A 6 Step Approach if You Disagree With a Notified Body Auditor

2 Comments / ISO Certification / By / ,

The author’s first certification audit experience is discussed, and we review six different approaches to take if you disagree with a notified body auditor.

My first certification audit ever didn’t go so well. The reason it didn’t go well is that the auditor wrote nonconformities that my boss and our regulatory consultant didn’t agree with. At the time, I was too inexperienced to know how to handle it. My boss and the consultant, however, totally lost it. I’ve never seen veins that big in someone’s forehead–even in cartoons.

I asked them both to leave the room because I was afraid to “push back” on the auditor. Many Management Representatives feel the same way that I did during that initial certification audit. The best way to summarize our concerns is with the following picture:

kodiak A 6 Step Approach if You Disagree With a Notified Body Auditor

Recently another LinkedIn group member emailed me to say that they have seen several auditors for registrars identifying nonconformities that represented their own personal opinions rather than specific requirements of the Standard. For example, there is a requirement to assign management responsibilities and document it, but there is no requirement to have an organization chart.

Another common mistake is when auditors insist that a company must create a turtle diagram for every single process. I support the use of turtle diagrams 100%, but the only requirement in the Standard is to use the process approach–not turtle diagrams specifically.

My favorite is my own personal mistake. I wrote a nonconformity for not having a process for implant registration cards for a company that was planning to ship a high-risk implant product to Canada. There is a requirement for implant registry cards, but I forgot that Canada defines “implants” in this case as only a very short list of implant devices–not implants in general.

Auditors are human. These are audit findings–not a jail sentence. Everyone needs to remember that the worst that can happen is that you receive a nonconformity. If the auditor finds a nonconformity, then you need to develop a CAPA plan. If the auditor finds nothing, you still need to do your own internal audits to identify nonconformities and continuously improve processes.

What Should You Do When an Auditor is Wrong?

I recommend that you “push back,” but you need to know-how. Many consultants suggest saying, “Can you show me in the Standard where it says I have to do that?” That’s just like poking a bear. If you do it once, it’s annoying. If you do it multiple times, an auditor might just eat you.

One Management Representative did that to me after I had taken the time to review the requirements with him. I responded by holding the ISO 13485 Standard in front of him and reciting clause 7.3.2. He responded by saying, “Well, that’s up for interpretation.” I offered to recite the ISO 14969 guidance document for him, but his boss told him to shut up.

This certainly wasn’t the only time a client pushed back during a registration audit, but other clients have had the sense to argue about things they understood.

One of the clients I audited said that he would change the topic to the auditor’s favorite sports team. That’s one approach. I’m sure that more than one client has taken the approach of asking me to explain where they can learn about best practices. I’m sure that they were somewhat successful. Another approach is to slide the lunch menu in front of them; I have only met one auditor that would not be distracted by a lunch menu.

6 Step Approach When You Disagree With an Auditor

1. Shut-up and look it up (before you open your mouth, grab the applicable external Standard and locate the information you are looking for).

2. If you are still convinced that the auditor is wrong, then tell that you are having trouble finding the requirement. Show them where you are looking, and then ask them to help you find the requirement.

3. If the auditor can’t show you where you are wrong, or it appears that the auditor is interpreting the Standard as they see fit, then focus on asking the auditor for guidance on what they will be looking for in your CAPA plan.

4. If the CAPA plan the auditor is looking for is something you think is a good idea, then shut up and implement the improvements. If the CAPA plan is not acceptable to you, then you should ask what the process is for the resolution of disputes.

5. No matter what, don’t start an argument with the registrar. They enjoy it. They like a challenge and resent people with less experience criticizing them.

6. If you still disagree with your auditor, then you should ask if the auditor can explain the process for appealing findings and follow that process.

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3 Tools for Effectively Qualifying Suppliers

4 Comments / Supplier Quality Management / By / ,
%name 3 Tools for Effectively Qualifying Suppliers
Do you have the right tools for qualifying your suppliers?


For every task, you have a choice of tools that you can use. For qualifying your suppliers, are you using the correct tools? 

This blog reviews how to utilize statistical process control, process validation, and supplier auditing to qualify suppliers effectively.
If you could afford to audition suppliers for a few months against hundreds of other competitors, then only the qualified suppliers would be approved. Unfortunately, you don’t have the same budget that American Idol has. So what should you do instead?

Most companies use the same three, tired tools to qualify suppliers: ISO Certification, Quality Manuals, and questionnaires. ISO certification is a weak tool because certification is only as good as the registrar’s worst client. Quality Manuals are intended to define the intent of your supplier’s Quality Management System, while most of the details are located in procedures. You only need a copy of your supplier’s Quality Manual to help you plan audits. Supplier questionnaires seem to be the most popular tool, but most of the questions require a “Yes/No” response that suppliers rarely answer negatively. To assess the qualifications of potential suppliers more effectively, try using the following tools instead:

Tool # 1: Statistical Process Control

Most companies require a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) with every shipment. A CoC is useless. Just like the “Yes/No” responses to questionnaires, you will never see a CoC that indicates something is wrong. A Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is much more useful, because the CoA has actual data, and the tolerance range is typically indicated for each test or measurement that was performed by the supplier. The best report you can get from a supplier is a statistical analysis of each specification during the prototype production lot. When you have a Statistical Process Control (SPC) run chart, you know quantitatively if the supplier is capable of making an acceptable product. The run chart can also be used to develop an appropriate sampling plan for incoming inspection.

