Audits

Audits are just as much one of the typical investigation activities as, for example, tests or inspections. In this respect, the "audit" term is, according to the definitions, usually reserved for the (management) systems but is colloquially used for processes or products too. 

The audit itself serves to obtain complete information about the stipulated requirements. These stipulations may result, for example, from legal regulations, standards, technical specifications, product specifications etc.

Within the framework of certification, the audit constitutes just one part of the entire certification process but the one with the most stringent requirements on the specialist and social competence of the auditors. 

Auditors - Neutral partners

Our auditors are a part of our internationally oriented network. Since they have extensive experience in the laws, the standards and the audit programmes, they are regularly deployed for audits worldwide. 

Thus, we ensure that audits are carried out according to the same quality standards and on the same high quality level. For our customers, this means that our audit conclusions are based on a globally comparable foundation.

In addition, GSI's auditors can also call upon a big team of other specialist auditors from the most diverse subject areas so that a combination of various audits is possible too.

Audit activities

Depending on who the client for an audit is, GSI's auditors can carry out different types of audits: 

Internal audits (first-party audits)

Such audits are carried out by the organisation itself which, for example, uses the management system or a process itself or makes a product available to the market.

Internal audits are often the first step towards certification and help to consider its own processes from another perspective. Moreover, internal audits can be used in order to introduce new processes or also to check whether, for example, stipulated standards or customer specifications are being complied with. 

Our auditors with worldwide activities have extensive experience specific to the subjects and the audits and can thus contribute to implementing and establishing internal audits in their companies as a partner of their choice and to reaching objective audit conclusions. With the aid of our audit support, our customers can prove that they have taken internal measures which substantiate trust in their efficiency and that in relation to both customers and their employees.
 

Supplier audits (second-party audits)

This type of audit is carried out as a so-called "second-party audit". These audits are executed, for example, by purchasers or customers themselves or their commissioned representatives such as SLV Duisburg in order to make certain that a company can also satisfy the stipulated, mostly project-specific, requirements. 

The advantage of a supplier audit relates to the fact that, as the audit client, they can stipulate the audit plan and the audit criteria together with our competent auditors. Thus, they can arrange, specifically for the order, for it to be checked whether their supplier satisfies their standards, e.g. with regard to quality, compliance with the performance characteristics and the performances themselves or also the general supply capability. 

In this respect, we use the checklists of our customers, jointly elaborate questionnaires adapted to their concerns or support them in establishing scopes of random samples. We make evaluations of the executed audits in the form of reports.

Certification audit

These audits are also designated as third-party audits and are carried out in a neutral way. This means that our competent auditors are independent not only of the organisation to be audited but also of any customers of this organisation.

Therefore, our client is always a neutral certification body in this case.

Unlike in the case of a supplier audit, SLV Duisburg's auditors carry out the audit according to defined stipulations from the applicable standards and certification programmes.