Is your company ready for an inspector to audit your departments? If you’re thinking to yourself, “I’m not too sure,” then it is time to get prepared and begin conducting some internal audits. What exactly is an internal audit? Internal audits evaluate the company’s control and compliance with federal regulations. These types of audits are a great way to identify gaps in the company’s processes and policies, which will allow you to close those gaps before a significant audit occurs.
Gaps in your companies processes and policies can be a serious issue for audits and may result in a Form 483. Your company wants to avoid any 483’s from the FDA. Identification of gaps is one reason why internal audits are an excellent tool for the company’s success. Let’s look at how an internal audit should be conducted.
Each department within the company should have at least two internal audits a year and more if possible. The department should be audited on their process and the policy that makes up that specific department. Usually, the quality assurance department will determine which department and when that department’s internal audit will occur. Here is the process for internal audits.
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- Quality Assurance (QA) will determine which department will be audited. A member of the QA department will create a schedule for what the audit will consist of and what exactly they are auditing. Once the QA manager has looked over the schedule, a date will be picked out. That department will be notified about the upcoming audit.
- When the day arrives for the audit, the QA member will notify the department manager to let them know the internal audit will begin. The internal audit begins and should be conducted as if you were from the FDA or any other auditor that may come to your company. The auditor then starts running through their list of items they want to inspect and go through. The auditor should take notes and take pictures of any items they see that are questionable.
- Once the internal audit is complete, the auditor must compile a list of the observations found and present them to that department’s manager. Once that department has been given their observations, they must now correct them. The amount of time given to complete the corrections should be stated in the internal audit SOP.
- As soon as the observations have been corrected, the internal audit report can be completed.
Quality Assurance and management need to keep up with performing these internal audits. They keep the department up to date and on their toes. Successful audits come from being prepared, and internal audits are a great tool to keep your company one step ahead. For more on audits and inspections, check out our blogs for information on everything from first impressions to wrapping up the inspection.
PSC Biotech® consultants can help you achieve success on every audit. We have over 25 years of experience with audits, audit preparation, mock audits, and compliance gap analysis. Consider using PSC’s AuditUtopia® and ACE Inspection® audit management software to automate and simplify your audit process. PSC® is your one-stop solution for audit and inspection success.
Written by Ashley Castro, PSC Biotech® Consultant
Edited by Crystal McClain, PhD
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