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Certification as a

www.irca.org Quality Auditor

Criteria for Certification as a Quality Auditor

IRCA/602/09/1 Issued June 2009 1

Contents

1. General Information about IRCA and the QMS 2008 Programme

2. Certification Grades

3. Initial Certification

4. How to Apply

5. Fees

6. Renewal of Certification

7. How to Regrade

8. Transitioning QMS 2000 to QMS 2008

9. Other Information Appendix I Guidance on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Appendix II Definitions Appendix III Code of Conduct The information detailed within this document was correct at time of publication. For more details about this programme and other services we provide, we advise you to see the IRCA website at www.irca.org. Copyright IRCA – 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission of the International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA).



1. General Information about IRCA and the QMS 2008 Programme IRCA and Auditor Certification History: The International Register of Certificated Auditors (IRCA) began certifying auditors in 1984. It was set up as part of an initiative by the UK government to make business and industry more competitive. The aim of this initiative was to achieve efficiencies by reducing the costs of supplier audits by replacing them with a fewer number of third party audits. Each third party audit of a supplier would then be accepted and recognized by all customers of that supplier.

In addition to IRCA, the other bodies involved in this new structure included an accreditation body (now UKAS), a national standards making body (BSI Standards), and a number of certification bodies. The quality management standard used was the British standard BS 5750, which later became ISO 9001.

This quality infrastructure proved to be extremely successful and is now recognized world-wide to be the most effective and most commonly used method for assuring the quality of supplier organizations. This same structure is now used in other contexts, e.g. to assure the compliance of organizations’ management systems to occupational health & safety, food safety and environmental requirements. But whatever the context, because the structure relies heavily on competent auditors and consultants, the role played by IRCA has been essential to its success.

During the years since its establishment, IRCA has earned a reputation for integrity and for adding value. The evaluation and certification methods developed and used by IRCA have been adopted by most other auditor certification bodies. Although most countries now offer alternatives to IRCA through their own national auditor certification programmes, IRCA certification remains internationally as popular as ever. Around 35,000 auditors have been awarded certification since 1984, and over 150 countries are currently represented on the IRCA register. IRCA is the only auditor certification body that has international recognition and remains the certification that supplier organizations, certification bodies and auditors value most.

IRCA Training: IRCA certification of auditor training courses is recognized and valued internationally. Although developed originally to support auditor certification, IRCA has evolved certification of training to become an independent activity, successful in its own right. Originally designed for auditors wishing to become certified, the courses proved very popular with students who were seeking information on quality, environmental and health & safety management for a variety of reasons. Now only a small minority of students attending these courses are auditors. Training organizations in many parts of the world regard IRCA certification as an essential requirement for trading. The number of courses IRCA offers has increased to cover a wide range of applications and continues to expand as training organizations demand certification for an increasing range of course types. Around 60,000 students a year attend IRCA certified training in all parts of the world.

Links with the CQI: IRCA is a division of the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI). The CQI in its own right is recognized worldwide as one of the international champions of quality. Together, in their respective roles, IRCA and the CQI provide a successful contribution to business and industry based on integrity, absolute impartiality, and adding value to the business process.



The QMS 2008 Programme To have credibility, accredited certification needs competent auditors. To be efficient and competitive, business and industry needs competent auditors. The purpose of our Quality Management Systems Auditor Certification Programme (the QMS 2008 Programme) is to provide confidence to accredited certification and to business and industry that auditors certified to this programme are competent.

As part of the certification process we will evaluate you against requirements which reflect the key skills, knowledge and experience that define competence and which you, the QMS 2008 auditor, need to have and demonstrate during an audit.

The QMS 2008 Programme is based on the key standard: • ISO 9001:2008, Quality Management

Systems - Requirements

and the auditing guidance standard: • ISO 19011:2002, Guidelines on Quality

and/or Environmental Management Systems Auditing

Our award of certification means we have recognized that you understand and are competent (depending on the grade awarded) to: • uphold the principles of proper ethical

conduct, fair presentation and due professional care

• communicate clearly orally and in writing with personnel at all levels of an organization

• plan and organize an audit of a QMS • identify and understand relevant business

processes • evaluate objective evidence and determine

the effectiveness of a QMS • report accurately audit findings and

conclusions • lead the audit team and manage the audit

process • audit a management process. The scope of certification is general, i.e. it does not include nor does it require any industry sector specific competences. You may select from a list up to 6 standard industry sectors within which you have acquired work experience. These details, although included within the register, are self-declarations and are outside the scope of certification. The details of all certified auditors are included within a register which is publicly available.

The programme is intended for: • quality auditors, e.g. those employed by third

party certification bodies/registrars or by purchasing organizations

• quality practitioners, e.g. quality consultants, quality managers and other quality personnel

• employees conducting quality management system audits within their own organization, i.e. internal audits.

This document provides you (new applicants and existing IRCA certified auditors) with information and instructions on: • the certification process and how to apply

• the requirements for initial certification

• the requirements for renewal of certification, including CPD requirements

• the types of audits acceptable for certification

• fees

• the Code of Conduct

Certification within the QMS 2008 Programme is available, without restriction, to all individuals world-wide who satisfy the certification requirements.



2. Certification Grades The QMS 2008 Programme has six grades of certification: • QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor • QMS 2008 Internal Auditor • QMS 2008 Provisional Auditor • QMS 2008 Auditor • QMS 2008 Lead Auditor • QMS 2008 Principal Auditor To assist you in determining which grade is right for you, we have listed below the descriptions of the characteristics of each grade and a brief summary of the certification requirements. You will find a more comprehensive description of these in the next section ‘Initial Certification’.

QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor Who is suited to this grade?

This is an entry or training grade for internal auditors who do not yet have the necessary internal auditing experience required for certification to the Internal Auditor grade.

Many internal auditors start at this grade after initial training as the first step.

Summary of certification requirements for this grade: Education • At least secondary education Work Experience • Five years, or 4 years with a degree or near

degree

• One year of quality work experience Auditor Training • An IRCA certified ISO 9001:2008 Foundation

Course or accepted alternative

• An IRCA certified Internal QMS Auditor course or acceptable alternative

Or

An IRCA certified QMS Auditor/Lead Auditor course or accepted alternative

Auditing Experience • None.

QMS 2008 Internal Auditor

Who is suited to this grade? You should consider this grade if you conduct internal audits of your organization’s QMS. Usually you will not be a full-time auditor, and you may only audit a few times a year, but you will have a good understanding of quality management systems and how they add value within your own organisation.

Because internal auditing is only part of your work, we do not require you to demonstrate the same level qualification and experience as for the other grades.

Certification to this grade is valuable to you in the same way as with other qualifications that recognise your competence. It is valued by your employer not only as an indicator of your competence, but also because it supports your organization’s ISO 9001:2008 management system.

This grade is a natural progression from the provisional grade for internal auditors and you should apply for regrade (from Provisional Internal Auditor) as soon as you have completed the internal auditing experience.


degree

• One year of quality work experience Auditor Training • An IRCA certified ISO 9001:2008 Foundation

Course or accepted alternative

• An IRCA certified Internal QMS Auditor course or accepted alternative

Or

• An IRCA certified QMS Auditor/Lead Auditor course or accepted alternative

Auditing Experience • Five audits totalling at least 15 hours.



QMS 2008 Provisional Auditor

Who is suited to this grade? This is the entry or training grade, and you should consider this if you intend to make auditing your career. The grade recognizes you to have the appropriate personal attributes, educational, professional and technical competences but have not yet had sufficient opportunity to meet the auditing experience requirements necessary for certification to the other grades. Most career auditors start at this grade and it is seen as the first step.

