ISO/IEC 17020:2012 standard requires: 8.6.5.b) auditors do not audit their own work.
How ABs understand this requirement?
E.g. A technical director could not audit their technical department because he/she is not independent of the functions being audited and therefore it means that he/she is auditing his/her own work?,
Or the technical director could audit his/her technical department because he/she is not auditing their own work?, e.g. if he/she audits inspection activities in which the inspection is performed by other inspectors and the Technical manager has not done any work at all, neither supervise nor review or sign certificates …).
March 2016
The previous version of the standard ISO/IEC 17020:1998, required:
7.7 The inspection body shall carry out a system of planned and documented internal quality audits to verify compliance with the criteria of this standard and the effectiveness of the quality system. The personnel performing the audits shall be suitably qualified and independent from the functions being audited.
The current version of the standard ISO/IEC 17020:2012 requires: 8.6.5.b) auditors do not audit their own work.
This change in wording of the standard does give a greater degree of flexibility with regards to the auditor e.g. the technical manager can act as internal auditor to audit inspection works performed by inspectors from his own department, if the technical manager has not been involved in any way