Factory Audit Services

Assess a Facility’s Quality Systems, Workplace Environment and Capabilities

Retailers, importers and buyers all require a high level of confidence in the reliability, quality and production capacity of their vendors and suppliers. In situations where there is a limited pool of suitable supply chain partners, identifying or developing vendors who meet these requirements can pose real challenges. When vendors and suppliers fail to deliver the promised level of quality, your products may be rejected during the final production and inspection stages. These products may be barred from international markets if they do not meet international quality standards or legal and normative requirements.

A factory audit is a tailor-made program aimed at assessing a facility’s quality systems, workplace environment and capabilities in accordance with standards set by the client or TÜV SÜD. It ensures that your vendors and suppliers are able to undertake a specific order as per your requirements.

A factory audit ensures that the supplier or vendor can design and produce according to normative requirements. It also ensures that a new or existing manufacturer can deliver quality products, undertake continuous improvements and operate efficiently. An annual factory inspection determines if the products to be manufactured/certified fulfill the correct requirements. By providing a means to examine a factory’s structure, organization, quality process and experience, the audit enables you to compare potential suppliers and select a viable source.

How To prepare for a factory audit

It is important to establish a Quality Management System for the product manufactured and prepare documents to be checked on site. The factory should conduct an internal audit and management review then initiate corrective actions to address any identified gaps before applying for a preliminary audit.

TÜV SÜD conducts technical audits at the business premises of vendors and manufacturers to enable them to understand the existing Quality Management System, improve quality towards a "zero complaints" goal, and produce according to normative requirements.

Our auditors can follow any checklist specified or compile a checklist to match your requirements. We provide the evaluation report and recommendations for each process. Our experts also offer gap analysis* and preliminary audit services.

TÜV SÜD's factory audit services

• Gap assessment
  TÜV SÜD identifies areas of non-conformity in the supplier/vendor factory so that gaps can be targeted for improvement.
• On-site factory audit
  We perform an evaluation of the supplier/vendor factory’s on-site quality system, workplace environment and capabilities. This can be done in accordance with standards set by the client, TÜV SÜD or requirements for certified products. Our factory audit confirms that the supplier/vendor can produce the ordered product quantity to the agreed quality and time specifications.
• Report
  Our auditors prepare expert reports based on their observations as well as their subjective evaluations.
• Follow-up audit
  We follow up on the initial audit to determine if the supplier/vendor factory has made improvements based on the recommendations of the previous report.

PED Quality Audits

Annex 4.3 Material Manufacturer Audits