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86 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2020 Introduction Concluding this four-part series on "Guerilla Tactics to Pass Any QMS Audit," I will share Tac- tic 10. Hopefully, through this series, you found a number of solid strategies you could apply im- mediately to improve your audit success. Guerrilla Tactic 10: Techniques to Reverse a Finding Williams' Law 10 The more wins you can bank with an auditor/customer, the greater the chance they will write off a negative observation as an isolated anomaly. Williams' Law 10.5 The more findings an auditor/customer identifies, the deeper they will dig into all subsequent areas. The key to reversing an auditor's finding is on-the-spot corrective ac- tion. Responsive, ultra-prompt action is required as well as the aforementioned political savvy of the management represen- tative in administering the fol- lowing techniques. The Runner Strategy The concept of "the runner" is somewhat of a super-secret weap- on to be used during any formal au- dit. It's not so much a formal position as it is a relationship between the management representative and the person filling the role of the runner. The runner needs to be some- one who is extremely familiar with all aspects of the quality system. The ideal person for this role is the quality analyst (ISO coordina- tor, quality systems administrator, etc.), which is the position responsible for the administra- tion of the quality management system. With a seasoned team, the management representa- tive and the runner will develop a set of "si- lent codes" between themselves; something as simple as eye contact could send the runner to retrieve some supporting documentation to satisfy an auditor's request. The purpose of the runner is to maintain a clean record as the audit progresses by sup- plying real-time supporting information, re- cords, or any other proof of execution that the auditor may request. Most companies typically handle this by having the management representative/escort compile a long laundry list that the auditor asked to see during the tour that would need to be reviewed and/or verified at the end of the audit. This approach invariably results in findings and/or obser- vations due to a variety of reasons, including time con- straints, disagreement on the original request, and flat out just forgetting to address all the issues. The Right Approach by Steve Williams, THE RIGHT APPROACH CONSULTING Guerilla Tactics to Pass Any QMS Audit, Part 4