Getting started: the self-check

Block an afternoon. Open the self-check (AQL-H01) and its Where the evidence lives tab, and pull the records it lists: the change log and form, the PFMEAs and control plans, the training matrix, the approved supplier list, the receiving records, the PO terms and supplier manual, the IT backup log, the code of conduct, the quality objectives and the last management review minutes.

Then work the thirty questions one at a time, with the record open. For each: write the record you looked at, mark the answer (Shown, Partly shown, Gap, Can't tell, Not applicable with a reason), and write what the record shows in a few words. The Summary tab counts your answers by topic; the Action plan tab takes every Gap, Partly shown and Can't tell.

Rules we answer by

• If you have to say 'I think we do that', the answer is Can't tell. It goes on the plan like a gap, and it is usually the cheapest thing to fix: someone opens the record.
• Partly shown means some of it is on record. The change form exists but has no safety line; receiving is trained but the buyer is not.
• Not applicable needs a reason a stranger would accept. 'No design responsibility: we build to customer drawings' is a reason. 'Small shop' is not.
• Two people are better than one. The quality manager and an engineer or buyer answer faster and more honestly together.
• Use your audit results. If an internal audit has already sampled these records (AQL-H11), its observations are evidence. Cite them.

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