Midwest Audits

Midwest Quality does its work in the format of a compliance audit to the standard of your choice.
If you want to pass an audit, practice auditing! Our clients all pass partially because they have practiced.
The audit format is an ideal way to ensure that you cover all the details (effective), and a good way to organize the people involved. It is very efficient.

You need evidence of internal audits to be registered.
Midwest has developed an unique approach to guiding your organization from an unregistered state to the well-organized team who will greet your registration auditors.

We audit what you have ready, and is appropriate, at each step of your development, to help you and your team gain confidence and keep on track from the beginning to registered. Each audit is qualitatively different to accommodate your stage (days refer to typical time after training for a small to middle-sized organization): (more information about auditing)

Status: Not everyone needs a status audit. When the Midwest professional does the initial training they ask the trainees to describe what they do, and in some cases go and look. We will look at existing procedures, and can determine in most cases whether the approach will meet the requirement, and whether it goes beyond what the standard says.

We skip the dreaded "gap analysis" which duplicates what we learn in class in a not very positive or constructive or cost-effective manner. Once we have described what has to be done, the person in charge of that area can say if they do it.

The typical client who needs a status has a "splinter" system. It is like the end of a broken board, some parts long, some really short. We need to determine the parts which are OK, and those which will need work. This is often the case where someone new has been given the job of getting registered after an undetermined amount of work has been completed, and needs to know what that will take to finish.

Rough Cut: When we finish the class we provide a detailed to-do list based on what people have said. They have to get organized and start their work. But we do not want them to go overboard, or head off in the wrong direction.
So we have the Rough Cut audit about 30 days after the class. Everyone will be able to show progress, and how they plan to finish before the Fine Cut. We are able to say if their system will conform, and encourage them to get finished.

The audit follows all the steps of a registration audit: opening meeting, audit process, closing meeting, formal report, corrective action for nonconformances.. The number of auditors is the same as you will have for registration, so if your registrar is going to have 2 auditors for 2 days, we use 2 auditors. This forces your team to be able to handle 2 auditors at a time, which is very different from dealing with only 1. For one thing, you need 2 trained guides!

This is also the first real audit, so any misconceptions from the class session will be discovered before too much work has been finished. The auditor will use a "in process" as an observation for those things which are not done yet, but there is every reason to believe they will be finished on time. Nonconformances bring management attention to those issues which need more resources.

Some organizations do so well at the Rough Cut that they can skip the Fine Cut audit, and save money.

Fine Cut: The fine cut is often called preliminary audit. It determines readiness for the registrar. Now the Midwest auditor will use the same criteria as the registration audit: does it meet the requirements of the standard. There will be the same number of Midwest auditors as you will have for registration
The audit follows the now familiar pattern: Opening meeting, audit process, closing meeting, formal report, corrective action for nonconformances. Only now anything not in conformance with the requirements of the standard is a nonconformance (as it will be during registration).

The fine cut auditor is normally a different person so that your team has to handle a new face, good practice again. The result of the audit is a green light for registration.

Pre Audit: Your registrar may want to have a pre-audit. This visit allows your auditor to meet your team and become familiar with your situation. They are assessing your readiness for registration, and though they do not do a full audit, look at the typical problem areas and will write observations on any short-comings they see. This gives you a chance to get comfortable with them as well.

Dress Rehearsal: This optional step ensures that any open issues are resolved, and that any obvious omissions are pointed-out so that they can be corrected before the real audit. It reduces people's fears and checks for closure on any previous nonconformances. This is necessary for a team which has been struggling to give them the boost they need to win.

Registration: This is by your registrar. By this time, you are used to the process, and can actually enjoy registration process, where you are able to "strut your stuff" as you sail through the questions. Your team really will enjoy winning!