Tool # 2: Process Validation

Process validation is much more than determining if a process is capable of producing a consistent product. An SPC run chart can do that. Process validation tells you what range of operating parameters will produce a consistent product. Therefore, when you have process deviations or measurement devices are slightly out-of-calibration, you will know if your supplier’s process will still make an acceptable product. The validation of a process should also identify which variables are critical indicators of the process. This information can be used to reduce the number of variables and specifications that are monitored for a production process, and focus both your supplier’s resources and your own.

Tool # 3: Supplier Auditing

A multi-disciplinary team audit of a potential supplier is an effective tool for assessing a supplier’s qualifications and will help build a stronger relationship between your team and the supplier’s team. Before you conduct an audit, it is important to plan the audit to ensure you get the greatest possible value. The following recommendations are important to supplier auditing:

  1. Use a risk-based approach to auditing suppliers (this goes beyond just critical and non-critical)
  1. Strategically select auditors and train them well
  2. Plan the auditing goals and objectives for the team in advance
  3. Create a formal audit agenda that defines which processes each auditor will be focusing on

Auditing 100% of your critical suppliers may seem impossible, due to limited resources, but have you ever seen a cost/benefit analysis?

What’s the cost of rejects, rework, and product redesign?

Supplier Quality Management Webinars Available 

Are your Suppliers Qualified? Prove It! 

http://robertpackard.wpengine.com/suppliers-qualified-prove/

Supplier Auditing and Remote Auditing: Tips to Save You Time and Money 

http://robertpackard.wpengine.com/supplier-auditing-and-remote-auditing-tips-save-time-money/

 

 

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The Audit Program Manager: 4 Areas of Auditor Competency

2 Comments / ISO Auditing / By / , ,

rookie The Audit Program Manager: 4 Areas of Auditor Competency

Passing a webinar on auditing does not make you competent.

This blog reviews an audit program manager’s four areas of auditor competency; experience, skills, training, and education.

Does your company ask incoming inspectors to update CAD drawings when there is a design change? Of course not. Your company has engineers that are trained to use SolidWorks, and it takes a new engineer awhile to become proficient with the software. Auditing is a skill that you learn—just like SolidWorks.

I’ve never met a manager that wondered where the value was in having an engineer update a drawing, but many managers view internal and supplier audits as a necessary evil. Instead of asking the expert how few audit days you can get away with, ask the expert: “What is the purpose of auditing?”

The purpose of internal auditing is to confirm that the management system is effective and identify opportunities for improvement. The purpose of supplier auditing is to verify that a supplier is capable of meeting your needs and identify opportunities for improvement. Therefore, if an auditor has no nonconformities and no opportunities for improvement were identified—what a waste of time!

To receive value from auditing, you need auditors that are competent. In clause 6.2.1 of the ISO 13485 Standard, it states, “Personnel performing work affecting product quality shall be competent based on appropriate education, training, skills, and experience.” As the audit program manager, ensure you recruit people that demonstrate auditing competency.

Education

First, educational background is important for auditors. You cannot expect someone who has never taken a microbiology course in their life to be an effective auditor of sterilization validation. Likewise, someone that has never taken a course in electricity and magnetism will not be effective as an auditor for active implantable devices. Therefore, determine what types of processes the auditor will be auditing. Then ensure that the person you hire to be an auditor has the necessary education to understand the processes they will be auditing.

Training

Second, an auditor needs to be trained before they can audit. The auditor needs training in three different aspects: 1) the process they will be auditing, 2) the standard that is the basis for assessing conformity, and 3) auditing techniques. If you are going to be auditing Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturers with Surface-Mount Technology (SMT), then you need to learn about the types of components used to make PCBs, and how these components are soldered to a raw board. I know first-hand that anyone can learn how SMT works, but it took me a few months of studying.

If your company is only selling medical devices in the United States, then you will need to learn 21 CFR 820 (i.e., – the QSR). However, if your company also sells devices in Europe or Canada, you will need to learn ISO 13485, the Medical Device Directive (MDD) (93/42/EEC as modified by 2007/47/EC), and the Canadian Medical Device Regulations (CMDR). I learned about ISO 13485 in a four-and-a-half day lead auditor course in Florida,  MDD in a three-day CE Marking Course in Virginia, and the CMDR in a two-day course taught by Health Canada in Ontario. A 50-minute webinar on each regulation is not sufficient for auditing.

Finally, you need training in the techniques of auditing. A two-day course is typically needed. I took a 50-minute webinar and passed a quiz before conducting my first internal audit, but I had not developed my skills at that point. 

Skills

Third, an auditor needs communication, organizational, and analytical skills to be useful as an auditor. Communications skills must include the ability to read and write exceptionally well, and the auditor needs to be able to verbally communicate with auditees during meetings and interviews. The most difficult challenge for auditors is covering all items on their agenda in the time available. The auditor rarely has more time than the need to audit any topic, and audit team leaders must be able to manage their own time, as well as simultaneously managing the time of several other auditors. 