This grade is also used by experienced auditors who are taking a temporary break from auditing or have moved from auditing to management and who still see value in maintaining IRCA certification.


degree

• Two years of quality work experience Auditor Training • An IRCA Certified QMS Auditor/ Lead Auditor

course or accepted alternative Auditing Experience • None.

QMS 2008 Auditor

Who is suited to this grade? This grade is a natural progression from the provisional grade and you should apply for regrade (from provisional) as soon as you have completed the required auditing experience. This grade recognizes you as a competent auditor, contributing as an effective member of an audit team. It is regarded as the next step in the career ladder and most auditors who hold this grade intend to move onto either the lead or principal auditor grade.

Summary of certification requirements for this grade: Education • At least secondary education

Work Experience • Five years, or 4 years with a degree or near

degree

• Two years of quality work experience Auditor Training • An IRCA Certified QMS Auditor/Lead Auditor

course or accepted alternative Auditing Experience • Four audits as an auditor-in-training totalling

20 days, 10 days minimum on-site.

QMS 2008 Lead Auditor

Who is suited to this grade? Most auditors working for certification bodies are lead auditors, as are auditors who perform supplier audits for large organizations. This grade is reserved for competent auditors experienced at managing audits and leading teams.


degree


course or accepted alternative Auditing Experience (in total, i.e. assuming you do not currently hold the QMS 2008 Auditor grade) • Four audits as an auditor-in-training totalling

20 days, 10 days minimum on-site

• Three audits as lead auditor-in-training totalling 15 days, 10 days minimum on-site.

QMS 2008 Principal Auditor

Who is suited to this grade? This grade is designed as an alternative to the Lead Auditor grade and is intended to recognize the considerable experience and competence of two categories of auditors who operate on their own (i.e. as a team of one, performing sole audits); • Auditors with a background in quality

consulting (whose key competencies are



implementing quality systems and performing all aspects of the audit process without assistance)

• Auditors with a background in leading audit teams (as lead auditors) but who now audit on their own (whose key competences are audit management team leadership).

We consider this Principal Auditor and Lead Auditor grades as being, on balance, of an equivalent standard and we do not intend that auditors hold the Principal Auditor and Lead Auditor grade, or any other grade, at the same time.

Summary of certification requirements for this grade: Education Consultant route: • A degree or near degree

or

Team Leader route: • At least secondary education Work Experience Consultant route: • Six years of quality work experience

or

Team Leader route: • Five years, or 4 years with a degree or near

degree


course or accepted alternative Auditing Experience Consultant route: • Seven sole or lead audits totalling 35 days of

which a minimum of 20 days must have been on-site (these numbers assume you do not currently hold the QMS 2008 Auditor or QMS 2008 Lead Auditor grade)

or

Team Leader route: • Six years certified to the Lead auditor grade

• Three sole audits where you were required to demonstrate effective audit management skills within complex and demanding situations.



3. Initial Certification We will evaluate your application based on your demonstration of the competencies1 needed for effective audit of quality management systems. You may demonstrate these competencies through a combination of education, work experience, auditor training and audit experience. Unless indicated, we will accept a less comprehensive coverage of the scope and depth of competences for the QMS Internal Auditor grade.

Competences Generic Auditing Competences • Auditing principles, procedures and techniques that enable you to apply these as appropriate to

different audits and ensure that you conduct audits in a consistent and systematic manner

• Management system and reference documents that enable you to comprehend/define the scope of an audit and apply audit criteria

• Organizational situations that enable you to comprehend an organization’s operational context

• Applicable laws, regulations and other requirements relevant to the discipline that enable you to work within, and be aware of, the requirements that apply to the organization being audited.

QMS Auditing Competences • Quality related methods and techniques the enable you to examine quality management systems and to

generate appropriate audit findings and conclusions

• Processes and products, including services, that enable you to comprehend the technological context in which the audit is being conducted.

1 You will find a more complete listing of the competencies in ISO 19011:2002, section 7.3



Education

For all grades except QMS 2008 Principal Auditor (consultant route): You need to have completed a minimum of secondary education. If you have a degree or near-degree2 level qualification, we will reduce the requirement for work experience.

Acceptable qualifications include those awarded by an institution, recognized by a national governmental body or accredited by a national professional body. For QMS 2008 Principal Auditor grade (consultant route): You need a degree, near degree or acceptable equivalent. All post graduate diplomas, undergraduate and post graduate degrees awarded in a relevant subject will normally be accepted.

Work Experience

General, relevant work experience: For all grades except QMS 2008 Principal Auditor (consultant route): You need to have at least 5 years of relevant work experience, this is reduced to 4 years if you have a degree or near degree. We consider relevant work experience to be a technical, managerial or professional position where you are required to exercise judgement, solve problems and communicate with other managers, employees, customers and stakeholders. For QMS 2008 Principal Auditor (consultant route): You must have at least 6 years of work experience, all of which must be quality work experience.

Quality work experience: For all grades except QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor, QMS 2008 Internal Auditor and QMS 2008 Principal Auditor (consultant route):

2 We use the UK definition of a degree as the degree benchmark. But we recognize that not all degrees awarded in the UK and in other countries meet this standard. Many fall just short, either in content or in duration and we call these ‘near degrees’. For the purposes of this programme we recognize a near degree as meeting the tertiary education requirement.

You must also have completed 2 years (which may be included as part of the 4 or 5 years total work experience) within a context where quality and quality issues formed the major part of the job. Such experience must have provided you with the practical knowledge necessary to audit quality management systems effectively. For QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor and QMS 2008 Internal Auditor: The requirement is for 1 year of quality work experience, and we will accept quality experience of a more general nature. For QMS 2008 Principal Auditor (consultant route): You must be able to demonstrate at least 6 years of work experience acquired within the previous 10 year period that related to the development, implementation, maintenance and auditing of quality management systems. The significant majority of this work experience must have been conducted at a senior level within an organization. You may have acquired this experience either as an employee or as a contractor.

Because we are looking for evidence of quality related competences acquired through working within relevant fields, we will only accept auditing experience as contributing up to a maximum of half of this requirement. You must have acquired the 6 years quality experience within the previous 10 years.

For all grades, periods of training cannot be included in this work experience requirement.

Auditor Training

For QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor or QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grades: You must have successfully completed either an IRCA certified ISO 9001:2008 Foundation course (or an acceptable alternative) and an IRCA certified QMS Internal Auditor course (or an acceptable alternative)

or

The training requirement specified for any of the other grades. For all other grades: You must have successfully completed an IRCA certified QMS Auditor/Lead Auditor course (or an acceptable alternative) or

An IRCA certified generic Auditor/Lead Auditor course (or an acceptable alternative) and an IRCA



certified QMS Auditor Conversion course (or an acceptable alternative).

If you are already certified as an auditor on one of our generic programmes we will only require you to have completed the shorter IRCA certified QMS Auditor Conversion course or accepted alternative.

Acceptable alternatives include some QMS courses approved by other training approval bodies. Exceptionally, we will consider accepting training completed through other ways, but the onus will be on you to satisfy us that this training at least meets the learning outcomes of our prescribed courses.

You should normally have successfully completed auditor training within the 3 year period immediately prior to application for certification. We may accept training completed prior to this period if you provide evidence of recent, relevant work experience and currency of your auditing skills.

We advise you to refer to the IRCA website www.irca.org for a current listing of all IRCA certified training organizations offering IRCA certified QMS auditor training courses.

