Appreciative Internal Audit: A Strength-Based Approach to Quality System Auditing – A Case Study.
Jon Morris President JDQ Systems Inc. Vancouver, BC, Canada

Introduction
Traditional internal audits fulfill an important need for companies with fresh ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System implementations, but for companies with mature systems, those registered for more than five years, an innovative approach to auditing called “Appreciative Internal Quality Audit” can take them beyond compliance to excellence. In effect, the Appreciative Audit approach both raises the bar and adds value for the 65,000+ North American organizations that spend a total of more than $4.5 billion on internal audits each year (see the SIDEBAR: About
2006 Annual N American Cost ($000)

65,631 $ 4,594,170

The following case study describes one company’s experience with the Appreciative Audit approach, applied in two independent audit cycles over two years. The first audit cycle in 2005 covered the entire QMS at 8 different physical sites with 6 internal auditors and over 100 auditees. The second audit cycle in 2006 covered the same QMS sites but different products and projects. There were 3 new internal auditors involved in the 2006 audits and a larger base of about 150 auditees, 80% of whom were not audited previously. Internal Issues In the spring of 2005, after planning and conducting audits for over 10 years, BCSX Inc. and the author began to explore ways of making internal audits more effective. Experiential evidence and client feedback indicated that the following elements of the internal audit process were working quite well: • • • • • Audit planning Auditor training The “compliance” objective Corrective action Acceptance as a legitimate business