Experience

Last, but indeed not the least important aspect of auditor competency, is experience. This is why third-party auditors are required to act as team members under the guidance of a more experienced auditor before they are allowed to perform audits on their own. This is required, regardless of how many internal or supplier audits, the person may have conducted in the past. More experienced auditors are also required to observe new auditors and recommend modifications in their technique. Once a new auditor has completed a sufficient number of audits as a team member, the auditor is then allowed to practice leading audits while being observed. After six to nine months, a new auditor is finally ready to be a lead auditor on their own. An internal auditor does not need the same degree of experience as a third-party auditor, but being shadowed two-three times is not sufficient experience for an auditor (first or second-party). For more information about this topic, please read my blog posting on auditor shadowing.

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Internal Audit Training for New Hires

1 Comment / ISO Auditing / By / ,

 

welcome aboard Internal Audit Training for New Hires

The author discusses a few proven internal audit training strategies (i.e., shadowing, auditing process owners) for new hires.

Once you have identified someone that you want to “hire” as an internal auditor, your next step should be to develop an “Onboarding“ plan for them with their boss. If you are hiring someone that will be a dedicated auditor, please ignore my quotation marks above. In most companies, however, the internal auditors are volunteers that report to another hiring manager. Therefore, as the audit program manager, you need to get a firm commitment from the auditor’s boss with regard to the time required to train the new auditor and to perform audits on an ongoing basis. 

Winning Over the Boss

In my previous posting, I said that “The biggest reason why you want to be an auditor is that it will make you more valuable to the company.” The auditor’s boss may or may not agree with this statement, but the boss knows that the salary is coming out of their budget either way. Therefore, talk with the auditor’s boss and determine what the auditor’s strengths and weaknesses are. Find out which skills the boss would like to see the auditor develop. By doing this, the two of you can develop a plan for making the auditor more valuable to their boss AND the company. 

Making Re-Introductions

Ideally, auditors are extraverted and have worked at the company long enough to know the processes and process owners that they will be assigned to audit—especially if they will be auditing upstream and downstream from their process area. In the past, the auditor may have been a customer or a supplier, but now the relationship with a process owner will change. Auditors are required to interview process owners, and this involves asking tough questions that might not be appropriate in the auditor’s regular job duties. Therefore, as the audit program manager, you should re-introduce the auditor to the process owner in their new capacity as an auditor. During this re-introduction, it is important to make three points:

  1. The auditor is going to be trained first (on auditing and ISO 13485)
  2. You will be shadowing the auditor during the audit, and
  3. The auditor’s job is to help the process owner identify opportunities for improvement

By making the first point, you are reminding the process owner of the scheduled audit—well in advance. You are also informing the process owner that this auditor will have new skills, and the process owner should have some tolerance for mistakes that new employees make. You might also mention that you would like to get the process owner’s feedback after the audit, so the auditor knows which areas they need to improve upon to become better auditors. The second point should put the process owner at ease—assuming the process owner has a good relationship with you as the audit program manager. It is important to be descriptive when “shadowing” is mentioned. Both the process owner and the auditor may not understand the process or the purpose of shadowing. The following blog posting might help with this: “How do you shadow an auditor? Did you learn anything?”

The third point is the most critical step in onboarding a new auditor. For an auditor to be successful, they must ADD VALUE! As an auditor, you cannot pretend to add value. The process owner should know their process, and they probably know which areas are weakest. The audit program manager should encourage the process owner to list some specific areas in which they are having problems. Ideally, the process owner would be informed of this need before the re-introduction. Then the process owner can be better prepared for the meeting, and hopefully, they will have a few target areas already identified. Targets with associated metrics are the best choice for a new auditor because these targets reinforce the process approach to auditing. 

Next Steps for Internal Audit Training

Once your new auditor has been re-introduced to the process owners, they will be auditing, and you need to begin the training process. As with any new employee, it is important to document training requirements and to assess the auditor’s qualifications against the requirements of an auditor. Every new auditor will need some training, but the training should be tailored specifically to the needs of the auditor. The training plan for a new auditor should include the following:

  1. A reading list of company procedures specific to auditing and external standards that are relevant
  2. Scheduled dates for the auditor to shadow another experienced auditor
  3. Scheduled dates for an experienced auditor to shadow the auditor during the first two process audits (upstream and downstream)
  4. Goals and objectives for the internal audit program; and
  5. Any training goals that the auditor’s boss has identified for the auditor

 

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Auditing ISO 14971 – 4 Steps to Assess Compliance

7 Comments / ISO 14971:2019 (Risk Management) / By / , ,

This article describes four key steps for auditing ISO 14971, and suggested auditing questions are included.

Let’s say that you went ahead and purchased ISO 14971:2012, read Annex ZA, and identified a couple of gaps in your procedure. After you revised your Risk Management procedure to be compliant with the revised Standard, then what are you supposed to do?

Most QA Managers struggle over whether they should purchase ISO 14971:2012. I wrote a couple of blog postings about this matter, but my point was not to debate this question but to ensure companies are aware that they need to be compliant with the MDD and the ISO 14971 Standard. The “changes” from 2009 to the 2012 version are simply the European Commission reminding manufacturers that there are seven aspects of the ISO 14791 Standard that do not meet the requirements of the MDD. Therefore, if your company has already verified that your risk management process is compliant with the MDD–then you have nothing to change. However, if your risk management process is only compliant with ISO 14971:2009, then you need to revise your processes and procedures to address these seven aspects. 