Auditing Experience

For QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor grade: No auditing experience is required for certification to this grade. For QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grade: You need to have performed at least 5 internal audits, each of which must have been of at least 3 hours duration and must have included all elements of the audit cycle; audit planning, document review, auditing, interviewing, audit reporting and must not have involved areas or activities that you yourself perform. (However, we will accept audits of activities for which you are directly or indirectly responsible, e.g. as a line manager). For QMS 2008 Provisional Auditor grade: No auditing experience is required for certification to this grade. For QMS 2008 Auditor grade: You need to have performed at least 4 complete audits. Auditing activity must include document review, preparation and performance of on-site audit activities and audit reporting.

The duration of these audits must not be less than 20 days, 10 days of which must have been acquired on-site.

Although we recommend you should complete all of the audits under the direction and guidance³ of an auditor competent as a team leader (currently certified as a lead auditor or who has equivalent competence), we acknowledge that for many auditors this will be very difficult and costly to arrange. Consequently, we will accept a minimum of 1 audit under these conditions. We may require this team leader to attest to your competence to audit as a team member. For QMS 2008 Lead Auditor grade: In addition to the audit requirement for the QMS 2008 Auditor grade listed above, you must have completed 3 acceptable audits as the leader of an audit team which included at least one other auditor.

The duration of the 3 lead audits must not be less than 15 days, 10 days of which must have been acquired on-site.

Although we recommend you should complete all of the audits under the direction and guidance3 of an auditor competent as a team leader (currently certified as a lead auditor or who has equivalent competence), we acknowledge that for many auditors this will be very difficult and costly to arrange. Consequently, we will accept a minimum of 1 lead audit under these conditions. We may require this team leader to attest to your competence to lead an audit team.

If you are already certified to the QMS 2008 Auditor grade, you need only perform the 3 lead audits as above. For QMS 2008 Principal Auditor grade: For the consultant route, you must have completed a minimum of 7 acceptable sole or lead audits totalling 35 days, 20 days of which must have been acquired on-site.

If you are already certified to the QMS 2008 Auditor grade, you need only perform 3 sole or lead audits of a duration not less than 15 days, 10 days of which must have been acquired on-site.

For the team leader route, you must have acquired a minimum of 6 years of experience as a certified lead auditor (exceptionally, we will consider accepting less than 6 years as a certified lead auditor if you are able to demonstrate a very considerable and comprehensive experience in leading teams within a shorter period) and

3 Direction and guidance does not mean you must be under constant supervision nor does it mean someone needs to be assigned solely to perform this task.



conducted 3 sole audits, where you were required to demonstrate effective audit management skills in complex and demanding situations. As guidance, we anticipate these to be initial audits of more than 1 day’s duration performed within a complex organization.



General Guidance on Acceptance of Audits: What audits do we accept? For all grades except QMS 2008 Lead Auditor: We will only accept audits performed during the previous 3 year period.

For QMS 2008 Lead Auditor grade: You must have acquired the lead audit experience during the previous 2 years. We define ‘previous period’ as being that period immediately prior to the date we receive your completed application.

We must be able to verify all audit experience you submit in your log sheets. Please make sure you include detailed information of the audits you perform and provide sufficient contact details so that we are able to perform the verification.

We will only accept audits that have been performed in accordance with the auditing guidance standard ISO 19011 and against ISO 9001:2008 or an alternative standard we accept as being equivalent. Audits performed against alternative national, international or company standards may be acceptable.

If you are already certified as an Auditor, Lead Auditor or Principal Auditor on one of our generic programmes, we will accept audits against ISO 22000, OH&S 18001, ISO 27001, ISO 20000, ISO 14001 or acceptable alternatives where these do not exceed 25% of the QMS audit experience requirement.

We will accept supplier audits (also known as second party audits), certification audits (also known as third party audits) and internal audits (also known as first party audits). We also accept consultancy audits (see below), which can be performed as first, second or third party audits. Internal (first party) audits: For QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grade we will accept internal audits performed by you on parts of your own organization where you are independent from the operational activities you are auditing.

We will consider accepting internal audits for other grades providing that, in addition to you being independent from the operational activities you are auditing, the scope of the audit was sufficiently broad and the audit was sufficiently complex to require you to use a range of auditing skills. So that we can consider your internal audits for acceptance, we advise you to provide

us with appropriate and relevant supporting information. Consultancy Audits: We will accept audits performed by you when acting as a consultant for a client if all of the following are satisfied:

• the client (auditee) already had a fully established QMS prior to the audit

• you had no part in setting up the QMS being audited (except in specific circumstances as described below)

• you were independent of the auditee

• the scope of the audit included all elements of the QMS.

We will also accept pre-assessment audits performed by you on a QMS that you were involved in developing if the certification body subsequently awarded certification at the first attempt.

Surveillance (partial system) audits: We do not normally accept surveillance (partial system) audits when submitted for initial certification (except for QMS 2008 Internal Auditor). However, we do accept surveillance audits for renewal of certification. As a general rule we consider five surveillance audits to be equivalent to one full QMS audit, but recognize that some surveillance audits can be very extensive. In such instances, we will accept fewer than five surveillance audits (as being equal to one full QMS audit) if you provide us with evidence that supports your claim.

Audits we do not accept: We do not accept: • audits of the same QMS that are repeated

more frequently than once every 12 months.

• audits of less than one day (6 hours of on-site audit activity exclusive of breaks) duration, except for QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grade where we will accept audits of 3 hours exclusive of breaks

• gap analysis, close out or follow up visits

• audits performed before successful completion of the formal training requirement.



4. How to Apply What you do

Request an application pack We will provide you with an application pack free of charge. Either contact us and we will send it to you by post, or download all the documents yourself from our website. Tel: +44 (0)20 7245 6833 Fax: +44 (0)20 7245 6755 Email: [email protected] Website: www.irca.org

Complete and submit the application form and documents When you apply for certification, please complete the forms as instructed, enclose all the additional material requested and send to us with the application fee.

At the application stage, please send only the application fee. Do not send the annual certification fee. If your application is successful, we will write and ask you to pay the annual certification fee.

We accept applications and supporting documentation in the following languages: • English • Chinese • Japanese • Italian • Spanish • Korean

For all the other languages we will need all correspondence in support of the application to be in the English language or to be accompanied by certified translations of the originals. This is particularly important for educational qualifications, training courses and audits.

All qualifications submitted must be supported by documentary evidence. An example of acceptable evidence would be a good quality photocopy of the original certificate indicating the awarding body, the title and date of the award and the name of the person to whom the award was made. If any of this information is not available or is not clear, we may ask you to supply us with more evidence.

The same applies if a copy of the certificate is not available, for example where it has been lost or

destroyed. Acceptable evidence would include an official letter from the awarding body confirming the award.

A transcript (i.e. an official, detailed account of the course content) of an award would also be acceptable evidence if it clearly states the date and title of the award.

If no documentary evidence can be supplied by the awarding body, it is unlikely we would accept your qualification. What we do

We usually take about four weeks to process each application. But that time may vary depending on the time required to verify the information submitted with the application. Giving us all the information we need will speed up the application process.

The process has four parts: Administrative check All applications are checked first by our administration staff to make sure you have included all the information we need.

Technical evaluation This phase is performed by IRCA's technical experts, the Reviewing Officers. The Reviewing Officers evaluate the information submitted against the certification requirements and perform verification of some or all of this information. At the conclusion of the technical evaluation, the Reviewing Officers will make a recommendation on certification to the Certification Manager.

