The Impact of the Pandemic of Covid-19 on Audit of Quality Management Systems.

Abstract

The audit of the QMS is based on the ISO 19011 standard and uses techniques, the main ones being the interview, the questionnaire, the direct observation, the analysis and the analysis of the contents. The audit of the new requirements of ISO 9001: 2015 requires the auditor some diligence. The auditor is expected to become a knowledgeable, pragmatic, open and educated professional. His objective is to evaluate the effective functioning and the performances of the organization and to help it to progress.  The coronavirus era meant that many Ugandan and countries manufacturers were dealing with uncertainty ranging from a sharp decrease in business to the exact opposite. Keeping employees safe and being fully facilitated while at the same time keeping product lines running which hasn’t been easy. How have companies been handling Quality Management Systems (QMS) audit with everything else they had to balance?   In the context of Covid-19, the conformity assessment industry is adapting its approach to certification audit globally, and should be considering how to: Protect the health and safety of staff and auditors, protect customers and consumers, Help customers with business continuity. Due to covid, most companies resorted to remote auditing since firms were closed and movements limited. The global conformity assessment industry business model is built on the audit day rate and heavily reliant on contract auditors. In this instance, it is possible that contract auditors suffered financially as audit assignments were cancelled. National accreditation bodies should be communicating steps to protect staff and support certification body clients.