4 Steps in Auditing ISO 14971

Once you have made revisions to your risk management process, how do you perform auditing of ISO 14971?

Step 1: Planning your auditing ISO 14971

This will be an internal audit, and since you (the QA Manager) are the process owner for the risk management process, you personally cannot audit this process. You need to assign someone that has the technical skill to perform the audit, but this person cannot be the process owner (you) or a direct report to the process owner (the rest of the QA department). Fortunately, the Director of Engineering is also trained as an internal auditor at your company. She is trained on ISO 14971:2009, but she did not receive risk management training to the most current version. To address this gap, she must read the updated Standard to understand what’s new.

novcover preview 211x300 Auditing ISO 14971 4 Steps to Assess Compliance
Clause 3.2 of ISO 14971 requires that top management review the Risk Management Process for Effectiveness.

She has participated in risk management activities, but each product development engineer participates in risk management activities for their own design projects. Therefore, she has several projects she can sample risk management records from without auditing her own work. You have communicated that you need this audit finished sometime in December because you want any CAPAs resulting from the audit to be finalized before the next Management Review at the end of January. The timing of the Management Review is important because the risk management procedure requires that top management assess the effectiveness of the risk management process during Management Review meetings.

There are no previous audit findings to close from the last audit of the risk management process. Still, the Director of Engineering has seven specific items to emphasize from the 2012 revision of the Standard, and a revised procedure for risk management. Therefore, she will prepare for the audit by identifying some new interview questions to specifically address these changes–as well as some more general, open-ended questions.

Specific questions related to Annex ZA when auditing ISO 14971

1. How does the risk analysis evaluate the acceptability of risks in the lowest category? (This is a leading question, but it is specifically designed to determine if negligible risks are discarded).

2. Please provide a few examples of how risks in the lowest category were reduced. (In sections 1 and 2 of the Annex, I require all risks to be reduced as far as possible, and for all risks to be evaluated for acceptability. The wording of this question also allows auditors flexibility in their sampling).

3.  How did the design team determine when they had implemented sufficient risk controls to minimize risks? (Many companies use a color-coded matrix as a quasi-objective method for determining when risks are adequately reduced. This process is often referred to as the ALARP concept. Annex ZA specifically prohibits using economic considerations as part of this determination).

4. How did you conduct a risk-benefit analysis? (The Standard allows for performing a risk-benefit analysis when overall residual risks exceed the acceptability criteria as outlined in the risk management plan. However, the MDD requires an overall risk-benefit analysis in Section 1 of Annex I. Section 6 also requires that a risk-benefit analysis be performed for each individual risk).

5. How were risk control options selected? (Section 2 of the MDD implies that the manufacturer shall review All the control options and pick the most appropriate ones. Therefore, the auditor should specifically look for evidence that the team systematically reviewed all possible control options to reduce risks–rather than stopping as soon as the risks were reduced to an acceptable level).

6. What were your team’s priorities for the implementation of risk control options? (It’s possible that the previous question will be sufficient to gather evidence that risk controls were implemented with the required prioritization, as specified in the MDD. However, this question would be used as a follow-up question if it is not clear that the team prioritized the risk control options in accordance with Section 2 of Annex I).

7. How was the effect of labeling and warnings in the instructions for use incorporated into the estimation of residual risks? (Almost every company remembers to include residual risks in their IFU as a warning or caution statement. However, Section 2 of Annex I does not allow for including this information given to the users as a method of reducing risks. Therefore, in a Design FMEA, you would not list labeling and IFUs in your column for current risk controls when you determine the risk. This should be identified as an action to be taken–with no impact on the score for residual risk).

%name Auditing ISO 14971 4 Steps to Assess ComplianceThe above questions are not examples of using the process approach, but each question is phrased in an open-ended manner to maximize the objective evidence gathered during the interview process. If you are doing a process audit, it’s still acceptable to include questions that use the element approach.

Generic questions when auditing ISO 14971

1. When was the ISO 14971:2012 version of the Standard added to the controlled list of external Standards?

2. Please provide examples of where you have updated the Essential Requirements Checklist (a Technical File document) to reference the newest revision of ISO 14971:2012, and please show at least one example of how the risk management report was updated to reflect this revision.

3. How did you verify training effectiveness for the design team specific to the updated risk management procedure before conducting a risk analysis?

%name Auditing ISO 14971 4 Steps to Assess ComplianceThese generic questions do not require reading the ISO 14971:2012 Standard. Instead, each question forces the auditee to demonstrate their knowledge of the revised Standard by answering open-ended interview questions. Each of these questions is also designed to test linkages with other support processes. This is an example of how to use the process approach.

Step 2: Auditing ISO 14971

The next step is to conduct your audit of ISO 14971. During the auditing of ISO 14971, the Director of Engineering will gather objective evidence of both conformity and nonconformity for the risk management process. The generic interview questions that were developed allow her to evaluate the effectiveness of linkages between the risk management process and other processes, such as:

1) Document control

2) Creating technical documentation for regulatory submissions

3) The training process

Specific questions verify that each of the seven elements identified in Annex ZA of ISO 14971:2012 is adequately addressed in the revised procedure. When the audit is completed, the auditor will have a closing meeting with the process owner (you) and the auditee(s), so that everyone is clear about what the findings were, and if there were any nonconformities. This is the time to clarify what needs to be done to prevent each nonconformity from recurring.