We consider verification to be an essential element supporting the overall credibility of the certification process. Consequently, great care is taken by the Reviewing Officers in reviewing and verifying applications against all aspects of the certification requirements. We will perform the evaluation as speedily as we can, but sometimes it is not possible to be as quick as we (or you) would like. Processing your application is likely to take longer if you have unusual educational qualifications, if your current (or former) employers are slow to provide verification information or if the auditee organizations are not helpful.



Certification The final decision on your certification is made by the Certification Manager. The certification decision is performed independently from the technical evaluation process (detailed above). Offer and award of certification The Certification Manager will write formally to you with an offer of certification to the appropriate grade. We will send you this offer and ask you to pay your first annual fee.

Certification will be awarded when we receive your payment of the annual fee.

Your details are then added to our online register of certificated auditors and we will send you your certification card.



5. Fees Fees are set annually and apply for the calendar year (1 January – 31 December). Contact us direct or see www.irca.org for details of current fees applicable for your country. Application Fee

We need you to pay this fee when you send in your application. Alternatively, we will invoice you on receipt of your application. This fee covers the costs of the application process and is not refunded if the application is unsuccessful. Annual Certification Fee

This fee covers the annual cost of administering your certification. We will normally invoice you for this fee when we first offer you certification following your application, and thereafter each year one month4 before payment is due. Application for Regrade Fee

This fee covers the costs of evaluating your regrade. We need you to pay this fee when you submit your request and, as with the application fee, the regrade fee is not refundable. If you are regraded during the year, we will not ask you to pay any further certification fees for that current year. You may request a regrade at any stage during the certification period. There is no regrade fee if we regrade you as part of the (3 year) renewal of certification process.

4 Except every third year when your renewal is due. We invoice you after we have completed your renewal, on the basis that your grade (and fee) may have changed as a result of renewal.



6. Renewal of Certification You must renew your certification every three years, i.e. at the end of the third complete year. We will write to you two months before your certification period expires and ask you to send us your audit and CPD logs and other documents. We will evaluate these against the renewal requirements listed below and make a certification decision. We will then write to you with the results. The renewal of certification process involves these five requirements: • Continuing Professional Development (CPD) • Audit experience • Declaration of Complaints • Compliance with the IRCA Code of Conduct • Payment of the Annual Fee. Continuing Professional Development

For all grades except the QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor and QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grade: You must have completed at least 45 hours of appropriate CPD during the 3 year period immediately prior to renewal of certification.

We need you to provide us with evidence that you have met this requirement. (See Appendix I for guidance.)

For both QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grades: There is no CPD requirement. Audit Experience

We need you to record and submit your audit experience on the audit log sheets (IRCA/106) which we supply.

For QMS 2008 Provisional Internal Auditor grade: There is no requirement to perform audits.

For QMS 2008 Internal Auditor grade: You need to have completed a minimum of 5 audits, the total duration of which must have been at least 15 hours.

For QMS 2008 Provisional Auditor grade: There is no requirement to perform audits.

For QMS 2008 Auditor grade: You need to have completed at least 5 acceptable audits.

For QMS 2008 Lead Auditor grade: You need to have completed at least 5 acceptable audits, any 2 of which must have been as the leader of a team which included at least one other auditor.

For QMS 2008 Principal Auditor grade: You need to have completed at least 5 acceptable audits, all 5 must have been either lead audits or sole audits.

You must have performed all audits within the previous three year certification period. Declaration of Complaints

We need you to tell us about any complaints made against your professional conduct. It is important we know of any complaints as we need to consider these as part of the renewal of certification process. We will investigate all instances of complaints. If complaints are made against your conduct and you do not declare them, the consequences will be far more serious and may result in suspension or withdrawal of your certification. Compliance with the Code of Conduct We need you to make a declaration that you have always acted in compliance with the Code of Conduct (see Appendix III).

Payment of the Annual Fee

And finally, we need you to pay the annual fee (please note there is no additional fee for renewal). Because the fee will be dependent on the grade we offer you after renewal, we do not ask you to pay this fee until after we have completed the renewal. We will write to you with the results of the renewal and enclose the fee invoice and your new certification card. Failure to pay your annual fee will result in your certification being withdrawn.



7. How to Regrade

You can apply to be regraded to another grade at any time. When we offer you initial certification we will indicate the audit experience and competences you need to attain the next grade(s) of certification. To apply for regrade, you should complete IRCA/106 log sheets, enclose any additional information requested and send to us with the regrade fee. A successful application for regrade will not normally result in a change to your renewal of certification date. If you decide not to apply for regrade during your certification period, we will write to you two months before your certification period expires as part of the renewal of certification process and ask you to send us your audit and CPD logs. At this point we will let you know the current regrade requirement. There is no regrade fee if you are regraded as part of the (3 year) renewal of certification process. Please contact us if you need further advice on how to regrade.



8. Transitioning from QMS 2000 to QMS 2008 The ISO 9001:2008 revision includes some minor changes and clarifications and we require you to demonstrate that you understand these changes and can implement them during an audit. In this section we include: • Transition Requirements for IRCA

Certificated QMS 2000 Auditors • Transition Requirements for Auditors

who have already completed ISO 9001:2000 training

Transition Requirements for IRCA Certificated QMS 2000 Auditors You will need to complete a minimum of 2 hours Continual Professional Development focusing on changes in ISO 9001:2008 before conducting any acceptable audits to ISO 9001:2008. We will review this CPD and your audits either during your scheduled renewal of certification, or if you regrade your certification. You must complete your CPD before you complete any audits to the new standard. You must ensure your audit logs note the relevant version of the standard (2000 or 2008) for each audit conducted. We will accept audits to the new standard starting 01 November 2008. We will cease to accept any audits performed to the old standard from June 2010. What kind of CPD will IRCA accept? We are flexible regarding transition CPD and do not require you to complete any one specific transition course. Consistent with our usual approach to CPD we recognize that there are a range of activities that you may use to become familiar with the changes and understand their implications: • On the job training • In-house training and seminars with your

company • Attendance at relevant conferences, seminars

and workshops • Reading (e.g. the IRCA/633 briefing note

available on our website and other relevant articles)

• A specific QMS auditor transition/update course

Transition Requirements for Auditors who have already completed ISO 9001:2000 training If you have already completed an ISO 9001:2000 IRCA certified training course, or acceptable alternative and have yet to apply for IRCA certification, you will be required to demonstrate a minimum of 2 hours CPD to the new standard, as referenced previously. Please also refer to our briefing note IRCA/633 available for download on our website www.irca.org



9. Other Information The Certification Period When your application is successful, we award certification for a period of 3 years, beginning in the month we award certification. This 3 year period is referred to as the certification period. At the end of the each certification period we require you to renew your certification. If you are successful at renewal, we award you certification for a further 3 year certification period, and so on.

During the certification period, at the end of the first and second years, you may maintain certification by payment of the annual certification fee and by compliance with the Code of Conduct. We don’t require you to submit any other documentation at the end of year 1 and year 2. At the end of the third year, all certified auditors are required to complete the renewal of certification process. QMS Standards other than ISO 9001:2008 We will accept audits performed against standards which we evaluate as being equivalent to ISO 9001:2008. We maintain a list of acceptable alternative standards but it is possible that you may claim audits against a standard that is not on this list. We have a formal process for evaluating new standards and you are advised to contact us for advice where you consider an alternative standard may be acceptable to us. Certification Cards, Certificates and the Register We will send you a Certification Card following initial award of certification and annually thereafter when you pay your annual fee and comply with any other applicable requirements.

