Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to hire an independent nuclear lead auditor to audit my nuclear quality assurance program?
No. If you have the personnel available that are appropriately trained (industry standard is nuclear lead auditor per NQA-1 for the team leader) that are also independent from the areas that they would be auditing, you don’t necessarily need an independent nuclear lead auditor. Some companies that have these personnel available still choose to hire an independent auditor for an outside perspective to make sure that their internal audits are effective.
Can I use the same Lead Auditor every year for internal audits?
It depends. As long as the Lead Auditor (and any other auditors), don’t audit areas or work that they are responsible for, then you should be fine. If the audit team consisted of just a Lead Auditor last year, then they can’t audit the Internal Audit section this year. The same goes for any supplier audits they may have done. An additional auditor can be added to cover those sections as long as they are not responsible for them. It still isn’t a bad idea to switch up lead auditors from time to time to ensure that your audit program effectiveness can’t be called into question.
How soon can you be here?
If my schedule is open, I have performed audits as soon as a day after it was scheduled. Check out my Availability Calendar to see how my schedule looks.
How far will you travel?
As a US Navy Submarine Veteran, I have been all over the world so I’ll go wherever you need me to go. I am 20 minutes away from the Atlanta airport, which can get me almost anywhere in the world. I have performed international audits in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Mexico, and Canada.
Is everything on your blog guaranteed to be correct?
No. As with any audit or survey, there are times when something may seem wrong (or correct) based on the information available. I will always try to either link to or quote the document that I am referencing, but if you disagree with something that I say, please make a comment (with a reference also) so I can correct the blog post. Believe it or not, auditors are not always right.
Do you have a lead auditor training class?
Not at this time, but a class could be put together in a reasonable amount of time based on client needs.