Step 3: Writing the Report & Taking Corrective Action(s)

This is no different from any other audit. Still, it is critical to have the report completed soon enough so that CAPAs can be initiated (not necessarily completed) before the Management Review.

Step 4: Verifying Effectiveness of Corrective Action(s)

Many people struggle with verifying the effectiveness of corrective actions–regardless of the process. My advice is to identify a process metric to measure effectiveness. Then the effectiveness check is objective. For example, monitoring the frequency of updates to the list of external standards can help verify that the process for monitoring when Standards are updated is effective. Likewise, the frequency of updates to the Essential Requirements Checklist and the risk management records referenced in the Essential Requirements Checklist indicates if the risk management process is being maintained. Finally, monitoring the lag between the time procedures are updated and when the associated training records are updated quickly identifies if there is a systemic problem with training or if a training gap is just an example of a single lapse.

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How to Finish your Audit Schedule by December 31st

1 Comment / ISO Auditing / By /

This blog provides viable options to consider related to successfully completing your audit schedule by year’s end.

Let’s say that there are 34 days until the end of 2012. You have four supplier audits and three internal audits to complete. Of course, all but two of these ISO 13485 audits are overdue. What should you do?

Options that might be readily available to you include:

  1. Get some help
  2. Perform remote audits
  3. Reschedule some of the audits for next year

There are some great cartoons and jokes about doing more with less, but if you intend to complete seven audits before the end of the year, you might need some help. There really isn’t any time left to train someone, so that they are capable of conducting an effective audit by themselves. I expect to prepare a new auditor to take at least six months before I believe they are ready to work solo. Even if you are less demanding than I am, you still would need time for classroom training and shadowing a couple of audits. Therefore, the best I believe you could hope for is one or two solo audits of the seven you need to complete.

Realistically, your only source of help would be auditors that are already trained and consultants. The last month of the year is historically hectic for everyone–especially quality assurance auditors. Therefore, consultants will not be cheap, and you should commit to any qualified consultants that are available without too much delay (then again, maybe they are available because they are not very good). If you have any in-house auditors that are already trained, do everything you can to get some of their time in the next few weeks.

Remote Audits

Option two is to perform remote audits. This is a viable option for you to justify for a supplier with an impressive quality track record, or suppliers in other countries. However, a remote audit is not the same as asking a supplier to complete a survey. ISO 19011:2011 provides some guidance specific to remote auditing in table B.1 of Annex B.

For a remote audit, you should still sample just as many records—if not more. You should conduct interviews by phone, Skype, or some similar technology. You should analyze any available data to help identify which processes appear to be effective and which processes need to improve. If you are performing a remote audit for the first time, I recommend focusing on the same processes that you would normally audit in a conference room, rather than processes that you would typically audit where they occur—such as production controls. Regardless of which process you check, you should always request data.

Option three is to reschedule some audits for January 2013. I have suggested this so many times to clients, but very few follow this advice. If your company is late in conducting some audits, the important thing to do is to document this, reschedule the audits, and take corrective action(s) to prevent it from recurrence. If you wait until January, you will have additional time to train an auditor, as well. Finally, consultants historically have more time available in January than December.

In parallel with your efforts to catch-up on your schedule, I also recommend the following:

Create a quality objective that measures the “on-time delivery” of audits and audit reports. This is an effective metric for managing an audit program.

Investigate the reasons for audits being overdue. If the occurrence was preventable, then I recommend initiating a CAPA. This will have two effects. First, your third-party auditors will see that you have identified the problem yourself and taken appropriate corrective action(s). If you also discuss this during a Management Review, this information can be used effectively to change the grading of an audit finding to a “minor,” or to potentially eliminate the finding altogether. Second, it will ensure that this doesn’t occur again.

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Instructor Effectiveness and the Power of a SNICKERS

1 Comment / ISO Auditing / By / , ,

The author discusses his personal experience attending a training class, instructor effectiveness, and reasons why he learned so much there.

I guess there are still some instructors out there that need to be reminded that we can all read the regulations on our own. We don’t need to pay $1,000+ per day to have someone read stuff for us. If that’s what you want, my 10-year old son is a fantastic reader. He’ll record anything you want, in any media format, for a much smaller dollar figure. If you want to learn something that is worth at least as much as your investment of time and money, then you need to find an instructor that can teach effectively.

Four Prerequisites for a Great Instructor:

1. The instructor must be an expert

2. The instructor must inspire participation

3. The instructor must provide practical examples for each student

4. The instructor must get everyone’s attention–and keep it

The most important determining factor of training effectiveness, however, occurs after the course is over When you are teaching quality assurance and regulatory affairs, you must develop your ability to inspire and engage students to Olympic medalist proportions. “Blah, blah, blah…” and “Death by PowerPoint” will get you fired. Don’t read your slides, don’t turn your back on the audience (or they’ll attack) and PLEASE don’t ever ask someone to read the definition of nonconformity out loud to the rest of the group. When I teach a class, you demand my best. I’m six-foot, six inches tall, and I have a loud booming voice. My mother has red hair, and she was an opera singer. I’ve got the voice to fill any auditorium and stage presence to match. But if you even start to nod off in class, I may just have to throw a Snickers bar at you.

snickers Instructor Effectiveness and the Power of a SNICKERS
This is an essential tool for any instructor. It functions as a tool to prod sleeping students awake, is small enough to cause minimal injury when thrown, serves as an emergency food supply, and is gluten-free.

