A written finding has two parts: the requirement the auditor says was not met, and the objective evidence they recorded. Put both into the first section of your response in the auditor’s words, written down as facts: where, what, how many, who and when. Then check which question the requirement asks, because a response to a different question comes back.
Wednesday, 4:40 in the afternoon, a meeting room off the assembly floor. The customer's auditor reads four findings at the closing meeting. The third is yours: gasket adhesive past its expiry date, in use. The customer gives you 30 days to respond.
A written finding has two parts. One is the requirement the auditor says was not met. The other is the objective evidence they recorded. Everything in your response answers those two things, so they go into the first section of your response before you do anything else, in the auditor's words.
Copy the requirement exactly
In this case the customer's supplier manual says that material with a shelf life must not be used after its expiry date. That is this customer's rule, in this customer's manual. Your own customer or auditor will cite theirs. Follow the requirement they cite, and do not guess at what any standard says.
Write the evidence down as facts
- Where. The assembly line, stations 12 and 27.
- What. A container of gasket adhesive in use with an expiry date 19 days past at station 12, and 41 days past at station 27.
- How many. 2 of the 8 stations the auditor sampled.
- Who and when. The customer's auditor, on the second day of a two day audit.
Check each fact against the auditor's notes. If you cannot read a station number or a date, ask before you leave the room. This is the cheapest moment you will get.
Check which question it asks
This requirement is about use. Expired material must not be used. A response about how the stockroom rotates stock answers a different question, and so does one about how often containers get checked. Those may be good things to fix. The response still has to say how expired adhesive came to be used and how you will show it will not happen again.
This is the first of the four reasons a response comes back: it answers a different question than the finding asked. The others are in the chapters ahead. If the requirement is unclear, ask the auditor in writing before the response is due. A question in week 1 costs nothing. A rejected response in week 6 costs the cycle.
Read more: the free audit finding response builder. Its first two sections are the requirement and what the auditor found, and it flags either one when it is empty or too short to be the exact wording. For any term you do not know, see the quality glossary.
The mistake to avoid
Paraphrasing the requirement. Your version is softer than theirs, and the softer version is the one you end up answering.
- Pull the last finding you answered.
- Compare the requirement you quoted with the report.
- Put the auditor's exact words back in your log.
Open the printable Monday Board
Related on ShopFloorOps
The plant, the audit, the finding and every number in this book (finding CAR-0417) are a made-up example. The tool sidebars show ShopFloorOps tools, which I make and sell. Every chapter teaches the step itself, so you can use your own forms. New to a term? See the quality glossary.