June 22, 2017

sasadmin

Sofema Aviation Services is pleased to announce the availability of EASA Compliant Aviation Quality Assurance Senior and Lead Auditor Course Small to Medium Operators and Business Aviation.

31st July to 4th August – Hong Kong

 For details email: office@sassofia.com

The Role of the Audit

The role of the audit provides for a basic tool which enables the assessment and determination of both effective implementation and conformity in compliance with all related requirements.
To take the audit to a higher “advanced level” requires the evaluation (against a standard) of the effectiveness of the Quality Management System (QMS) and all Quality Control (QC) processes to achieve the organizations objectives.
Consider the following
To achieve conformity without organisational effectiveness does not promote a strong organisation.
Without full regulatory conformity the organisation will be exposed (regardless of the effectiveness of the product or process)
So our primary objective is to ensure conformity within a strong & effective organisation.

What’s in an ISO Audit Program?

We should start by comparing the difference of focus between an ISO Audit Program and EASA Audit Program.
Related to ISO the audit program typically contains 3 primary elements:
a) Compliance
b) Risk Management
c) Continuous Improvement

What’s in an EASA Audit Program?

Related to EASA the audit program essentially focuses on a single element:
a) Compliance
Within an EASA Audit environment the primary objective is to ensure compliance (both externally with the regulatory requirements and internally with organisational requirements. Whilst mention is made within the regulations regarding Continuous Improvement it is not supported by any significant related EASA “Acceptable Means of Compliance” (AMC) or “Guidance Material” (GM) documentation.

Note considering Risk Management

EASA requires an active Risk Management environment however this is typically found within the Safety Management System (SMS)

Advance Audit Questions which should form the basis of the Audit Interview / Discussions.

a) Is the process documented understood and correctly defined in accordance with regulatory requirements?;
b) What would cause the procedure / process to be changed?;
c) Are all relevant responsibilities associated with the process assigned?;
d) Are all stake holders impacted by the process competent for the role they perform – how is this managed and measured;
e) Are the processes adequately managed and maintained?;
f) How is the effectiveness of process measured? (Does it achieve the required and desired results?);
g) Is there training associated with the procedure? If yes how is it assessed and managed?;
h) How often is the organization analysing associated data? (Is the periodicity effective?);
i) Is the organisation able to implement change based on the information being analysed?

Ongoing objectives within an effective QMS include the following:

a) The ability to demonstrate on a continuous basis conformity of the QMS to the required standard (EASA plus?);
b) The need to show in details full process definition including all process elements inputs and outputs;
c) A method whereby the validity of any process is identified;
d) The management of the competence of any person who reviews and assesses any data;
e) The development of a process to manage the definition of targets and evidence that such targets are met – Key Performance Indicators (KPI);
f) A method whereby any identified discrepancies can be formally rectified to include analysis of the root cause together with the development of appropriate responses.

For details of the forthcoming training please see HERE or email: office@sassofia.com