Documented procedures to monitor and measure, on a regular
basis, should be developed and maintained. Elements to be considered
when establishing procedures for monitoring are:
- identification of operations/activities with impact on the performance;
- identification of data sources and measurements that are necessary,
and specification of the format;
- identification of frequency and personnel performing measurements;
and
- maintain quality control procedures for verification procedures.
The results of this self-critical analysis should be reviewed
and used as indicators of the system's success and reliability, as
well as identifying those areas in need of corrective action or improvement.
Records are expected to exist to serve as verification
of the system operating. For example, records include audit reports
and training records. Unlike controlled documents, records are "once
and done" documents, resulting from the execution of some process
or procedure. Procedures in this element are required for the maintenance
of records.
It is important that the source of figures
established are properly recorded, the basis on which figures have
been calculated and any decisions on difficult or "grey" areas of
data. This will provide assistance on areas for improvement and be
helpful for any later external verification.
If only internal
verification of reports are applied initially, measuring and reporting
systems should be developed to allow effective external verification
at a later stage. It should be considered stating, for the benefit
of external stakeholders, why a report has not been independently
verified and the company's future intentions in this regard.