Documented Procedures
The paper trail is the system
A documented procedure is a written, controlled description of how a task is performed, by whom, with what records, and what happens when results are unacceptable. Candidates must understand the hierarchy: policy (what the company commits to), procedure (how it is carried out), and work instruction or record (the specific step and the evidence it happened).
Key procedures in a fabrication shop include welding procedure specifications and their supporting procedure qualification records, inspection and test plans, nonconformance and corrective-action procedures, document control, and calibration of measuring and testing equipment. Document control means the current revision is the one in use at the point of work, superseded copies are removed, and changes are reviewed and approved by the same authority that approved the original.
Traps: assuming a procedure exists because practice is consistent - undocumented practice fails an audit; assuming a procedure is adequate because it is long; and forgetting that revisions require re-approval and retraining where the change affects execution.
Rule of thumb: if it isn't written, approved, available at the point of use, and recorded when performed, it isn't a controlled procedure. A nonconformance found without a corresponding corrective action is an open loop - the procedure must close it.