My Reading on ASQ CQA HB Part IV
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Charlie Ch<strong>on</strong>g/ Fi<strong>on</strong> Zhang<br />
<strong>Part</strong> <strong>IV</strong>B1<br />
Since system and process auditing are processes for collecting and transforming data into factual informati<strong>on</strong><br />
about the organizati<strong>on</strong> (specifically, the activities defined by the audit’s scope and purpose), they can be useful<br />
management tools. Audit services can range from simple verificati<strong>on</strong> of compliance audits that maintain a<br />
system at its design potential operati<strong>on</strong> level to determinati<strong>on</strong> of effectiveness and efficiency to promote<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinual improvement of the organizati<strong>on</strong>. Management must first decide the strategies for the organizati<strong>on</strong><br />
and then use audit-generated factual informati<strong>on</strong> to support those strategies. In essence, auditing can provide<br />
informati<strong>on</strong> up<strong>on</strong> which strategic decisi<strong>on</strong>s are based, or it can be a tactical tool for driving different initiatives,<br />
including c<strong>on</strong>tinual improvement.<br />
Overall Systemic Interacti<strong>on</strong>s And Relati<strong>on</strong>ships<br />
Management can benefit from the use of process auditing techniques because it requires the evaluati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
interacti<strong>on</strong>s and relati<strong>on</strong>ships of activities that compose the system. Unfortunately, many organizati<strong>on</strong>s have no<br />
knowledge of overall systemic interacti<strong>on</strong>s and relati<strong>on</strong>ships between departments and activities, other than the<br />
auditor’s working papers. Management knows what happens next in the flow of a product or paperwork, but<br />
may not know the interacti<strong>on</strong>s or relati<strong>on</strong>ships bey<strong>on</strong>d the next phase or department. Without this knowledge of<br />
the organizati<strong>on</strong>’s systems, redundant, counterproductive, and unneeded acti<strong>on</strong>s not <strong>on</strong>ly may exist but may<br />
even be included in policies and procedures and be perpetuated by c<strong>on</strong>formity auditing.<br />
Quagmire<br />
Management can address this quagmire (a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot) by<br />
implementing c<strong>on</strong>temporary process-based audit practices that focus <strong>on</strong> the system, by reading the audit<br />
reports in their entirety, and by using this informati<strong>on</strong> to allocate resources to implement changes for<br />
improvement.