A MANAGER'S GUIDE TO LABORATORY AUDITS: HOW WELL ARE YOU REALLY DOING?

In first person accounts, a lab manager's and a lab auditor's experiences and perspectives describe objectives, processes, results, responses, and corresponding benefits of an independent lab audit. In response to perceptions of poor data quality production, a water quality laboratory contracts a consultant to conduct an audit for the stated purpose of finding how well it is doing. The lab believes that, in finding the deficiencies by an audit, it will find a way to improve its operations including personnel issues. The audit is conducted covering a full range of lab operations in a described process. And the results, documented in text report and checklists, indicate deficiencies (as audits always do). Through a series of meetings, the lab manager not only brings selected deficiencies to resolution, but also brings team building to resolve personnel issues. A follow-on audit confirms progress in addressing deficiencies, resolving personnel issues, and customer concerns as well.