Published 15 Aug 2023
What is a Factory Audit?
A factory audit is a standardized process used by quality managers to determine if a supplier or vendor conforms with the required business standards in delivering high quality products and services. Performing regular factory audits involves the evaluation of a supplier’s Quality Management System (QMS), organization, production processes and compliance with safety measures.
In this article
- 3 Key Elements to Assess When Conducting a Factory Audit
- FAQs About Factory Audits
- Choosing the Right Technology When Auditing Factory Suppliers
3 Key Elements to Assess When Conducting a Factory Audit
Factory audits can be used to evaluate your existing providers as well as help you select the best supplier for your business. Here are the three key elements you should focus on when evaluating your suppliers:
- Productivity
A good supplier should deliver your products on time. Evaluating the supplier’s production processes will give you confidence whether they can meet order quantities on time. Examine all workflows during production. Track how much time was spent to finish all products within a given time frame. Assess the efficiency of machines and manufacturing equipment used. - Quality Control
Measuring your supplier’s existing QMS ensures that work quality is on par with set standards. A good QMS should also have effective monitoring procedures to support continuous improvement. Learn how to conduct different forms of quality audits. - Regulatory Compliance
Business requirements and certifications often extend to your suppliers. Supplier non-compliance can put your own business and certifications at risk. There are several certifications you can check to ensure that your supplier not only strive to deliver your products efficiently but also meets regulatory standards (e.g. ISO 9001, ISO 14001).
FAQs About Factory Audits
Factory audits are typically conducted either by an organization’s internal auditing or compliance team or by a hired third-party auditing team. The specific method used depends on the guidelines in place, the company’s existing policies, and the type of audit being performed.
Comprehensive factory audits are usually conducted at least once a year, as recommended by experts. However, the frequency of audits can vary depending on the type of business process being audited.
Factory audits can be either announced or unannounced—depending on the process being audited, the type of audit being conducted, and the business itself. Unannounced audits are often chosen when a factory has a high likelihood of non-compliance or if they are being certified for a high-risk standard, among other reasons.
Choosing the Right Technology When Auditing Factory Suppliers
Paper-based factory audits are time-consuming to complete on site and upon completion require more tedious work back in the office. Quality managers can use mobile technology such as SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) to streamline their factory audits. Complete your factory audit on a hand-held device, capture unlimited photos and generate your report while on-site without needing to go back to the office.
To save you time we have created this factory audit template you can download and customize for free. Preview a sample completed report you can generate using the SafetyCulture mobile app.
