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Unlike the first party audit, a second party audit isan audit of
another organizationalqualityprogramnot under the direct control or
within the organizational structureof the auditingorganization.
(ANSI/ASQC NQA-1 (1986))Second party audits are usually performed
by thecustomer upon its suppliers (or potential suppliers) to
ascertain whether or not the supplier canmeet existing or proposed
contractual requirements. Obviously, the supplier quality system is
a very
important part of contractual requirements since it is directly
(manufacturing, engineering,purchasing, quality control, etc.) and
indirectly (marketing, inside and outside sales, etc.)
responsible for the design, production, control and continued
supportability of the product. (See
Figure 1.3 for an example of a second party audit process flow.)
Although second party audits areusually conducted by customers on
their suppliers, it is sometimes beneficial forthe customer to
contract with an independent quality auditor. This action helps
to promote an image of fairness and
objectivity on the part of the customer.
THIRD PARTY AUDIT
Compared to first and second party audits where auditors are not
independent,thethird party auditis objective. It is an assessment
of a quality system conducted by anindependent, outside auditoror
team of auditors. When referring to a third party audit as it
applies to an international qualitystandard such as ISO 9000, the
term "third party" is synonymous with a quality system
registrar
whose primary responsibility is to assess a quality system for
conformance to that standardandissue a certificate of
conformance(upon completion of a successful assessment).
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Characteristics of Audits
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