Write a problem statement from the audit report: what, where, how many and against which requirement, with no cause in it and nobody blamed. Check every word against the report. Keep out causes and opinions, then send it to the auditor and ask them to agree. It takes one email and it settles what the response has to cover.
Wednesday, 5:10, a quiet desk with the audit report and a blank page. The auditor is packing up and will be on site until 6. The finding is correct as written, and it is still not something you can work from.
The auditor wrote what they saw. You need a problem statement: what, where, how many and against which requirement, with no cause in it and nobody blamed. Writing it takes ten minutes. Getting the auditor to agree to it takes one email, and it settles what the response has to cover.
Write the statement
For this case: "Containers of gasket adhesive past their expiry date were in use at 2 of 8 assembly stations sampled, stations 12 and 27, 19 and 41 days past expiry, on the second day of the audit. The customer's supplier manual says expired material must not be used." It names the material, the place, the count, the size of the gap and the requirement. A reader can check every word against the audit report.
Keep out what does not belong
- A cause. "Operators did not check dates" is a guess. It belongs in step 5, after you have asked why.
- A fix. "Operators must check expiry dates" is a solution. Written here it hides what the problem is.
- A wider scope. The statement says what was found. Step 4 widens the look. The statement does not widen it, because the finding does not.
Send it to the auditor
Email the statement and ask one question: does this describe what you saw? Make sure you and the auditor are about to answer the same finding. If the auditor corrects a number or a word, change your statement, and use the corrected one from here on.
Skipping this step is how a response gets rejected for something it never addressed. The auditor reads the response against what they remember, and the statement is the one page that shows you were working from the same facts.
Read more: how to write a problem statement. In the free audit finding response builder this is the section called What the auditor found.
The mistake to avoid
Restating the finding as the action you plan to take. Once the statement reads like a procedure change, the investigation has already been decided.
- Take one open finding.
- Write the statement with no cause in it.
- Send it to the auditor this week.
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.