If legal counsel recommends against using projectiles to encourage class participation, you might also consider one of my all-time genius ideas. I was scheduled for a two-day course in Ottawa, but the day before, I needed to perform an audit in Pennsylvania. Therefore, my flight was the last flight into Ottawa–arriving at approximately 1 a.m. My flight was delayed for more than an hour, and the person in front of me was trying to smuggle an extra carton of smokes into the country. Just before 4 a.m., my taxi arrived at the Albert at Bay Suite Hotel. The class started at 8 a.m. I made it to class on time, and excessive consumption of several pots of black coffee helped get me to lunch. Then my legs started getting a little shaky. Fortunately, there was a convenience store next door that sold my favorite chocolate–the Dark Aero bar! After four of these monstrous doses of cacao, and another pot of coffee, I could have listened to the lecture on the Canadian Medical Device Regulations all night.

aero bar Instructor Effectiveness and the Power of a SNICKERS
Hershey’s copied them, but the result was a mere shadow of Nestle’s greatness. Canadians know how to make junk food, tell a joke, and play hockey!

Lessons Learned

Despite the physical handicap of sleep deprivation, I still learned a ton from my course in Canada. Here’s why:

1. The instructors were experts. Both instructors were regulatory experts and Canadian. Both instructors taught this course twice a year for multiple years, and one of the instructors actually worked for Health Canada.

2. The instructors were blessed with the perfect audience that was hyper-motivated to pass the course. Everyone in the class worked for a Notified Body that had sponsored them to take the course. In order to stay employed and get a raise, I needed to pass that course. If I failed the exam, I had to absorb the cost to travel back to Ottawa and retake the course in February (BRRRR!).

3. Everyone has different experiences, and therefore not every example makes sense to us. Therefore, instructors need to use practical examples that are actionable. In this course, the instructors brought more than a dozen medical devices to the class. We studied the labeling and intended use of each device. Even students from Japan, Europe, and Australia were familiar with some of the products. This was critical because we all needed to be able to identify incorrect Canadian labeling.

4. The greatest asset of all was the humor of the instructor from Health Canada. He was hilarious. He had everyone laughing at his jokes for the entire course. Most of the jokes were not funny enough for a stand-up routine, but this was a mandatory regulatory course on Canadian regulations. Who would even expect a chuckle? Despite the strengths of these instructors, there is only one reason why I know the Canadian Medical Device Regulations (CMDR), as well as I do. I use them every single week.

Some Examples of How I Used the CMDR:

First, I had to audit 162 days for BSI in 2011. Ninety percent of those 162 days were for companies that required a Canadian Medical Device License. Therefore, I started auditing companies to the Canadian regulations immediately after the course. Second, I was also consulting for companies at the same time I was auditing for BSI. Consulting clients hired me to prepare and submit the Canadian Medical Device License Applications for them. I also had to revise and create new procedures specific to Canadian regulations. I spent another 60+ days in 2011 doing consulting. Finally, I was one of BSI’s instructors that taught the regulatory comparison course, which compared the regulations of the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Japan.

Therefore, at least once a month, I had a classroom of 6-20 people asking me challenging questions about how to interpret and apply regulations from each of these countries to their products. I used every bit of knowledge I learned in that course in Ottawa, and I started using that knowledge immediately after the course. I had peers, superiors, clients, and students challenging my knowledge of these topics every day. This is what makes you a subject matter expert. If you need to learn something about Quality Assurance or Regulatory Affairs, a one-hour webinar, reading a blog, taking a five-day, or shadowing another more experienced person is not enough. In the end, all of the above will get you to the level of barely competent!  If you want to learn, you need a great instructor. Then you need to use everything you learned at every opportunity for several years. Some say, “If you can’t do, teach.” I say, “Bring a SNICKERS bar and throw it at them for faking it.”

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Quality Management System Information Sources

3 Comments / ISO Certification / By /

This blog reviews a number of quality management system information sources.

A blog follower from Jon Speer’s website, Creo Quality, recently sent me a message asking for information sources on  Quality Management System (QMS) subject matter.

The single best guidance document on the implementation of a QMS system in accordance with ISO 13485 is “13485 Plus” (type in the words in quotes to the CSA Group search engine).

There are also a bunch of pocket guides you can purchase for either ISO 9001 or ISO 13485 to help you quickly access information you are having trouble remembering. One of my lead auditor students recommended one pocket guide in particular and she was kind enough to give me her copy.

There are some webinars out there that provide an overview of QMS Standards. Some are free and some have a modest fee. I’m not sure of the value for these basic overview webinars, but if you need to train a group, it’s a great solution. I know BSI has several webinars that are recorded for this purpose.

AAMI has an excellent course on the Quality System Regulations (QSR) which combines 21 CFR 820 and ISO 13485.

There are a number of blogs I recommend on my website.

You can try to identify a local mentor–either in your own company, or at your local ASQ Section.

