Exemplar Global EMS Lead Auditor flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

PDCA in ISO 14001

Plan covers aspects, obligations, risks and objectives; Do covers support and operation; Check covers monitoring, internal audit and management review; Act covers improvement.

Context of the organization

Clause 4 requirement to determine external and internal issues, interested parties and their relevant needs, and to define and document the EMS scope.

Environmental aspect

An element of an organization's activities, products or services that interacts or can interact with the environment, such as emissions, waste or resource use.

Significant environmental aspect

An aspect the organization identifies as having or potentially having a significant environmental impact, using criteria it defines and applies consistently.

Compliance obligations

Legal requirements an organization must comply with plus other requirements it subscribes to, such as permits, industry codes, customer requirements and voluntary commitments.

Life-cycle perspective

Considering environmental aspects across stages from raw material acquisition through design, production, distribution, use and end-of-life treatment, for stages the organization controls or influences.

Audit criteria

The set of requirements used as a reference against which audit evidence is compared, such as ISO 14001, legal requirements, or internal procedures.

First-party audit

An internal audit conducted by the organization on itself, used to review the EMS and provide input for management review and improvement.

Third-party audit

An audit conducted by an external, independent organization such as a certification body, accreditation body or regulator, often for certification or regulatory purposes.

Audit principles

ISO 19011 principles: integrity, fair presentation, due professional care, confidentiality, independence, evidence-based approach and risk-based approach.

Auditor competence

The ability to apply knowledge and skills, comprising personal behaviour, audit principles and methods, management system knowledge and technical knowledge of the audited activity.

Technical expert role

A person who provides specific knowledge or expertise to the audit team but does not act as an auditor and does not audit independently.

Audit programme

A set of one or more audits planned for a specific time frame and directed at a specific purpose, managed by a competent person.

Audit plan

A document describing the activities and arrangements for a specific audit, including objectives, criteria, scope, dates, locations, team roles and time allocation.

Audit scope

The extent and boundaries of an audit, including physical locations, organizational units, activities, processes and time period covered.

Programme risk and opportunity

Considerations in managing an audit programme such as auditor competence, coverage, schedule, confidentiality and availability of auditee personnel and information.

Opening meeting purpose

To confirm the audit plan, scope, criteria, schedule and communication arrangements, and to clarify methods, confidentiality and availability of records.

Audit evidence

Records, statements of fact or other information relevant to the audit criteria and verifiable, obtained through interviews, observation and document review.

Triangulation of evidence

Confirming a finding through at least two independent sources, for example an interview statement supported by a record and direct observation.

Audit sampling

Selecting a representative subset of records or activities to examine, with sample size increased where risk or control weakness is higher.

Questioning sequence

Starting with open questions, then probing questions, then closed questions to confirm facts, verifying answers against records and observation.

Nonconformity definition

Non-fulfilment of a requirement, supported by objective evidence that is recorded with the criterion, the evidence and its location and date.

Major nonconformity

A nonconformity indicating a systemic failure, absence of a required control, significant environmental risk or legal non-compliance, depending on scheme rules.

Minor nonconformity

An isolated or limited lapse that does not indicate a breakdown of the management system, as defined by the applicable certification scheme.

Audit conclusion

The outcome of an audit, considering the audit objectives and all findings, stating conformity with criteria and effectiveness of the management system.

Observation versus nonconformity

An observation notes a condition or improvement opportunity without a demonstrated requirement failure; a nonconformity requires objective evidence of unmet criteria.

Audit report ownership

The audit report is the property of the audit client, and its distribution and retention are controlled by the client subject to confidentiality requirements.

Corrective action

Action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity and prevent recurrence, determined by the auditee after root cause analysis, distinct from correction.

Follow-up verification

Activity confirming that corrective actions are implemented and effective, using document review, remote evidence or on-site verification depending on risk.

Environmental impact

A change to the environment, adverse or beneficial, wholly or partly resulting from the organization's environmental aspects.

Compliance evaluation

The periodic, recorded process of assessing fulfilment of compliance obligations, with results maintained as documented information and used as audit input.

Confidentiality principle

Information obtained during an audit is not disclosed without authorization and is used only for the audit purpose, protected against inappropriate use.

Independence principle

The auditor is independent of the audited activity and free from bias and conflict of interest, and must disclose any potential conflict.