From ISO 9001:2015 tips and tricks to exciting advances in auditing technology, this year’s ISO 9000 & Audits World Conference was full of both practical advice and big picture inspiration. Our team was energized to attend the event last week, and buzzed to have our CEO present a workshop entitled “Beyond the Checklist: Driving Quality through the Digital Audit.” Because we’re such audit geeks, we attended as many sessions as we could and talked to dozens of audit professionals on the floor.
We learned that many auditors are eager to adopt new solutions that will help them do their jobs more efficiently and effectively. The audit has come a long way in the past few years, and technology promises to push its potential even further in the next decade. The spirit of innovation was definitely present at the ISO 9000 & Audits World Conference.
Here are 3 takeaways from the ISO 9000 & Audits World Conference:
#1: Audit Professionals Crave a Seat at the Corporate Table
Auditing is still too often silo-ed within organizations, and the folks we talked to were looking for ways to better integrate auditing into other business units across the enterprise. Finding the answers to questions such as “how does auditing affect purchasing, inventory, customers?” would go a long way toward helping them make a business case for audit digitalization. Because auditors are on the front lines of quality and compliance, when they’re able to spot problems before they occur, their findings can really impact the bottom line. Audit professionals are eager to connect the dots between the work they do and the broader organizational goals.
#2: Quality Management Technology Has Come a Long Way in the Past Few Decades
This is one we already knew, since we’re technology providers, but we loved Lorri Hunt’s presentation, Drive Change with Technology. She reminded us of the VHS tapes that were popular when ISO 9001:1987 was published, and the procedural binders that dominated the ISO 9001:1994 days. But today we have so many technological tools at our fingertips, from digital cameras to cloud storage, and still many of us find ourselves afraid adopt new technology solutions. She entreated those in the audience to apply risk-based thinking to change in order to uncover opportunities—and then craft actionable plans to tackle them. Technology can make a positive difference in so many aspects of the business. The days of the VHS and the stack of folders are thankfully in the past.
#3: If You Seek to Boost the Impact of Your Audits, Look to Software that Can Work for You
In his workshop, ARMATURE CEO Dave McTaggart outlined the five stages we see in the journey toward audit digitalization. The early stages, dominated by manual checklist-style audits and spreadsheets, limit the auditor’s ability to make a meaningful impact on the organization. But as organizations adopt sophisticated audit management software solutions, and then fully integrate that data into their enterprise IT infrastructure, the audit is able to make a dramatic impact.
Audit management platforms such as ARMATURE Fabric boost the impact of your audit force by collecting and aggregating audit data over time, and applying machine intelligence to help auditors and quality decision makers spot trends, triage issues, and make smart resource decisions. The right audit management software solution can help organizations take a more proactive approach to quality, turning compliance into competitive advantage.
Taking You Beyond the Checklist
Since 2000, ARMATURE has been building software solutions for some of the world’s leading conformity assessment bodies, standards developing organizations, and quality-minded enterprises. We understand how to architect solutions that support a wide range of compliance needs, from accreditation and certification to field audits and beyond. Wherever you are on your audit journey, we can help you digitalize your operations and transform your audits from mere compliance mandates to the competitive differentiators they can be. To learn more about ARMATURE Fabric™, contact us to schedule a consultation today.
