Audits, assessments and training for manufacturers
On site within about 120 miles of Lexington, SC, and remote beyond that. Minimums apply to on site work. Every engagement starts with a short conversation about your system, your schedule and your next external audit. Scope and price are agreed in writing before any work starts.
Internal Audits
Your internal audit program is supposed to cover your whole system on a planned schedule, by people who are not auditing their own work. For many plants that is the hardest requirement to keep up with. The quality team is small, the production schedule always wins, and the audits slip until just before the surveillance visit.
We take that off your plate. An independent auditor gives you an objective look at how well your system is working, finds the problems before your certification body does, and leaves you with evidence that the program is being run properly.
Good fit if: your internal audits are behind schedule, you do not have a qualified auditor who is independent of the area, or you want a second set of eyes before a surveillance or recertification audit.
What you get
- An audit plan agreed with you in advance
- Opening and closing meetings with your team
- Floor-level audit of processes, records and practice
- A written report with findings, objective evidence, nonconformities and improvement opportunities
- Follow-up on corrective actions if you want it
- One-time audits, or an annual program scheduled so the full system is covered before your external audit
ISO 9001:2026 Transition Gap Assessment
ISO 9001 has been revised, and certified organizations will need to move to the 2026 edition before the transition deadline. The sooner you know where you stand, the more of the work can happen inside normal business rather than in a last-minute push.
A gap assessment compares your current quality management system with the revised edition. You find out what already meets it, what needs adjusting, and what is genuinely new work. Most systems that are working well need far less change than people fear. The point is to know for certain.
Good fit if: you are ISO 9001 certified, your certification body has started talking about the transition, and you would rather plan the changes than react to them.
How it works
- Kick-off call. Scope, sites, timing and your next external audit date.
- Document review. Your manual, procedures, objectives and key records.
- Process review. Walkthroughs of the processes with the people who run them, on site or remote.
- Gap report. A clear, prioritized list of what to change and what to leave alone.
- Action plan. Owners and dates your team can run with, plus optional support through to the transition audit.
Training
Practical training programs built around real processes, so people leave able to do the work rather than just describe it. Use our materials to run the training in house, or have Tom deliver it live online. On site sessions are available within about 120 miles of Lexington, SC, with a minimum group size.
- Internal auditor training. One-day and two-day options. Planning an audit, gathering evidence, writing findings that stand up, and following corrective action through. Workbooks, exercises and completion certificates for your training records included. These are training programs, not accredited certification courses.
- Lean and 5S workshops. 5S, 6S and 7S, kaizen, standard work and visual controls, with a real pilot area on your floor.
- ISO 9001:2026 awareness. What the revision means for leadership and for the people doing the work.
- Corrective action and root cause. 5-Why, fishbone and mistake-proofing applied to your own open issues.
Prefer to start on your own?
The Lean Workplace Training Kit includes a ready-to-run 90-minute facilitator agenda, a pilot area checklist and an audit scorecard.
See the kitWant Tom to deliver the session with your team instead?
Ask about trainingSupplier Audits
Your product is only as good as what comes in the receiving door. A supplier audit tells you how well a supplier controls its processes, how mature its quality system really is, how it handles corrective action, and where the risk to you sits.
We audit on your behalf, against your requirements, and give you a clear written report. Supplier approval and sourcing decisions stay with you; the report gives you the evidence to make them.
Good fit if: you are approving a new supplier, a key supplier keeps causing problems, or your own customer or certification body expects you to show supplier oversight.
What you get
- Audit scope built around your requirements and the risks that matter to you
- On-site or remote audit of the supplier's controls
- Written report with findings, evidence and a risk summary
- Optional review of the supplier's corrective action response
Also available
Certification readiness
Gap analysis, action plans, evidence packs and a mock audit for companies working toward first-time certification.
ISO 14001 and ISO 45001
Internal audits and gap work for environmental and occupational health and safety systems, including integrated systems.
Lean events
Kaizen events, layout improvement, standard work, visual controls and the sustainment that keeps the gains.
Fees are quoted per engagement once scope is agreed.
Audit due, or not sure where your system stands?
A short call is usually enough to tell you what you need and what you do not.