This card is your primary evidence of certification and you should present this when you first begin an audit and thereafter whenever appropriate.

Although the card is issued to you, it remains our property and you must return it to us should we ask you to. The IRCA Certificate is intended for display as a formal recognition of your certification to a specific grade. You should not use it as proof of

certification. Please contact us if you wish to purchase a certificate.

You can find details of all certified auditors in each country on the ´Find an Auditor´ section of the IRCA website www.irca.org. Appeals and Complaints You have the right to appeal against any certification decision taken by us. We operate a quality system that includes established procedures for considering appeals and complaints. Enforcement of Certification We enforce (i.e. suspend or withdraw) certification for two reasons:

1. If you fail to meet the certification criteria for the grade to which you are certified. This enforcement occurs when you apply to renew your certification. In most cases withdrawal will be preceded by an offer of an alternative grade for a period during which you have the opportunity to meet the requirements and be reinstated to the grade you originally held.

2. If you breach the Code of Conduct, we reserve the right to undertake action against your certification if we find you to have acted contrary to the Code of Conduct. Options available include suspending, or in instances of serious or sustained breach, withdrawing your certification.

Confidentiality We undertake to consider as strictly confidential all information, correspondence and documentation submitted by you to us in support of your certification activities5. We reserve the right to publish relevant details of each certified auditor in the register available on-line at www.irca.org. 5 We reserve the right to disclose details of your certification record to other auditor certification bodies and accreditation bodies. We will do so with discretion and only in instances where we consider withholding this information will compromise the integrity of certification, e.g. where we have taken action against (i.e. suspended or withdrawn) your certification and you have applied to another auditor certification body without fully disclosing your record while certified by us.



Legal Status The certification of auditors by us and all activities associated with the administration of the register is governed in accordance with English Law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.



Appendix I Guidance on Continuing Professional Development CPD is a framework that encourages you to continuously update your professional knowledge, personal skills and competences. The purpose of CPD is to make you more effective as an auditor and to make the auditing profession more credible. The concept of CPD and the value it contributes is now recognized and accepted throughout all professional fields.

As part of the renewal of certification process, you must demonstrate to us you have completed at least 45 hours CPD within the last 3 years in subjects that are broadly related to auditing and QMS. Because there are so many topics that we recognize will enhance your auditing competence, we do not attempt to list them here. But we categorize these into 2 areas which are consistent with the 2 main areas of competence required by QMS 2008 auditors:

1. Quality related

2. Auditing related

We recognize that no single method for learning suits everyone. Therefore, we will accept CPD acquired in ways that range from the very informal (e.g. reading and self study) to the formal (e.g. classroom training). We recognize that some ways of acquiring CPD are more effective than others, so we apply a ‘weighting’ where some activities are accorded more recognition than others. The activities are divided into 3 broad categories:

a) Unstructured; where 3 hours are accepted as one CPD hour

Included in this category would be distance and open learning study which is not assessed and does not lead to a qualification, the reading of professional and technical journals, books and other publications as well as relevant aspects of on-the-job training, where specific outcomes have been planned and identified.

Reading IRCA INform, our e-magazine available from www.irca.org, or contributing to the IRCA online discussion forum6, also available from our website, is also accepted.

6 A maximum of 4 hours of unstructured CPD will be accepted for contribution to the IRCA forum. Evidence must be documented and verified on IRCA/173 CPD logs.

b) Semi-structured; where 2 hours are accepted as one CPD hour

Included in this category would be non-interactive lectures, talks, etc., informal professional body meetings of a more social nature (networking opportunities), the research, preparation and first delivery of lectures/courses, publishing articles and forms of open and distance learning that involve assessment and that result in the acquisition of a qualification.

c) Structured; where each hour is accepted as one CPD hour

Examples of this category would be interactive and highly participative training courses and seminars, professional body meetings with formal lectures, active participation in development of standards.

The range of activities that may be included within each category is extensive and the small number of examples above is intended to provide broad guidance only. Most auditors submit evidence of activities that include all 3 categories, but it is not a requirement that you do so. The only restriction we place is that unstructured CPD cannot constitute more than one-third (i.e. 15 hours) of the total acceptable CPD hours.

It remains your responsibility to provide a case for acceptance of any activity you submit, and this must be supported by sufficient, appropriate evidence. This will involve you making and retaining records of your activities and having these properly verified where possible. We have developed a CPD and training log sheet (IRCA/173) for this purpose.

It is in your interest to provide us with information in a clear, logical and easily understandable format. The speed with which we are able to evaluate and renew your certification will depend on this.



Appendix II Definitions

Audit A systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled. Auditee The organization being audited. Audit Client The person or organization requesting an audit. Generic Programmes where most of the initial requirements are the same: QMS, EMS, OH&S, ISMS, ITSMS, ISMS, Social Systems Audit Team Two or more auditors performing an audit, one of whom is appointed as leader. Lead Audit An audit where the auditor performed the audit whilst leading a team of at least one other auditor. Sole Audit An audit where one auditor performed all phases of the audit. First Party Audit An audit performed within an organization by that organization’s own auditing resource. Also referred to as an internal audit. Second Party Audit An audit of contractors/suppliers undertaken by, or on behalf of, a purchasing organization. This may include the audit of companies or divisions supplying goods or services to others within the same group. Also referred to as a supplier audit. Third Party Audit An audit of an organization performed by a body that is independent of the organization being audited, e.g. certification body or registrar.

Appendix III Code of Conduct

It is a condition of certification that you agree to act in accordance with, and be bound by the following Code of Conduct:

1. To act in a strictly trustworthy and unbiased manner in relation to both the organization to which you are employed, contracted or otherwise formally engaged (the audit organization) and any other organization involved in an audit performed by you or by personnel under your direct control.

2. To disclose to your employer any relationships you may have with the organization to be audited before undertaking any audit function in respect of that organization.

3. Not to accept any inducement, gift, commission, discount or any other profit from the organizations audited, from their representatives, or from any other interested person nor knowingly allow personnel for whom you are responsible to do so.

4. Not to disclose the findings, or any part of them, of the audit team for which you are responsible or of which you are part, or any other information gained in the course of the audit to any third party, unless authorized in writing by both the auditee and the audit organization to do so.

5. Not to act in any way prejudicial to the reputation or interest of the audit organization.

6. Not to act in any way prejudicial to the reputation, interests or credibility of IRCA.

7. In the event of any alleged breach of this code, to co-operate fully in any formal enquiry procedure.

2nd Floor North, Chancery Exchange 10 Furnival Street London EC4A 1AB United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7245 6833 Fax: +44 (0)20 7245 6755 Email: [email protected] Website www.irca.org

For office use only (confidential when

completed)

Date Received

Application fee

Certification no:

Part 1 - PERSONAL DETAILS TITLE (Mr, Mrs, Ms, Dr etc) Male Female

Surname or family name First or given names Second name or known as Nationality Date of Birth

(Please tick this box if you would like your home address to be your main address for our online register)

Home or correspondence address

Country Postcode/Zip code Name you wish to appear on your certification card:

Telephone no. Fax no. *Email * You must provide us with a valid email as many of our communications are done electronically

Part 1 – BUSINESS DETAILS

(Please tick this box if you would like your business address to be your main address for our online register)

Name of organization Address Country Postcode/Zip code Telephone no. Fax no. Email

Part 2 - TYPES OF CERTIFICATION FOR WHICH YOU ARE APPLYING Please tick to identify the scheme(s) you are applying for: Please also ensure you have read the relevant criteria document prior to applying.

