Construction audit for compliance is an indispensable process for any company that wants to improve its results and become more competitive. This is also a process widely used by companies that want or already have some quality certification and is responsible for identifying that everything is working properly.
In order for it to bring relevant results, however, construction auditing must be done correctly.
Conduct Construction Audit for Compliance
Construction audit for compliance is usually performed to ensure that the company is in compliance with its intended objectives and legal requirements. For this a construction audit is conducted against the defined processes and legal requirement of the product or service delivered as for example EN standards for CE marking.
Such an analysis serves to identify whether a predefined plan is being implemented to reduce waste of production inputs, or for example whether the optimization of a particular process is being done correctly. It is through the periodic internal audit that the manager has the basis to take corrective actions, if necessary, and ensure the consolidation of the established changes.
The Objectives to Be Achieved with Construction Audit for Compliance
In general, the objectives include the identification of process controls, compliance with good production practices and provision of services in general, follow-up of guidelines, rules and organizational norms, as well as the general quality of products and processes and legal requirements.
It also aims to identify opportunities for improvement, optimization of processes and the need to implement specific standards and guidelines.
How to Plan a Construction Audit
A construction audit for compliance should be planned independently in order to address the key needs of the company, as well as ensure that all procedures are properly checked. Planning is usually done with a checklist, where the auditor has all the items that will be checked for each process.
All assessment criteria need to be defined prior to the start of the audit, and there should be a standard for everything to be assessed by the same approach.
How to Facilitate and Optimize the Construction Audit
In order to optimize the construction audit for compliance, it is fundamentally necessary to create a culture with this process within the company, since an audit that happens in a seasonal way will not bring the appropriate results. In this way, the company must be aware that they will happen constantly.
It is also ideal that this audit is done objectively so that the reliability of the results can be satisfactory. With this, the factors to be analysed must have objective answers and be measurable.
Another way to optimize auditing is by using software that performs the compilation of the data from the audits and ensuring that all results can be analysed in a digital way and at any time.
When Is the Best Time to Conduct a Construction Audit for Compliance
In general, the best time to perform a construction audit for compliance is when this procedure does not disrupt the company’s productivity. If the hours of operation are higher during office hours, for example, this may not be the best time for auditing, as there will be interruptions in the process.
Thus, the best time should be one in which the audit will cause the least possible change in the processes, but will still be able to collect reliable data that represent the situation of the process and the company in general.
The best practices for a construction audit for compliance include performing the right procedures, ensuring autonomy and access to the auditor, knowing and defining audit objectives, planning it properly, and ensuring that it is done optimally and at the right time.
If you are interested in implementing an internal audit program within your construction company or audit your suppliers to ensure compliance with CE Marking, then contact us for a free consultation on how we can add value to your organisation.
