Which two of the following options best describe how you would plan the audit of the interrelationship with Teak Ltd during the Stage 2 audit at ABC Ltd?

You are conducting a third-party Stage 1 audit at ABC Ltd, a single-site organisation that manufactures wooden furniture. You interview the Technical Director to learn more about the organisation. The Technical Director explains that they have had a successful year and that obtaining ISO 9001 certification will support the further growth of the business. You ask for an overview of the organisation’s structure and its interrelationships with external interested parties.

The Technical Director shows you a document detailing all business processes and interrelationships. You notice in this document that another organisation called Teak Ltd manufactures wooden furniture on behalf of ABC Ltd. The Technical Director confirms this capability has been accounted for in the scope of the quality management system. You learn that the furniture manufactured by Teak Ltd has accounted for 40% of the sales revenue over the previous 12 months.

Which two of the following options best describe how you would plan the audit of the interrelationship with Teak Ltd during the Stage 2 audit at ABC Ltd?
A . Verify Teak Ltd supply arrangements as described in the ABC Ltd quality management system
B . Verify if Teak Ltd are certified to ISO 9001
C . Verify the controls concerning customer property implemented by Teak Ltd
D . Verify how ABC Ltd evaluates the performance of Teak Ltd
E . Verify the quality management system at Teak Ltd by conducting an audit at their site
F . Verify whether the design processes of Teak Ltd comply with ISO 9001

Answer: AD

Explanation:

According to ISO 9001:2015, clause 8.4, an organization is required to control the processes, products and services provided by external providers, including those that affect the quality of the organization’s own products and services. This includes determining the controls to be applied to the external provision of processes, products and services, as well as the information to be communicated to the external providers. The organization is also required to monitor, measure, and evaluate the performance of the external providers and retain documented information of these activities.

Therefore, in the scenario given, ABC Ltd is responsible for controlling the processes, products and services provided by Teak Ltd, as they affect the quality of ABC Ltd’s own products and services. This means that ABC Ltd should have established criteria and methods for evaluating the performance of Teak Ltd, as well as documented information of the results of such evaluation. ABC Ltd should also have defined the supply arrangements with Teak Ltd, including the specifications, requirements, and verification activities related to the products and services provided by Teak Ltd.

Hence, the best options to describe how to plan the audit of the interrelationship with Teak Ltd during the Stage 2 audit at ABC Ltd are A and D, as they are aligned with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015, clause 8.4. The other options are either irrelevant or beyond the scope of the audit, as they do not pertain to the control of external provision by ABC Ltd.

Reference:

ISO 9001:2015(en), Quality management systems ― Requirements, clause 8.4

ISO 19011:2018(en), Guidelines for auditing management systems, clause 6.3.1 and 6.4.2

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Training Course | IRCA Certified | BSI, section “Learning objectives”

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Course Material | 3FOLD Education Centre, module 5 and 6