A factory audit comprehensively evaluates a manufacturing facility’s operations and processes. A third-party organization or consultant typically conducts it. The audit is designed to assess the factory’s compliance with various standards, such as quality management standards, environmental regulations, and labor laws.
During a factory audit, the auditor will typically review the factory’s documentation, observe the production process, and interview employees. The audit may cover various topics, including the factory’s management system, quality control procedures, safety measures, and environmental impact.
A factory audit aims to identify any issues or areas for improvement in the factory’s operations and to provide recommendations for addressing any identified problems. Factory audits can be helpful for companies considering working with a new supplier or for companies that want to improve their internal operations.
There are many factors to consider when conducting a factory audit. Here are some key points that we cover during a factory audit:
Quality management system: The auditor will review the factory’s quality management system to ensure that it is effective and meets relevant standards. We check and review the factory’s quality control procedures, testing processes, and documentation.
Environmental compliance: The auditor will assess the factory’s compliance with environmental regulations and its environmental impact. We check and review the factory’s waste management practices, energy use, and emissions.
Safety measures: The auditor will assess the factory’s safety practices, including personal protective equipment, emergency procedures, and hazard control measures.
Labor practices: The auditor will review the factory’s labor practices to ensure they comply with relevant laws and standards, including those related to working hours, wages, and working conditions.
Production processes: The auditor will observe the factory’s production processes to ensure that they are efficient and effective and that the factory has the necessary equipment and resources to produce high-quality products.
Management system: The auditor will review the factory’s management system to assess its effectiveness and identify any areas for improvement. We review the factory’s organizational structure, communication channels, and decision-making processes.
Why is it crucial to audit a factory
before working with a new factory in China?
Many reasons why China is the world’s largest manufacturer.
China has thousands of factories, so it is impossible to tell which factory produces good quality by browsing websites.
Our quality standards require a factory audit as part of our work process to ensure that the factory can meet them.
It Is essential to do the first factory audit to approve the factory quality before starting the manufacturing process.
How do we choose them?
What do we check before the Factory audit?
We need to select factories based on the following criteria:
The industry factory experience and the manufacturing capacity.
The quality of the samples and the documents provided.
We seek out factories where high-quality standards have been set and maintained over time.
We aim for fairness in pricing, a sense of equality in production processes, and flexible schedules that can meet deadlines.
As part of our SOP (standard operating procedure), we thoroughly inspect all the factories before adding them to our list of approved suppliers.
How do we do the factory audit?
It takes a whole day to complete the inspection factory audit.
Our legal team reviews all aspects of a plant, including:
legal registration papers,
Its financial condition,
Work processes, approvals,
Materials,
Suppliers,
Certificates and international standards,
During and after production, quality control processes.
We conduct regular factory audit visits and partnerships with the same factory, regardless of when the factory is approved and when the factory is in production, to ensure that the quality of the goods follows the standards required for production.
We check that all products have been appropriately marked and will be maintained.
Each factory we work with evaluates compliance, safety, and productivity levels.
In this process, we can ensure an integrated quality management plan that provides the quality of our customers’ products.
A factory audit ensures that the factory will implement safety and quality measures.
The factory audit includes many areas, including floors, walls, ceilings, firefighting systems, emergency preparations, passageways for escape (including exits), drinking water systems, and more.
In every factory audit, we do our best to allow undetected violations to be reported as part of ongoing supply chain maintenance and identify new points not abiding by existing law regulations.
Need to know more about our factory audit process? Please register here