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Management systemTerm

Being audit-ready

Being audit-ready means you can show at any moment that your management system meets the requirements: the evidence is current and easy to find, and open points are known and being followed up.

Explanation

Being audit-ready is not a formal status and not a one-off project just before the audit. It is the situation in which documents match practice, records are complete and current and employees know what is expected of them. That way you do not need to rush when an auditor announces a visit.

In practice you maintain this by checking for each requirement of the standard or scheme whether there is evidence and whether it is still correct, for example with a periodic check or a mock audit. What is missing or outdated becomes an action. That shows well in advance where a finding is looming.

It is different from a gap analysis, which shows where you do not yet meet the standard. Being audit-ready is about maintenance: staying able to demonstrate compliance. It is also no reason to polish the system just for the audit, because an auditor also checks whether it works that way in practice.

Example from practice

A month before the external audit the QHSE coordinator goes through the list of requirements and sees that for a few items the evidence is outdated. Those items get an action so they are updated in time.

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In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Being audit-ready

Audit-ready checkSee what is still missing, clause by clause. Standards frameworkStandard clauses linked to your own evidence. Document managementOne current version, with read confirmation. ISO 9001Quality ISO 14001Environment ISO 45001Health and safety VCASafety for contractors
Knowledge base

Keep reading

Preparing for a certification audit: checklist for the final weeks and the day itselfPreparing for a certification audit is mostly about making sure you can show what you already do. This guide gives a checklist for the final weeks and audit day, describes what auditors often ask and explains how to handle findings. Document control for your management system: versions, approval and reviewDocument control in a management system ensures that employees always work with the current, approved version. ISO 9001 speaks of documented information and mainly asks for control, not a mountain of paper. Here is how to arrange it practically.
Glossary

See also

Gap analysisGap analysisEvidenceEvidence (objective evidence)Internal auditInternal auditCertificationCertificationBOCFBrydgeOne Control Framework

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