Quality (QMS 2008 - IRCA/602) TickIT (TickIT -IRCA/162) Aerospace (Aerospace - IRCA/C5) Part 1 / Part 2 (delete as appropriate) Maritime (Maritime - IRCA/C8) Pharmaceutical (PQMS - IRCA/6000) Food Safety (FSMS - IRCA/902) Part 1 / Part 2 (delete as appropriate) Information Security (ISMS - IRCA/802) Information Technology Service (ITSMS - IRCA/1002) Business Continuity (BCMS - IRCA/1012) Environmental (EMS - IRCA/202) Energy (EnMS - IRCA/5000) Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S - IRCA/502) Social Systems (SS - IRCA/302) EICC-GeSI Auditor (EICC - IRCA/2002) Labour & Ethics or EHS (delete as appropriate)

APPLICATION FORM FOR CERTIFICATION IRCA/103/11/2 Revised July 2011

Part 3 - EDUCATION

Year Award Course/subjects

Educational establishments Qualifying authority





Part 4 - MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES

Professional Body Date elected Grade

Professional Body Date elected Grade

Part 5 - AUDITOR TRAINING To check if your auditor training course is certified/recognized by IRCA, please visit our website www.irca.org and use our “Find a Course” search facility

From To Name of organization conducting training

Title of course Results

Course certified by



Course certified by



Course certified by

Part 6 - REGISTER INFORMATION Please select the appropriate scope from the 39 scopes (amalgamated from the NACE codes by European co-operation for Accreditation) which can be supported by your experience: 1 Agriculture and fishing 17 Basic metals and fabricated metal products 32 Financial intermediation; real estate and

renting

2 Mining and quarrying 18 Machinery and equipment 33 Information technology

3 Food products, beverages and tobacco 19 Electrical and optical equipment 34 Engineering services

4 Textiles and textile products 20 Shipbuilding 35 Other services

5 Leather and leather products 21 Aerospace 36 Public administration

6 Wood and wood products 22 Other transport equipment 37 Education

7 Pulp, paper and paper products 23 Manufacturing not elsewhere classified 38 Health and social work

8 Publishing companies 24 Recycling 39 Other social services

9 Printing companies 25 Electricity supply 98 Other

10 Manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products 26 Gas supply

11 Nuclear fuel 27 Water supply

12 Chemicals, chemical products and fibres 28 Construction

13 Pharmaceuticals 29

14 Rubber and plastic products

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, personal and household goods

15 Non-metallic mineral products 30 Hotels and restaurants 99 Please tick the box if you are available

16 Concrete, cement, lime, plaster etc. 31 Transport, storage and communication for Private work

Part 7 – WORK EXPERIENCE Please include a detailed description of your general work experience and your sector/programme related work experience (e.g. QMS, EMS, OH&S……) and the duration of your experience

From month/year To month/year

Job title Name of organization and department

Work experience

Sector/Programme related experience & duration



Work experience




Work experience




Work experience




Work experience


Part 8 – DECLARATIONS

I apply for certification and confirm that I understand and agree to the following conditions: 1. I shall observe and abide by the IRCA code of conduct. 2. The details which I have given on the application form (except personal details where indicated) will be published in the IRCA register. 3. I shall declare any information that may reasonably be considered to affect adversely my ability to perform effectively my audit obligations. I confirm that the information contained in this application is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand and accept that, if I provide incorrect information or withhold relevant, requested informatiion, I am likely to be excluded or removed from the IRCA register. I also understand that, once certified, I am obliged to notify IRCA without delay of any changes to my circumstances which, if declared when I made my first application, might have caused IRCA to exclude me from the register.

Signed Date

Part 9 – SPONSOR

Declaration by proposer : I recommend the candidate as a person in every respect worthy of consideration for certification. I confirm that I have satisfactorily verified the applicant’s compliance with the education, training and work experience requirements of the applicable IRCA certification criteria.

Proposer’s name (block letters)

Professional qualifications/relationship to applicant

Business name and address

Postcode/Zip code

Telephone no. Fax no. Email

Signed Date

Part 10 – ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYING AUDITORS (OEA)

We, as an OEA recognised by IRCA, support the applicant for certification and confirm that we have satisfactorily verified the applicant’s compliance with the education, training, work and audit experience requirements of the applicable IRCA certification criteria.

Name of organization

Address

Postcode/Zip code

Telephone no. Fax no.

Signed on behalf of the organization employing auditors: Date

Name (block letters) Position in organization

Application Checklist (Please complete the checklist before sending in your application to IRCA for review)

I have:

Provided full mailing and business (Part 1)

Specified the type of certification programme I wish to apply (Part 2)

Included documentary evidence to support my technical & academic qualifications (Part 3)

Included a copy of my auditor training certificate, stating successful completion (Part 5)

Recorded sufficient work (Part 7, Guidance note 7)

Recorded sufficient sector related experience stating duration (Part 7, Guidance note 7)

Signed and dated the declaration (Part 8)

Obtained signature from a proposer (Part 9)

Included payment of the application fee

For applicants submitting IRCA/106 audit logs: We also need you to

Complete your audit logs in full, paying close attention to the details required at the head of each column. Please ensure that verification is obtained by the auditee.

Total number of full system audits included

Total number of days on-site

Total number of days off-site

Supply the contact details of the directing and guiding Lead Auditor who may be required to attest to your (Section 9 IRCA/106 audit log)

Please ensure that all information submitted is clear as any information that may be un-readable will delay the processing of your application.

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR APPLICANTS

General Information

The following information is important. Please read it carefully before you complete your application

form. Should you need help in completing it, IRCA certification officers are always available to

advise you.

• Please submit your application fee with your application form. Details of the costs can

be found on our website www.irca.org

• We accept all correspondence in English, Chinese, Japanese, Italian or Spanish. For all other

languages we will need correspondence in support of the application to be in English or

accompanied by a certified translation.

• Please make sure that you complete all the appropriate sections of this form. If a section is not

applicable to you, write ‘N/A’. Complete Part 1 (1-8) and Part 2 (9) if you are applying on your

own behalf. Complete Part 1 (1-8) and Part 3 (10) if you are applying through an organization

employing auditors (OEA). Do not just write ‘see attached’, because we will not be able to

consider forms marked in this way. If there is not enough room in any section to write all that you

need to include there, then enter a brief summary and enclose the full details on additional sheets

(which will need to be verified by your sponsors). You should only sign the form when you

have checked that all relevant sections have been completed correctly.

• Please enter details of your audit experience on IRCA/106 audit logs. You must make sure that

each entry in the audit log is verified either by your employer or by the auditee (the company that

employed you) and where appropriate the directing and guiding Lead Auditor. We will not accept

unverified entries. Please note that all details submitted in support of applications from all certified

auditors will be subject to periodic verification.

• You must enclose the current application fee (this fee is not returnable) with your application.

Cheques, money orders etc. should be made payable to ‘IRCA’. An invoice will be supplied on

request. Do not send cash. If you are making an application you may pay by Visa, Amex or

Mastercard, and the appropriate form is available on our website. If you are paying by bank

transfer, please clearly mark your full name on the transfer so that we are able to

identify your payment. Please also ensure you add the cost of the transfer to your

payment.

• When we receive your completed application, we will send you an acknowledgement. We will

inform you whether your application has been successful as soon as the decision is made.

• This programme is governed in accordance with English law and is subject to the exclusive

jurisdiction of the English courts.

