National foreword

This Published Document is the UK implementation of ISO/IEC TS 17012:2024.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee CAS/1, Conformity assessment.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its committee manager.

Contractual and legal considerations

This publication has been prepared in good faith, however no representation, warranty, assurance or undertaking (express or implied) is or will be made, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by BSI in relation to the adequacy, accuracy, completeness or reasonableness of this publication. All and any such responsibility and liability is expressly disclaimed to the full extent permitted by the law.

This publication is provided as is, and is to be used at the recipient’s own risk.

The recipient is advised to consider seeking professional guidance with respect to its use of this publication.

This publication is not intended to constitute a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

This publication is not to be regarded as a British Standard.

Compliance with a Published Document cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This Published Document was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 July 2024.

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives or www.iec.ch/members_experts/refdocs).

ISO and IEC draw attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO and IEC take no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO and IEC had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents and https://patents.iec.ch. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html. In the IEC, see www.iec.ch/understanding-standards.

This document was prepared by the ISO Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO).

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html and www.iec.ch/national-committees.

Introduction

This document was developed in response to rapidly developing technology and changes in working practices based upon a variety of experiences, including those from the coronavirus pandemic. Applying remote auditing methods can bring a variety of benefits for all parties involved in the audit. This document provides guidance on how an audit can be effectively conducted and how audit objectives can be achieved when remote auditing methods are used.

Remote auditing methods can improve the efficiency of an audit by reducing travel-time and expense and achieving an improvement in the overall carbon footprint, as well as avoiding travel risk, enabling virtual access to more sites. A further benefit is facilitating diversity of participation in the audit and the increased involvement of technical experts within the audit. This includes cross-border activities that can improve the overall efficiency of the audit, whilst maintaining business continuity, especially in challenging situations and conditions.

The objective of this document is to provide assurance that remote auditing methods represent an additional sustainable and flexible way to conduct audits of management systems and provide confidence to customers, regulators, scheme owners and other interested parties.

This document includes guidance on a risk-based approach to be followed for planning and implementing the remote auditing methods that can apply to all types and sizes of organizations. Table 1 and Table 2 provide examples of risks and opportunities.

This document can be used to support an on-site, a remote or a hybrid approach to auditing management systems.

NOTE ISO 19011:2018, Table 1 gives examples of different types of audits.

This document can also be used to support other conformity assessment activities, such as accreditation assessment, product certification or peer assessment.

This document supports the continued integrity of first-party, second-party and third-party audits, including management system certification audits, to facilitate their conduct in a competent, thorough and transparent manner when remote auditing methods are used. This document can also be used to support other conformity assessment activities, such as accreditation, product certification or peer assessment. This document provides additional guidance to the implementation of ISO 19011:2018 and ISO/IEC 17021‑1.

This document highlights the importance of ensuring that the output of any audit process fulfils the objectives of the audit programme. This document does not take precedence over any requirements of other standards/schemes.

This document follows the same structure as ISO 19011:2018 in order to facilitate use of the two documents together.

1 Scope

This document provides guidance on the use of remote auditing methods in auditing management systems. It is applicable to all organizations that plan and conduct all kinds of internal or external audits (i.e. first-party, second-party and third-party audits) of management systems.

This document supports the general principles of auditing given in ISO 19011:2018 and provides further guidance on specific conditions, possibilities and limitations for implementing remote auditing methods.

This document is intended to strengthen confidence in the use of remote auditing methods for auditing management systems among customers, regulators, accreditation bodies, certification bodies, scheme owners, industry, employees, consumers, suppliers and other interested parties.

The use of remote auditing methods for auditing management systems is not intended to replace on-site audit methods. Instead, remote auditing methods are intended to serve as a tool to effectively and efficiently conduct the audit.

NOTE This document can be used for other types of audits and assessments.

2 Normative references

3 Terms and definitions

4 Principles of auditing

5 Managing an audit programme

5.1 General

5.2 Establishing audit programme objectives

5.3 Determining and evaluating audit programme risks and opportunities

5.4 Establishing the audit programme

5.5 Implementation of audit programme

5.6 Monitoring the audit programme

5.7 Reviewing and improving audit programme

6 Conducting an audit using remote auditing methods

6.1 General

6.2 Initiating audit

6.3 Preparing audit activities

6.4 Conducting audit activities

6.5 Preparing and distributing audit report

6.6 Completing audit

6.7 Conducting audit follow-up

7 Competence and evaluation of auditors

7.1 General

7.2 Determining auditor competence

7.3 Establishing auditor evaluation criteria

7.4 Selecting the appropriate auditor evaluation methods

7.5 Conducting auditor evaluation

7.6 Maintaining and improving auditor competence

Bibliography

PD ISO/IEC TS 17012:2024

Conformity assessment. Guidelines for the use of remote auditing methods in auditing management systems

Current

Published:

31 Jul 2024