In an early blog post, we discussed Hill Engineering’s efforts to build and maintain a Quality System that is compliant with ISO 17025. More recently, we touched on our quality control program, which we use as an important check to make sure that our measurements are being carried out according to established procedures and meeting certain quality requirements. Now we’re back to give another glimpse into our Quality System and talk about another important aspect, our internal audit program.
We conduct an internal audit of our Quality System on an annual basis to not only satisfy requirements laid out in ISO/IEC 17025, but to assess the effectiveness of management’s efforts in providing the laboratory with the training, tools, and resources necessary to carry out the various residual stress measurements we are capable of.
For Hill Engineering, an internal audit consists of two main parts: a management audit and a technical audit. The management audit deals with a review of Quality System documents and records, determining if policies and procedures are in place for personnel to follow to carry out residual stress testing activities. Established and well-implemented documentation encourages the delivery of test data that is both consistent and has the high level of quality our customers have come to expect.
The technical audit dives deeper into the measurement processes themselves, observing personnel and evaluating their actions against those outlined in our standard operating procedures. Vertical audits of select projects are also conducted during this activity. Starting from the request for work and ending with the delivered report, this ensures that managerial staff and laboratory personnel are adhering to the established policies for project initiation, data collection, review, and submission to the customer.
Our internal audit program helps to ensure Hill Engineering’s continued compliance with ISO which, in turn, maintains our ISO accreditation status. It also helps give customers confidence that they can continue to work with us to address their residual stress measurement needs.
Please contact us for more information about our ISO 17025 residual stress measurement services.