Personal details

It is a condition of certification that details of your name and business will be published in the register

and included in the IRCA database. Therefore, under ‘Surname or family name’, you must make sure

that you enter your surname or family name, i.e. your main name that legally identifies you on your

passport and will enable us to access the information about you in the IRCA database. If you also

wish your home address to be entered in the register, please tick the box provided. Additionally,

please provide us with how you would like your name to appear on your certification card, once

certification has been awarded. The register of auditors is available on our website.

(* You must provide us with a valid email as many of our communications are done electronically)

Type of certification for which you are applying

Please tick the appropriate box to indicate the type of certification for which you are applying for.

Please also ensure that you have read the relevant criteria document prior to applying to see if you

meet our requirements for certification. Further details of all the programmes are available on

request.

Education

Enter details of you education (school, college, university etc). You must enclose documentary evidence

(photocopies are usually sufficient) which must be accompanied by a translation into English, Chinese, Japanese

Italian or Spanish. For all other languages we will need correspondence in support of the application to be in

English or accompanied by a certified translation.

Membership of professional bodies

Enter details of the professional bodies of which you are a member, quoting your membership number in each

case.

Auditor training

You must have successfully completed: either an IRCA-certified auditor-training course presented by an IRCA-

approved training organization or an auditor-training course certified by another training-approval body

recognised and accepted by IRCA as being of an equivalent standard. The results you achieved must be

supported by documentary evidence (a certificate stating successful completion). To check if your course is

certified by IRCA, please visit our website www.irca.org “Find a Course” search facility. If your course does not

appear in the register, you will be required to submit the course manual, presentation slide and delegate notes

in order to review it’s equivalence to our criteria.

Register information

Please indicate the fields of experience that you wish marked against your entry in the register by ticking the

boxes of the sectors in which you can claim experience. If there are other sectors not listed here in which you

can claim experience, please tick box 98 and describe them in the space provided after ‘Other’. Please also

indicate if you are available for private work by ticking box 99.

Work experience

Enter your career details here, providing under ‘Job title’ a brief description of your general work experience

duties and responsibilities. Additionally, we need you to provide a detailed description emphasising experience

relevant to the sector or programme (e.g. QMS, EMS, OH&S……) for which you are applying. List this information

in chronological order, beginning with your current or most recent experience.

You may submit further information on an additional sheet or enclose a copy of your CV/Resume.

Declarations

You, as the applicant, must sign and date this section before passing the form to the proposer.

Part 2 SPONSOR

The proposer sponsoring you must complete part 2.

A sponsor should ideally be a corporate member of a relevant professional institute and be someone who has

detailed knowledge of your work experience (e.g. your line manager). The proposer must have known you

personally and your work for not less than two years.

They should check that all statements in your application form and supporting documents are complete and

accurate before they sign the declaration.

Part 3 ORGANIZATIONS EMPLOYING AUDITORS (OEA)

The relevant OEA’s authorised signatory must then complete part 3. This section should only be completed if an

applicant is applying through an IRCA approved OEA; these organizations are listed on the IRCA website.

IRCA is an operationally independent division of the Chartered Quality Institute, incorporated by Royal Charter

and registered as a charity number 259678.

Headquarters and Registered Office: 2nd Floor North, Chancery Exchange, 10 Furnival Street, London EC4A 1AB

IRCA WILL INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY ALL OR PART OF THE RECORDED INFORMATION. FALSIFICATION OF INFORMATION WILL LEAD TO PREVENTION OR WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATION

AUDIT LOG

Sheet………………………. Of…………Certification No……………………… .

PLEASE USE BLOCK LETTERS (where Applicable)

2. Duration of Audit in days 1. Date (DD/MM/YY)

On-site Time

Off-site Time

3. Audited company name • Complete address • Auditee contact name • Telephone/Fax number • E-mail address • Size of organisation (e.g. number of people employed)

4. Role in Audit • Auditor • Lead Auditor • Sole Auditor • Internal Auditor

5. Total number in team

6.Audit Standard (e.g. ISO 9001: 2008)

7. Type of Audit (Important see

reverse) For aerospace audits please refer to column 7 on the reverse

8. Contact details of the company that employed you: • Company name • Complete address • Contact name • Signature • Position within organisation • Contact Telephone/Fax number • Email address

9. Contact details of the Directing & Guiding Lead Auditor: • Name • Signature • Auditor Certification

number • Contact

Telephone/Fax number

• E-mail address

FORM: IRCA/106/11/1 CONFIDENTIAL WHEN COMPLETE See over for guidance. Photocopies of this document may be used Name & Initials…………………………………………………………..……….

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR AUDIT LOG

Column 1 Date: Day, month and year of the first day of the site visit, beginning

with the opening meeting.

Column 2 Duration: Total time of the audit in days (to the nearest half day).

On site Time: Time spent on actual auditing activities, from the opening to the closing meeting inclusive.

Off-site Time: Time spent on planning/preparation, document review and report writing. These activities may take place at the site of the audit or off location, but is still considered off-site time.

Column 3 Auditee Contact Details: This section must be completed in full for us to perform evaluation and verification. If any of this information is not available we may ask you to supply us with more evidence.

Column 4 Role in Audit: Please indicate Auditor, Lead Auditor, Sole Auditor or Internal Auditor as appropriate.

Only enter Lead Auditor if you led a team consisting of yourself and at least one other auditor. Please enter Sole Auditor if you carried out an audit where you were the only auditor and performed all phases of the audit.

Column 5 Total number in team: Number of active participating auditors, including yourself, on the audit team.

Column 6 Audit standard: If your audit standard is not referenced in the corresponding auditor certification criteria or on the equivalent standards list (all available at www.irca.org) please contact the IRCA secretariat for advice and/or submit to IRCA, with your audit logs, a copy of the standard for evaluation.

Column 7 Audit type: Third Party (TPA), Second Party (SPA), First Party /Internal (FPA), Consultancy or contracted (CON). For audit events classified as (TPA) further explanation of purpose should be included. i.e. pre-assessment, certification, surveillance (Surv.), re-assessment, stage 1, stage 2 etc. For aerospace audits the inclusion or exclusion of design within the performed audit must be detailed on the audit log sheet.

Column 8 Contact Details of the company that employed you: the company that employed you for the audit, i.e. your employer or client if consultancy/contracted audit. This section must be completed in full for us to perform evaluation and verification. If any of this information is not available we may ask you to supply us with more evidence

Column 9 Contact Details of the Directing & Guiding Lead Auditor: The contact details and status of the team leader under whose direction and guidance1 you completed the recorded audit(s). This lead auditor must be competent2. This section must be completed in full for initial applicants for certification and certified auditors that are regrading. If any of this information is not available we may ask you to supply us with more evidence. Certified auditors renewing certification at the same grade do not need to complete this section. 1.Direction and guidance does not mean that you must be under constant supervision nor does it mean someone needs to be assigned solely to perform this task. 2. Currently certified as a lead auditor by IRCA (or another recognised auditor certification body) or who has the equivalent competence. Competence is defined by having the Personal Attributes described in sub clause 7.2 of ISO 19011:2002, the ability to apply the knowledge and skills described in sub clause 7.3, gained through the education, work experience, auditor training and audit experience described in sub clause 7.4

GENERAL GUIDANCE ON ACCEPTANCE OF AUDITS:

What audits do we accept? For all grades except Lead Auditor at initial certification, we will only accept audits performed during the previous 3 year period. For Lead Auditor grade, you must have acquired the lead audit experience during the previous 2 years. We define ‘previous period’ as being that period immediately prior to the date we receive your completed application.

We must be able to verify all audit experience you submit in your log sheets. Please make sure you include detailed information of the audits you perform and provide sufficient contact details so that we able to perform the verification.

