Factory Audit

The purpose of a Factory Audit is to assess the production capacity, capability, and overall quality of the factory, among other things. This assessment is important to gain insight into the supplier’s product quality, environmental impact, working conditions, and compliance with labor rights. 

With a checklist in hand, an external auditor visits your potential suppliers to check the production line. This checklist is designed to determine whether suppliers meet the required codes of conduct and quality standards. The auditor uses this list as a guide in checking and assessing the conditions below:

• Compliance with local laws and regulations.
• Responsibility for business management
• Infrastructure and sanitation
• Conditions of employment of employees
• Material control and maintenance
• Application of quality management system
• Handling of storage and delivery
• Calibration, measurement, and testing equipment
• Food safety and HACCP systems

After conducting the factory audit, the auditor prepares a final report, giving you a clear picture of the factory and detecting any areas of concern immediately.

Are there points for improvement? Then the supplier can use a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) to take steps to correct errors and implement improvements. A follow-up audit then checks whether the changes really do result in lasting improvement. 

When to conduct a Factory Audit? Facilities, and other business processes. With a Factory Audit, you detect these problems early so that worse is prevented.

In this way, we support you as an importer in both transitioning to new suppliers and assessing existing business relationships. There are different types of factory audits to assess suppliers’ business processes:

Ethical audits

Assuming social responsibility is an indispensable part of the procurement process. Ethical audits assess working conditions in a factory and ensure that no human rights are violated. This is done based on SA8000 (Social Accountability 8000)

Structural audits measures, and compliance with relevant codes and standards, among other things.

Production audits

A production audit provides insight into the manufacturer’s capacity: can it make the product you want and deliver it on time? If so, you have an assurance that all product requirements are met.

Environmental audits

To know whether a plant complies with local laws and regulations regarding environmental protection, we conduct environmental audits. Here, the auditor checks for compliance with the required environmental standards (based on ISO 14001), so that environmental management is constantly improving. 

Quality Audits

A quality audit shows whether the manufacturer has an effective quality management system (based on the ISO 9001 standard). This amounts to assessing whether the manufacturer can meet all requirements, including those set by you. 

Benefits of a Factory Audit

Assessing and mapping the production process provides a clear picture of your (future) suppliers abroad. This provides your company, and you as an importer, with an international supply chain and several benefits. A Factory Audit: 

• Improves production line quality
• Protects the health of factory workers
• Increases security of factory facility
• Oversees compliance with international laws and regulations
• Protects the company’s brand image
• Ensures consistent customer satisfaction

Want to know more?

Want to improve the social, environmental, and ethical footprint of your supply chain? Then let us perform regular Factory Audits for you. For more information about our services, please feel free to contact us.