Travails of an ISO Auditee

Travails of an ISO Auditee

If you ask me what my experience is of ISO 2015:9001 (Quality Management) certification, I won't hesitate to answer, "Stressful!"

The first time I learned about ISO was in the early '90s, while reading some American magazines I was working on as an 'abstractor.' I didn't give much thought to it, especially since ISO is originally in French and felt too exotic.

The first time I actually experienced an ISO certification audit, I was a lowly employee at Innodata-Isogen, which held offices at PBCom Tower (Ayala Ave., Makati City). Audit days, I remember, were always rife with both excitement and fear. Our department head, called TL for team leader, was especially on edge, as she kept on reminding everyone to observe all known work standards. "Clear all your tables and cubicles of anything not work-related (yada-yada)!" she would holler, for starters. That's the easy part: observing the Japanese 3S principle, which evolved into 5S, then 8S, then who knows what's next.

This is funny, but what everyone feared the most was being asked by a total stranger what our company's quality policy or vision-mission was. Nobody wanted to be asked point blank for fear of making an error. I was especially anxious because whenever I am anxious, my memory goes on a spiral. (That is why I know how those who join quiz bees and contests on TV feel like, most especially Miss Universe contestants who are routinely asked profound questions while wearing close to nothing, and in high heels too.) If asked what the quality policy is at the height of an anxiety attack, I might answer with some of the lyrics of the national anthem instead just because of the overweening fear of failing the 'test' and dragging down an entire company or organization at it too.

Don't get me wrong, though. I'd love the idea of being ISO-certified by third-party accreditation bodies. Maybe I just don't like going through the pain to get it.

But as our administrator puts it, "Nothing worth having is easy." That's because it's no joke going through the fire, through the limit, and through the wall.

The reasons?

1. In the preparation process, there are just too many seminars, talks, trainings to attend, on top of the regular workload.

2. We are striving toward paperless operations and yet certification requires a lot of additional paperworks!

3. Maybe I don't like being told that our department/office was still lacking in a lot of things, even when I have been giving my 101%.

So how did I survive each auditing round, including practice rounds? I think the key is keeping the end result or the end goal and its benefits top of the mind all the time: certification, of course, and the positive regard it engenders among everyone involved, from top management down to the lowest-rank employees, and especially stakeholders, particularly clients, suppliers, government functionaries, and potential investors.

To be honest, I had a mostly enjoyable experience with auditors, especially with the gentle, kind ones. I do appreciate their inputs, especially when I know they will surely improve the workflow process by injecting quality assurance practices along the way. I am especially thankful to those who can spot the long, hard work involved in a given work output instead of focusing on what's wrong or splitting hairs on a very minor detail.

Now auditors are almost always unique creatures each, with distinct personalities and ways of questioning of their own. And one day, during one mock audit, there was this one particular auditor that raised my blood pressure to really uncomfortable levels because each one of her questions -- in a long line of questioning following the PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle -- was asking me a paper-based evidence (if possible, although soft copies are now accepted) when I knew I had none (my team was already taking care of so much, in the first place). Since the practice auditing was done on the eve of the actual big day, I had to rush everything she asked for way beyond work hours. The next day, of course, proved to be disastrous for me, as I reported for work physically and mentally spent. I ended up one of the casualties that day.

In the end, I learned to accept change by embracing the need for hard evidence every step of the way, at least for the major steps in the work process. Our LGU's ISO certification -- one among very few in the province -- didn't just happen like magic. Know that blood, sweat, and tears -- copious amount of each -- had been offered as sacrifice.

(Disclaimer: The foregoing is based on my own personal experience and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employers.)