The CB shall periodically evaluate the performance of each auditor on-site. The frequency of on-site evaluations shall be based on need determined from all monitoring information available
Is there any upper limit of frequency (in years) recommended? (some CB perform yearly monitoring of personnel audit, other CB extend the frequency to many years.)
March 2017
There is not any specified upper limit for on-site monitoring in ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, IAF MD-10 and any other relevant normative documents. But, in practice the most of CBs perform at least one on-site monitoring every three years. According to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015 clause 7.2.9 “There shall be a documented process for monitoring competence and performance of all persons involved, based on the frequency of their usage and the level of risk linked to their activities.”. This frequency should be based on assignment frequency and the level of risk.
Another factor, linked to risk, which should be considered is the results of previous monitoring. It is reasonable to expect that auditors where issues have been identified are monitored more frequently than those where no issues have been raised.
In ILAC P15:07/2016 clause 6.1.9b, for inspection body’ inspectors there is a limit saying that “at least once during the accreditation re-assessment cycle”.
For ABs, ISO/IEC 17011:2004 clause 6.3.2 says that “Each assessor shall be observed on-site regularly, normally every three years.”