VSRA Quality Assurance Audit Program

The Virginia Ship Repair Association has history in the ship repair industry dating back to the 1980s.  VSRA enables the private sector of ship repair to be able to voice their concerns on various local, state and federal departments, as well as providing communication links between the Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC), prime contractors, subcontractors and the Navy.  Quality assurance and adherence to requirements for a quality product are of great concern and important reasons that the VSRA Quality Assurance Committee implemented an audit program.
 

The VSRA Quality Assurance Audit Program was implemented in 2001 as a mechanism to improve the efficiency and substance of audits of companies that are subject to the audit controls of companies that fall under the auditing umbrella of the Mid Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC). The program became the standard for audits that would be accepted by the shipyards, eliminating the need for companies to have multiple audits by different ship repairer companies who subcontract their services. In 2012, the determination was made by the Quality Assurance Committee to conduct its own internal audit of the program, with the purpose of updating it and creating a system for training and continuous improvement.
 

Preparing for the VSRA Audit can seem challenging and quite overwhelming!  The first step to start the VSRA audit process is to complete the pre-audit questionnaire.  The questionnaire gives you a brief overview of the audit process and the Objective Quality Evidence (OQE) that is being reviewed. Once you have completed the VSRA audit questionnaire and submitted it back to VSRA, the auditor company will be alerted to assign an auditor. The assigned auditor and the company being audited will need to schedule the audit at their convenience. If there are any questions while completing the pre-audit questionnaire, the auditee can contact VSRA or the Quality Assurance Committee chair. A good review to prepare for the VSRA audit is to conduct a pre-audit using the VSRA audit checklist. The auditor will review the auditee’s completed questionnaire to understand the audit to be completed and any appendices for review during the audit. There is generally 30 to 60 days from the time you submit the pre-audit questionnaire to when the audit is conducted, so that the auditor and auditee have plenty of time to get prepared for the audit. Be proactive - don’t wait on your auditor to contact you to schedule the audit.

The audit process could take four hours or less depending on the type of audit to be conducted or the processes of the company being audited.  The auditor guides you through the checklist verifying that all of the necessary OQE is according to the audit checklist requirements. The audit checklist is based on NAVSEA Standard Item 009-04 and ISO 9001:2008. There are five different major categories in the audit process: quality management system, management responsibility, resource management, product realization and measurement analysis and improvement. There are four appendices - welding, brazing, nondestructive testing and coating - that may apply, depending on the nature of the audited company.   If there are findings from the audit, the auditor will review the findings with the auditee and the auditee will work on a resolution to complete the audit. If at the completion of the audit there are no findings, an audit letter will be available to the auditee. If there are questions at any time, a help ticket can be submitted or either the auditee or the auditor can contact VSRA or the Quality Assurance chairman.

One benefit of a completed VSRA audit is it allows other companies that are VSRA members to verify in a single database whether a company meets the requirements for a quality management system in compliance with ISO 9001:2008 and NAVSEA Standard Items.  This is verified by the audit letter that is posted after the audit is complete.  The audit covers the core guidelines/responsibilities a company in the ship repair industry should follow to continually meet or exceed their customers’ expectations for product and service quality. The VSRA audit should also facilitate consistency, reduce volume and increase quality and efficiency for VSRA members.  

About the Author
Nichole Kinsel-Cochran is a QA/Safety Manager at Coastal Mechanical Systems, where she is responsible for the development of the company’s QA/safety program. 

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