IRCA Registration

Introduction In the UK, the certification of internal auditors of quality systems, is controlled by IRCA, the International Register of Certificated Auditors and is administered by the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI). The scheme commenced on 1st January 1993 and sets standards of competence and integrity for those wishing to register themselves as trained auditors, by including assessments of their abilities, including the co-ordination and controlling of audit work undertaken by themselves and teams under their leadership. The scheme aims to upgrade the standard of auditing and ensure that only trained and demonstrably competent personnel are involved in the auditing of quality systems. To become registered under the scheme, candidates have to demonstrate the required levels of skill, qualifications and experience. Communication skills, education, company training, work experience and audit experience are just some of the aspects considered. In addition, candidates must show that they have completed appropriate training courses which have been approved by the International Register of Certificated Auditors.

The QMS 2000 Scheme

 To meet the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 and ISO19011:2002, IRCA has a certification structure with 6 grades: QMS 2000 Internal Auditor QMS 2000 Provisional Auditor QMS 2000 Auditor QMS 2000 Lead Auditor QMS 2000 Principal Auditor

QMS 2000 Internal Auditor

You should consider this grade if you conduct internal audits of your organisation’s QMS. In most cases you will not be a full time auditor, and you may only audit a few times a year, but you will have a good understanding of quality management systems and how they add value within your own organisation. Because internal auditing is only part of your work, IRCA does not require the same level of qualification and experience as for some of the other grades. Certification to this grade is valuable to you in the same way as with other qualifications that recognise your competence. It is valued by your employer not only as an indicator of your competence, but also because it supports your organisation’s ISO 9001:2000 management system. Summary of certification requirements for this grade: Education- At least secondary education Work Experience- Five years, (or 4 years with a degree or near degree) One year’s quality work experience Auditor Training An IRCA certified ISO 9001:2000 Foundation course or accepted alternative Successful completion of an IRCA certified ISO 9001:2000 Internal QMS Auditing course or accepted alternative Auditing Experience Five audits totalling at least 15 hours

QMS 2000 Auditor/Lead Auditor

These grades are primarily for people who are involved in conducting audits on other organisation’s quality management systems. You may or may not be a full time auditor but these grades give credibility to the audits you perform by demonstrating to the auditee organisation that you have achieved a recognised standard in auditing. Auditors for all grades agree to be bound by the IRCA code of conduct.

Certification Procedure

Application for certification may be made by all persons who meet the specified criteria and who can support their application with documentary evidence (eg of training, audits carried out, etc). Applications may be submitted directly to the IRCA, or through a Registration Agency, on forms obtained from the Secretariat. All registered auditors are required to maintain a log of their involvement in quality system audits in a prescribed format and keep records of any additional training completed after registration. Auditors must inform the Secretariat of any change of employer or private address. This objective evidence is to be made available on request by the IRCA. All communications, correspondence, documentation, interviews and presentations in support of any application must be in English or accompanied by a certified translation of the originals - particularly where foreign language qualification certificates are concerned.

The scheme is governed in accordance with English law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. Application Forms may be obtained from IRCA by post or may be downloaded from the web-site www.irca.org. A detailed explanation of the certification criteria is contained in IRCA’s document IRCA/602 and is available from IRCA (see address details) below. An application pack and current fee scales can all be obtained directly from: IRCA PO Box 25120 12 Grosvenor Crescent London SW1X 7ZL Tel: +44(0)20 7245 6833 Fax: +44(0)20 7245 6755 Website address: www.irca.org

ISSUE : September 2007

Accelerated learning at the IRCA Forum

At the recent IRCA Training Organisation Forum held at the super Glaziers Hall venue next to the River Thames, training organisations experienced an excellent demonstration of accelerated learning by Pinpoint Facilitation. 

At the end of the demonstration there was unanimous agreement from those present that there were many ideas that could be taken on board effectively.

 The event showed trainers new ways to: engage whole organisations establish visible leadership and motivation develop people enhance corporate responsibility improve return on investment by: getting people involved immediately and keeping them active - from start to finish applying multiple working and learning intelligences balancing left- and right-brain activities stimulating "whole brain, whole body, whole belief" activity generating easy visualisation and free, constructive creativity managing "state", recording the discussion, accelerating working and learning and providing a complete picture of the whole meeting/session bringing 'academic models' (including Buzan's Mindmapping, Isikawe, Force Field Analysis, Transactional Analysis and Johari's Window) alive in a colourful and memorable way. 

 At JPD group, we believe that we live in a world where the ability to absorb information rapidly and to think logically and creatively are the most important skills that you can possess. And because accelerated leaning methods are giving organisations the competitive advantage of a faster learning workforce, we are actively introducing them into all of our courses.

Many of the splendid ideas put forward by Pinpoint Facilitation will be employed. See them for yourself at www.pinpoint-facilitation.com Source: Bob Mitchell, Head of JPD Training.

ISSUE : April 2007

The Modern Quality Technician/Engineer

Here at JPD we are pleased to announce our latest course, the modern Quality Technician/Engineer 1 day course.

What you will learn

The workshop will -Introduce you to the role of the quality engineer / technician. -Introduce you to the basic tools used. -Introduce you to the concepts of continual improvement. -Provide a framework within which to operate with your colleagues and suppliers.

The course includes -

Responsibilities of the quality engineer / technician -Core tools -Dealing with suppliers and customers -Implementing corrective action on daily issues as they arise, -Conducting area patrol audits, -Following-up on Corrective Actions -Customer complaint handling -In-process sampling and testing (product and services), -Conducting First Off Inspections on products, -Supporting all QA related documentation activities (i.e. write procedures, work instructions, product - specifications, etc.), -Monitoring in process yield, -Driving/participating in quality improvement projects/activities, -Compiling data for weekly/monthly/quarterly quality meetings

Who should attend

Newly appointed quality engineers / technicians (or those planning to be ) who have had little if any training in quality or who need to improve their basic understanding of their role and knowledge of the tools used. This course is available In House, for costs and further details of this course please call a member of our friendly team on 01565 724200.

ISSUE : October 2007

ISO9000:2000 series Auditor/Lead Auditor Training in Northern Ireland

ISSUE : November 2006

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