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Supplier audit checklist

A supplier audit checklist is the list of questions you work through on a supplier's site to check that the way they make and control your parts will keep producing good parts. This one follows the parts from receiving to shipping in 32 questions and eight sections. Each is scored 0 (not in place), 1 (major gaps), 2 (minor gaps) or 3 (in place, evidence seen), or NA, with space for the evidence, so audits can be compared between suppliers and from one visit to the next. Page 2 has the score summary, example rating bands and the findings. The Excel file works out the scores and the rating and has an actions log. The last PDF page and the Worked example tabs hold a filled-in audit.

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Page 1 of the supplier audit checklistFields for supplier, site, date, auditors and parts audited, the 0 to 3 score key, and questions in sections for quality management system, purchasing, process control, inspection and gauges, and identification and traceability.
32 audit questionsEight sectionsScore 0 to 3 or NAEvidence columnSection and total %Rating bandsFindings and actionsWorked example
Filled-in Supplier audit checklist: a machined parts supplier at 80%, one zero
The same sheet filled in with the worked example (page 3 of the PDF, illustrative numbers). Open full size (opens the picture in a new tab)

When to use it

When to use a supplier audit checklist

  • Before approving a new supplier or moving a part to a new supplier site.
  • After a serious quality escape or a run of rejected lots.
  • On a yearly or two-yearly schedule for your most important suppliers.
  • When a supplier changes its process, site or ownership.

How to fill it in

  1. 1

    Plan the audit

    Which parts and processes, who audits, and what records you will ask to see. Send the supplier the date and scope in advance.
  2. 2

    Follow your parts

    Start at their receiving dock and walk the process to shipping. Ask to see the records for a real lot of your parts.
  3. 3

    Score from evidence

    Score each question from what you see and the records, not from what you are told. Write the evidence for every score below 3.
  4. 4

    Add up the sections

    Score ÷ (3 × questions scored) per section and overall. NA questions are left out of the maximum.
  5. 5

    Agree the findings

    Go through the findings with the supplier before you leave, major and minor, and agree actions and dates.
  6. 6

    Follow up

    Check the evidence for each action, and set the next audit date by the result.

What is inside the files

Every page of the PDF and every tab of the Excel file

The supplier audit checklist files are free after a short form. This is what you get: the blank pages, then the same pages filled in with a made-up example.

  1. Page 1 of 3 of the supplier audit checklist PDF: Questions 1 to 21, with the 0 to 3 score key
    PDF page 1 of 3Questions 1 to 21, with the 0 to 3 score key
  2. Page 2 of 3 of the supplier audit checklist PDF: Questions 22 to 32, score summary and findings
    PDF page 2 of 3Questions 22 to 32, score summary and findings
  3. Page 3 of 3 of the supplier audit checklist PDF: Worked example: a first audit scored 72 of 90
    PDF page 3 of 3Worked example: a first audit scored 72 of 90

The tabs of the Excel file

  • AuditThe 32 questions in eight sections, each scored 0 to 3 or NA from a drop-down, with columns for the evidence and the finding.
  • SummaryScore, maximum and percentage per section and overall, the rating from the bands you set, and a chart of the sections.
  • ActionsOne row per finding with the supplier's action, owner and due date. Status and days open work themselves out.
  • Worked example, example summary and example actionsThe audit on the last PDF page: a made-up machined parts supplier, 72 of 90, approved with two actions.

What's on the audit

The 32 questions on the supplier audit checklist

Eight sections that follow your parts through the supplier's process. On the sheet each question is scored 0 (not in place), 1 (major gaps), 2 (minor gaps) or 3 (in place, evidence seen), or NA, with space for the evidence.

Quality management system

How quality is planned and reviewed

  1. 1Procedures current, controlled and followed on the floor
  2. 2Internal audits done to plan, with findings closed
  3. 3Management reviews quality results and acts on them
  4. 4Quality objectives set and tracked with data

Purchasing and incoming material

Their own suppliers

  1. 5Approved list of sub-suppliers, with how each was approved
  2. 6Purchase orders state the specification, revision and quality requirements
  3. 7Incoming material inspected or verified before use, with records
  4. 8Sub-supplier performance reviewed and problems followed up

Process control

Making our parts

  1. 9Control plan or equivalent in place for our parts
  2. 10Work instructions at the workstation, at the current revision
  3. 11First-piece or setup approval before each run, with records
  4. 12Process settings monitored and recorded against limits
  5. 13Preventive maintenance planned and done on key equipment