We will only accept audits that have been performed in accordance with the auditing guidance standard, ISO 19011:2002 (or ISO 10011, for audits conducted prior to the issue of ISO 19011) and against the standard defined in the corresponding requirements / criteria documents (e.g. for the IRCA/602 QMS scheme we require audits against ISO 9001 or an alternative standard we accept as being equivalent). Audits performed against alternative national, international or company standards may be acceptable.

We will accept supplier audits (also known as second party audits), and certification audits (also known as third party audits) and internal audits (also known as first party audits). We also accept consultancy audits (see below), which can be performed as first, second or third party audits.

Internal (first party) audits: For the Internal Auditor grade we will accept internal audits performed by you on parts of your own organization where you are independent from the operational activities you are auditing.

We will consider accepting internal audits for other grades providing that, in addition to you being independent from the operational activities you are auditing, the scope of the auditing was sufficiently broad and the audit was sufficiently complex to require you to use a range of auditing skills. So that we can consider your internal audits for acceptance, we advise you to provide us with appropriate and relevant supporting information.

Consultancy Audits: We will accept audits performed by you when acting as a consultant for a client if all the following are satisfied: • The client (auditee) already had a fully established

management system prior to the audit • You had no part in setting up the management system

being audited (except in specific circumstances as described below)

• You were independent of the auditee • The scope of the audit included all elements of the

management system

We will also accept pre-assessment audits performed by you on a management system that you were involved in developing if the certification body subsequently awarded certification at the first attempt.

Surveillance (partial system) audits: We do not normally accept surveillance (partial system) audits when submitted for initial certification (except for Internal Auditor grade). However, we do accept surveillance audits for renewal of certification. As a general rule we consider five surveillance audits to be equivalent to one full management system audit, but recognize that some surveillance audits can be very extensive. In such instances, we will accept fewer than five surveillance audits (as being equal to one full management system audit) if you provide us with evidence that supports your claim.

Audits we do not accept:

We do not accept:

• audits of the same management system that are repeated more frequently than once every 12 months.

• audits of less than one day (6 hours of on-site audit activity exclusive of breaks) duration, except for Internal Auditor grade where we will accept audits of 3 hours exclusive of breaks.

• gap analysis, close out or follow up visits.

• audits performed before successful completion of the formal training requirement.

THESE GUIDANCE NOTES SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPLICABLE AUDITOR CERTIFICATION CRITERIA (available at www.irca.org)

TRAINING & CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) LOG FORM: IRCA/173/11/1 CONFIDENTIAL WHEN COMPLETE See over for guidance. Photocopies of this document may be used

Name & Initials……………………………………………………………….

Sheet…………… of ………Certification No…………………………… PLEASE USE BLOCK LETTERS 1. Date

(DD/MM/YY) 2. Duration of CPD in hours 3. Type of activity

• Structured • Semi- Structured • Unstructured

4. Details of activity

5. Description of Activity and how it meets the CPD requirements (Remember to attach copies of relevant documents)

6. Contact details (where applicable) of Tutor/Lecturer/Organiser/Manager

• Company name • Contact name • Signature • Position within organisation • Contact telephone/fax number • E-mail address

GUIDANCE NOTES FOR CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) LOG

Column 1 Date: Day, month and year when CPD

was undertaken

Column 2 Duration: Total time spent on each CPD activity.

We will apply a ‘weighting’ (see guidance below).

Column 3 Type of activity: Please classify as structured, semi-structured or unstructured

Column 4 Details of activity: Depending on the type of activity this could involve recording; Title of training course, seminar, conference or lecture either attended or delivered. Title of books, technical journals read or articles published

Column 5 Description of Activity and how it meets CPD requirements:

Evaluation of CPD requires a degree of subjective judgement, to ensure that the value of any given activity to the individual is able to be measured, we require you to provide a case for acceptance of any activity you submit, and this must be supported by sufficient, appropriate evidence. This will involve you making and retaining records of your activities

Column 6 Contact details (where applicable) of

Tutor/Lecturer/Organiser/Manager:

Where applicable, to enable us to perform evaluation and verification, please supply us with the contact details of someone who can independently verify your CPD activity e.g. tutor / lecturer / organiser / manager etc.

If any of this information is not available we may ask you to supply us with more evidence

Guidance on Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

CPD is a framework that encourages you to continuously update your professional knowledge, personal skills and competences. The purpose of CPD is to make you more effective as an auditor, and to make the auditing profession more credible. The concept of CPD, and the value it contributes, is now recognized and accepted throughout all professional fields.

As part of the renewal of certification process, you must demonstrate to us you have you have completed at least 45 hours of CPD within the last 3 years in subjects that are broadly related to auditing and management systems.

Because there are so many topics that we recognize will enhance your auditing competence, we do not attempt to list them here. But we categorize these into 2 areas which are consistent with the 2 main areas of competence required by management systems auditors:

1. Technically related (i.e. Quality, Environment, OH&S etc.)

2. Auditing related

We recognize that no single method for learning suits everyone. Therefore, we will accept CPD acquired in ways that range from the very informal (e.g. reading and self study) to the formal (e.g. classroom training). We recognize that some ways of acquiring CPD are more effective than others, so we apply a ‘weighting’ where some activities are accorded more recognition than others. he activities are divide into 3 broad categories:

a) Unstructured; where 3 hours are accepted as one CPD hour

Included in this category would be distance and open learning study which is not assessed and does not lead to a qualification, the reading of professional and technical journals, books and other publications, relevant aspects of on-the–job training, where specific outcomes have been planned and identified

b) Semi –structured; where 2 hours are accepted as one CPD hour

Included in this category would be non-interactive lectures, talks, etc., informal professional body meetings of a more social nature (networking opportunities) the research, preparation and first delivery of lectures/courses, publishing articles and forms of open and distance learning that involve assessment and that result in the acquisition of a qualification.

c) Structured : where each hour is accepted as one CPD hour

Examples of this category would be more interactive and highly participative training courses and seminars, professional body meetings and formal lectures, active participation in development of standards.

The range of activities that may be included within each category is extensive and the small number of examples above are intended to provide broad guidance only. Most auditors submit evidence of activities that include all 3 categories, but it is not a requirement that you do so. The only restriction we place is that unstructured CPD cannot constitute more than 1/3 (i.e. 15 hours) of the total acceptable CPD hours.

It remains your responsibility to provide a case for acceptance of any activity you submit, and this must be supported by sufficient appropriate evidence. This will involve you making and retaining records of your activities, and having these properly verified where possible.

It is in your interests to provide us with information in a clear, logical and easily understandable format. The speed with which we are able to evaluate and renew your certification will depend on this.

THESE GUIDANCE NOTES SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE APPLICABLE AUDITOR CERTIFICATION CRITERIA (available at www.irca.org)

Auditor certification fees

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Not all the grades listed below in Annual Certification are available on

every certification programme. Please refer to the relevant

programme certification criteria for details on the grades available.

Notes:

(1) Fees are not refundable

(2) Initial Annual Certification Fees are invoiced on first offer of

certification and should not be paid with the application fee. Annual

Certification Fees are thereafter payable on a rolling annual basis, i.e.

if your Initial Annual Certification Fee was raised on 01 June 2011

your next Annual Certification Fee will be due on 01 June 2012.

Application (1) £107

Regrade (1) £88

Standard update fee £41

Display Certificate £15

Annual Certification (2)

Provisional Internal Auditor £110

Internal Auditor £110

Provisional Auditor £129

Auditor £185

Principal Auditor £201

Lead Auditor £201

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