You can join the following LinkedIn subgroup: Medical Device: QA/RA. You will need to become a member of the parent group (Medical Device Group)–if you are not already one of the 140,000+ members connected with Joe Hage. George Marcel and I manage this subgroup for Joe.

You can visit the Elsmar Cove website and participate in the discussions you find there. I wrote a blog about Elsmar Cove a while back (wow almost 2 years ago now).

The best way to learn this stuff is to do all of the above.

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How to request FDA Device Classification information – 513(g) Alternative

1 Comment / FDA / By / ,

This blog provides a five-step process on how to request FDA device classification information. A screenshot of the FDA website for each step is included.

If your company is currently registering with the US FDA, you are probably reviewing the guidance document this month for the FY2013 user fees. On pages six and seven, there is a table of these fees, but you might have overlooked 513(g). Section 513(g) is a provision in the law that allows companies to request device classification information from the FDA.

For example, if your company was developing a new product, and you were having difficulty identifying the regulatory pathway, 513(g) is your friend. In my opinion, these fees are modest: $5,061 = Standard Fee, and $2,530 = Small Business Fee (updated for FY 2022). Most consultants will charge at least ten hours of consulting to identify the regulatory pathway for a company. I would charge quite a bit less because it takes me a lot less than ten hours. I still think the FDA’s pricing is a good deal because getting information directly from the source is always more valuable than an “expert.”

The US FDA has published a guidance document explaining the process for 513(g) requests. This guidance document was released on April 6, 2012 (updated in 2019). The guidance explains what information companies need to provide in order to submit a 513(g) request. The guidance also has a fantastic list of FDA resources on page five. These are the very same resources that the “experts” use—including yours truly.

Just as any good lawyer tries to avoid asking questions that they don’t already know the answer to, I recommend that you first try using these resources yourself. Once you think you know the answer, your request for classification information will be easier to organize.

Here’s how I would proceed to request FDA device classification information: 

Step 1 – Are there similar devices on the market?

Identify another device similar to yours. If you can’t do this, you need serious help. You need a similar device that is already sold on the market to use as a predicate device. If you cannot identify a predicate, then you can’t use the 510(k) process—or you don’t know your competition. Either way, there are challenges to overcome. For example, if you are trying to launch a new topical adhesive made from cyanoacrylate—”Dermabond” might be the first predicate device that comes to mind.

registration and listing How to request FDA Device Classification information 513(g) Alternative

Step 2 – Search the Registration Database for FDA Device Classification

Use the registration and listing database on the FDA website to find the company that manufacturers the device. The link for this is #4 on my helpful links page (updated). This link also will provide you with connections to the classification database—which you can use to find the classification for any device. However, the registration and listing database is less likely to lead you astray. When I type “Dermabond” into the field for the proprietary device name, I get a list of five different product listings.

5 listings for dermabond How to request FDA Device Classification information 513(g) Alternative

Step 3 – Select one of the competitor links to identify the FDA Device Classification

Clicking on any one of these five will take you to a listing page for the corresponding company. On that page, you will find the three-letter product code that identifies the device classification and the applicable regulations for that device.

device listing for dermabond1 How to request FDA Device Classification information 513(g) Alternative

Step 4 – Your found the FDA Device Classification

Clicking on the three-letter product code (i.e., – “MPN” in our Dermabond example) takes you to the Product Classification page. This is where you will find that Dermabond, and other tissue adhesives, are Class II devices that require a 510(k) submission. Also, the Product Classification page identifies an applicable guidance document to follow for design verification and validation testing. This is also called the “Special Controls Document.”

mpn product classification How to request FDA Device Classification information 513(g) Alternative

Step 5 – TheTPLC Report lists all the recent 510(k) submissions

Click on the “TPLC Product Code Report” link. This link will provide you with a report of all the 510(k) ‘s recently granted to your competitors, problems customers have experienced with their products, and recalls for the past five years. This is extremely valuable information as a design input—as well as competitive information for your marketing team.

tplc total product life cycle report for mpn How to request FDA Device Classification information 513(g) Alternative
TPLC Report for Product Code “MPN” – Topical Adhesive

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10 FDA Inspection Strategies that DON’T Work

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If you were just notified of an FDA inspection and you don’t think you are ready, using tricks to hide your problems is a huge mistake. I have heard a few recommendations over the years for “secrets” to hide those problems. In this post, I share my favorite “secrets”–and why they DON’T work.

Here are my top 10 ways to make an FDA inspection worse:

10. Stalling when the investigator makes a request – This just irritates investigators. At best, the investigator will use the waiting time to identify additional documents to sample or to review the information you have provided more closely. At worst, the investigator will accuse the company of not cooperating with the inspection, and the investigator may return the following week with several more team members to help them. Whenever this occurred during a third-party audit that I conducted, I would move onto another area and interview someone. However, before I left the person that was slow to respond, I provided the person with a list of documents and records that I expected to be waiting for me upon my return. In extreme cases, I had to bluntly tell the management representative that I needed documentation more quickly. As an instructor, I teach auditors techniques for coping with this tactic.

