As well as being an integral part of compliance and regulatory requirements, audits are essential for assessing the success of processes, products, and systems-whether existing or newly implemented. They are also a vital tool for verifying objective evidence of processes and providing evidence for the reduction and elimination of any problem areas. To ensure maximum benefit for an organization, quality auditing should highlight examples of good practice, rather than simply identifying non-conformance, process issues, and corrective actions. This will allow other departments to share information and adjust their working practices, delivering continuous improvement as a result. This book is perfect for anyone charged with implementing a quality audit program or those performing the audit, this book is an ideal reference on the established techniques of quality auditing. This third edition serves as a guide to learning and applying the basics of quality auditing, and expands on the basic auditing principles by showing how the quality audit can be used to improve business performance. This new edition includes: - An expanded background and history of quality auditing - A general model for auditing any quality management system - Added information on process audits and the system-process-product relationship - Auditor competencies and qualifications - An explanation of audit reports and the role of the auditor after the report - New material on remedial and corrective action - Example audit procedures and a glossary of auditing terms