Page 73: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2011)

AUDITS: REASONED PROCESSES TO IMPROVE QUALITY An audit of any of the so-called qual- ity codes is hopefully carried out by in-dependent, mature auditors for the solepurpose of determining whether or notsystem in place is working as desired. With top-to-bottom client buy-in, and if a non-conformity is discovered, it should be respected as the starting pointto initiate the CA process and thereforeshould be welcomed. The entire evolu- tion, however, depends primarily on the total commitment of management to theprocess based management approach toimplementation of the ISM, ISPSCodes and other relevant standards. A viable, safe and profitable merchant marine hangs in the balance. June 2011www.marinelink.com 69Quality & Regulatory Audits: Embraced, not Feared Checklist for Operators 1. Auditors dont improve a system: - Auditors have never improved a system and never will - It is the TM (Top Management) which improves a system by its com- mitment.- The author of this article argues and urges organizations to recognize that the best service their auditors can provide is be objective and give an or- ganization correctly written NC (Non Conformities) based on a require-ment, clear evidence and by stating the nature of the NC 2. Non Conformities (NC) are integral to any system improvement. They should be welcome:- The only bad NC is the one not known to the organization - A NC is the starting point for a Correction and Corrective Action (CA) based on RCA (Root Cause Analysis). - All potential NCs are data driven. Organizations must analyze data to get information and recognize trends to predict potential NCs.3.Maritime Industry can meet the objections and functional requirements of the ISM Code by ensuring that: - Auditing is objective - Auditing must never be mixed up by considering the auditor a SME (Subject matter expert) - Advice from auditors is counterproductive and kills an organization. It is the TM which should be responsible for CA. Moreover auditors compro- mise their independence as auditors by providing advice. - An auditor performs yeoman service by giving a well worded objective NC encompassing the requirement, evidence and nature of the NC. 4. Auditors must be qualified as auditors: - Just being a mariner is not sufficient - Like other disciplines auditing is a profession and requires expertise, ethics and maturity Competency based on exposure must be strengthened by training and certification as an auditor. About the Author Captain Inderjit Arora is President and CEO at QMII, serves as team leader for consulting, advising, audit- ing and training clients in management systems, in- cluding many courses conducted for the USCG. He is a Master Mariner with a 32-year record of achieve- ment in both military, mercantile marine and civil management.