9. Suggesting records for the investigator to sample – This is specifically forbidden in the case of third-party inspections and audits. The FDA has work instructions for identifying sample sizes, and samples are supposed to be selected randomly. In reality, samples are rarely random, and usually, the investigator is following a trail to a specific lot, part number, etc. When clients offered me samples, I tried to be polite and review the record they provided. However, I also would request several other records or follow a trail, as I have indicated above. Another approach I often use is to focus on high-risk items (i.e., – a risk-based approach to sampling). In general, you can expect the FDA investigators to sample more items than a registrar–and sample sizes are often statistically derived if the number of records is sufficiently large. When sample sizes are quite small, I recommend sampling 100% of the records since the previous inspection/audit. This is not always possible for third-party auditors, but internal auditors often can achieve this.

8. Outsourcing processes to subcontractors – The FDA recently reinstated the requirement for contract manufacturers and contract sterilizers to be registered with the FDA by October 1, 2012. Therefore, hiding manufacturing problems from the FDA by outsourcing manufacturing is increasingly more difficult to do. In addition, the FDA focuses heavily on supplier controls and validation of outsourced processes. Therefore, an investigator will identify high-risk processes performed by subcontractors and request documentation of process validation by that supplier. If the company does not have the validation reports, this could quickly escalate to a 483, and possibly a visit to the subcontractor.

7. Trying to correct problems during the inspection – This is what I like to call the document creation department. At one company I worked for, we noticed a mistake across several of the procedures and made a change overnight between the first and second days of the audit. When the auditor asked for the procedures in the morning, he asked, “Is the ink dry yet?” The auditor then proceeded to request records that demonstrated compliance with the newly minted procedures. As you might have guessed, this resulted in several nonconformities. When clients attempt to correct problems found by an investigator, the investigator typically will respond with the following statement, “I applaud you for taking immediate action to contain and correct the problem. However, you still need to perform an investigation of the root cause and develop a corrective action plan to prevent a recurrence. To do this investigation properly may take several days.” I also teach auditors to memorize this phrase.

6. Writing a letter to file – When companies make minor design changes, one of the most common approaches is to “write a letter to file.” This phrase indicates that the design team is adding a memo to the Design History File (DHF) that justifies why design validation is not required or why regulatory notification/approval is not required. The FDA used to publish a decision tree to help companies make these decisions. In fact, such a decision tree is still part of the Canadian significant change document. The FDA recently withdrew a draft document that eliminated many perceived opportunities to utilize the “letter to file” approach. However, the FDA will still issue a 483 to a company if the investigator can identify a change that required validation that was not done, or a 510(k) that was not submitted for a design change. In fact, the FDA looks explicitly for these types of issues when an investigator is doing a “for cause” inspection after a recall or patient death.

5. Shut it down – Not running a production line that has problems is an ideal strategy for hiding problems. However, the FDA and auditors will simply be forced to spend more time sampling and reviewing records of the problematic production line. If you need to shut a line down, ensure everything is identified as nonconforming, and carefully segregate rejected product from good product. You should also use these problem lines as an opportunity to show off your investigation skills and your ability to initiate CAPAs. If you simply forgot to validate a piece of equipment, or do some maintenance, take your lumps and keep production running. If you are a contract manufacturer, never shut it down without notifying the customer. If you do not tell your customer, you will get a complaint related to on-time delivery and a 483.

4. Storing all records off-site – I first heard about this tactic during an auditor course I was co-teaching. During the course, we had many reasons why the company should be able to provide the records in a timely manner. However, I have experienced this first-hand as a third-party auditor. When this happens, I do three things: 1) increase my sampling of records that are available, 2) carefully review supplier controls and supplier evaluation of the storage facility (assuming it is outsourced), and 3) verify that the company has a systematic means for tracking the location (i.e., – pallet and box) for every record sent to storage. FDA investigators will simply move along to another record and follow-up on their earlier request with a second visit, or a request to send a copy of the document to them after the inspection.

3. Identifying information as confidential – A company can claim information is confidential and may not be shared with the public. Still, very little information is “confidential” concerning the FDA or Notified Bodies. Therefore, this strategy rarely works. In fact, this will enrage most FDA investigators. In training courses, I train auditors to ask the auditee to redact confidential information. For example, a CAPA log may have confidential information in the descriptions, but the trend data on opening and closing dates are never confidential.

2. The FDA is not allowed to look at those records – Although this statement is technically true for internal audit reports and management reviews, the FDA always says that they can access this information through the CAPA system. What the FDA means is that there should always be evidence of CAPAs from internal audits and management reviews. If there is not, then this will quickly become a 483. Another person I met tells the story that when they agreed to share the management review records with the investigator, the inspector rarely issued a 483. When they refused to share the management review with the FDA, the inspection went quite badly from that point forth. I don’t agree with being vindictive, but it happens.

1. Show me where that is required – This is just silly. Investigators and auditors are trained on the regulations, while you are educated on your procedures. Spend your time and effort, figuring out how your procedures meet the regulations in some way. Challenging the investigator excites the investigator. We all like a challenge–and we rarely lose. One auditee tried this approach with me in front of their CEO. This experience allowed me to show off that I had memorized the clause in question–and the corresponding guidance document sections. I think the CEO realized quickly that the management representative was not qualified.

My final advice is to do your best to help the investigator do their job, and treat every 483 as “just an opportunity to improve.” Just ensure you submit a response in 14 days, or you will receive a Warning Letter too!

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