Two distinct EMS Audit Protocol Suites which allow an organisation to complete Internal EMS Audits as required by ISO 14001:2004.
These protocols can be adapted to fit into an existing audit schedule by allowing an audit to be conducted on an entire organisation or system, or on a selected part of an organisation (unit, site, operational area, team, activity, etc). The auditor may wish to complete all audit protocols during one audit, or schedule them to cover all teams/units over a set period of time - you choose which suite fits your organisation best.
Section 4.5.5 of ISO14001:2004 requires that an organisation shall ensure that internal audits of its EMS are conducted at planned intervals to determine whether the EMS:
Conforms to the planned arrangements for environmental management including the requirements of ISO14001; and
Has been properly implemented and maintained.
An EMS audit program should be planned, established, implemented and maintained by the organisation, taking into consideration the environmental importance of the operation concerned (unit, site, operational area, team, activity, etc) and the results of previous audits. It is recommended that an audit schedule be prepared which sets out:
The part of the organisation selected for each audit;
The commitment against which each audit will be conducted (this also selects the protocol to be used);
The date by which each audit is to be completed, or the period during which the audit will be conducted; and
Members of the audit team, including the lead auditor, for each audit.
There are two suites included in the package:
Suite 1: Policy Commitments Suite
Nine audit protocols designed to assess the EMS against nine commitments required by an environmental policy in accordance with s.4.2 of ISO 14001:2004:
Objectives, Targets and Programs
Legal and Other Requirements
Roles, Responsibility and Authority
Provision of Resources
Competence, Training and Awareness
Communication
Document Review
Prevention of Pollution
Review and Improvement
This Protocol Suite is designed for auditing individual teams or units within the organisation. This sample auditing schedule shows how a regular cycle of audits based on these protocls can be implemented.
Suite 2: Plan-Do-Check-Act Suite
Four audit protocols based around the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle in ISO 14001:2004:
Plan
Do
Check
Act
This Protocol Suite is designed for auditing the organisation's EMS against the PDCA elements of ISO 14001:2004.
The protocols include detailed aid notes to assist the auditor.
