audits. An audit plan contains all the questions you are going to ask and when and where the audit will take place. It is recommended that your company conduct an audit for each item of the standard at least once a quarter.

Once you complete your first internal audit and before you begin your pre-assessment audit, it is recommended that you create audit plans for the entire year. You do not need to generate checklists until a date closer to the actual proposed audit date, but in most cases registrars look for a number of audit plans scheduled to be conducted in your company.

Your goal is to familiarize yourself with your company's status with respect to ISO 9000 compliance, the ISO sections appropriate to each department and the audit process as a whole. This process should be viewed as a learning process to prepare you for future audits. Therefore, it is recommended that you generate more audit material for each department. Items can then be discarded, as necessary. While doing this makes this step more time-consuming, it also makes it more valuable.