Inspection, test and gauges

Checking our parts

  1. 14In-process and final inspection done to plan, with records
  2. 15Gauges identified, calibrated on schedule and traceable
  3. 16Gauge R&R studied for key characteristics
  4. 17Capability studied or monitored for special characteristics

Identification and traceability

Knowing what is what

  1. 18Material and parts identified at every stage, with their status (OK, hold, reject)
  2. 19A finished lot can be traced back to its raw material lots and process records
  3. 20Mix-ups prevented at changeovers and in storage
  4. 21Records kept for the retention time we require

Nonconforming product and corrective action

When something goes wrong

  1. 22Nonconforming product identified, segregated and recorded
  2. 23Disposition decided by someone authorized, and the customer told when required
  3. 24Root cause found and corrective action checked for effect
  4. 25Customer complaints and SCARs answered on time

Handling, storage and shipping

Getting parts to us undamaged

  1. 26Storage protects parts from damage, rust and contamination
  2. 27Stock rotated first in, first out, and shelf-life items controlled
  3. 28Packaging and labels meet our specification
  4. 29Final check before shipping: right part, quantity, labels and paperwork

People and training

Who does the work

  1. 30Training needs defined for each job, with records kept
  2. 31Operators trained on the current work instruction before working alone
  3. 32Inspectors qualified for the checks they do

A filled-in example

Illustrative, not a benchmark

An example: a first audit of a machined parts supplier, using example rating bands of 85% and 70% (illustrative numbers).

Scoring the example audit

Score = points ÷ maximum for the questions that apply

32 questions, 2 not applicable: 30 scored, maximum 90.

  1. 72 ÷ 90= 80%
BandApproved with actions
  1. Whole audit80%with actions
  2. Process control (lowest section)67%

72 points out of a maximum of 90, after 2 questions marked not applicable: 80 percent, in the approved with actions band between 70 and 85 percent.

With the example bands, 85% and over is approved and 70% up to 85% is approved with actions. The lowest section, process control at 67%, set the actions.
  • 30 of 32 questions scored, 2 not applicable: maximum 90.
  • Total score 72: 72 ÷ 90 = 80%, in the 'approved with actions' band.
  • One question scored 0: question 16, no gauge R&R on the key bore diameter. Before the audit the customer agreed that a 0 on question 19 (traceability) or 22 (nonconforming product kept apart) stops approval, so this 0 does not.
  • Lowest section: process control at 67%, with setup approval not recorded on the second shift.

The supplier was approved with two actions: a gauge study within 30 days and setup records on every shift. A follow-up visit was booked for when both were due.

Common mistakes

  • Auditing the office

    Procedures in a binder say little. Spend most of the time where your parts are made.

  • Scoring without evidence

    A 3 should mean you saw it working and saw the records. Write down what you saw.

  • Letting a good total hide a zero

    A high overall score can hide a critical gap, such as no traceability. Decide before the audit which zeros stop approval.

  • No follow-up

    Findings without dates and a check of the evidence are forgotten by the next audit.

Download the template

Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.

Run this template in LeanSuite

In LeanSuite you build any audit in Lean Creator with points per answer and a pass mark, complete it on a phone or tablet with photo evidence where required, and every non-conformance becomes a tracked action with an owner.

See it in a 45-minute demo

FAQ

Supplier audit checklist: common questions

  1. A visit to a supplier's site to check that their quality system and the process that makes your parts are in place and working, scored against a checklist, with findings the supplier has to act on.

  2. A system audit checks that the quality management system exists and meets a standard. A process audit follows a specific part through receiving, production, inspection and shipping to check that the process is controlled in practice.

  3. Each question gets a score, here 0 to 3, from the evidence seen. The section and overall percentage is the score divided by the maximum for the questions scored. Each rating band threshold, such as approved above 85%, is your company's choice.

  4. By risk and performance. Many companies audit new suppliers before approval, key suppliers every one or two years, and any supplier after a serious quality problem.

  5. Eight sections: quality management system, purchasing and incoming material, process control, inspection, test and gauges, identification and traceability, nonconforming product and corrective action, handling, storage and shipping, and people and training. It audits the process that makes your parts. It does not score delivery, cost or financial health: delivery and quality results belong on a supplier scorecard. Add questions for your supplier's process. After the visit, agree the findings with the supplier, who sends an action plan with dates, and check the evidence for each action.

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