* Clause 8.2.4 of ISO 9001:2015 - Changes to Requirements for Products and Services:ISO 9001:
2015 Clause 8.2.4 states that when changes to requirements for products or services are made, they must be communicated and agreed upon with relevant interested parties (in this case, the Health Trust).
The lack of communication and agreement for substituting the cleaning chemical represents a clear violation of this clause.
* Analysis of the Corrective Action Proposed:The organization proposed "obtaining a concession from the Health Trust for the use of the new chemical." This action is reactive and assumes approval from the Health Trust without addressing the systemic issue: the lack of a defined change control process for managing contract changes.
* Option Analysis:
* A. The substitute chemical has not been used before in the Health Trust:Incorrect. While this may be a concern, it is not directly relevant to the root cause of the nonconformity, which is the absence of a process to handle contract changes.
* B. The action assumes that the Health Trust will agree to the change:Incorrect. Although this is true, it is not the primary issue. The nonconformity lies in the lack of a structured approach to obtain agreement, not whether the Health Trust agrees.
* C. Staff have not been trained in the use of the new chemical:Incorrect. This is a separate issue related to staff competence (Clause 7.2), but it is not the main reason why the corrective action is unacceptable under Clause 8.2.4.
* D. The process for making changes to the contract has not been addressed:Correct. The fundamental issue is the organization's failure to follow or establish a change control process for amending contracts, including gaining formal agreement from the Health Trust. The proposed corrective action does not ensure that such issues will be systematically prevented in the future.
* E. The substitute chemical may not be as effective as the original:Incorrect. The effectiveness of the substitute chemical is secondary to the primary issue, which is the lack of a change management process.
* ISO 9001 References Supporting the Correct answer:
* Clause 8.2.4: Requires that changes to product/service requirements be reviewed, communicated, and agreed upon with the customer.
* Clause 10.2 (Nonconformity and Corrective Action): Requires the organization to address the root cause of the nonconformity and take actions to ensure it does not recur. In this case, the root cause is the absence of a change control process.
* Why D is the Best answer:The core issue is that the organization did not have a formalized process for managing and agreeing upon changes to contract requirements. Addressing this process gap is essential to prevent recurrence of similar nonconformities. Merely seeking a concession from the Health Trust is a one-off solution that does not address the systemic issue.

Clause 8.3.4.d of ISO 9001:2015 requires that design and development validation be performed to ensure that the resulting products or services meet the requirements for their specified application or intended use.
Validation is critical to confirm that the product works as intended in real-world conditions.
In this case, Noitol omitted the design validation step approximately 50% of the time, which is a direct violation of Clause 8.3.4.d. Although they collect feedback after the fact, this is not a substitute for formal validation before the product is released. The nonconformity arises because the process of validation was neglected, not the recording of improvements or feedback.
Other options, such as documenting improvements (A) or issues with planning verification (B), are important but do not directly address the primary concern: the lack of consistent design validation before product release. Option D (8.6) concerns product release, but this nonconformity focuses on the validation stage, not just approval for release.

Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:
ISO 19011:2018 requires auditors to conduct audits professionally and diligently.
Clause References:
* ISO 19011:2018, Clause 4.4 - Professional Care: Auditors must exercise due diligence in conducting audits.
* ISO 9001:2015, Clause 9.2 - Internal Audit: Requires objective and systematic audits to evaluate QMS effectiveness.
Why is the Correct Answer A?
* The audit team followed best practices by gathering verifiable audit evidence through interviews, document reviews, and observations.
* They ensured fair presentation of findings in the final audit report.
* They complied with ISO 9001 and ISO 19011 guidelines for audit procedures.
Why are the Other Options Incorrect?
* B (Ordinary negligence) # No evidence of negligence; the team followed structured audit processes.
* C (Gross negligence) # No indication that the auditors ignored important responsibilities.
* D (Willful misconduct) # The auditors acted professionally and did not intentionally disregard rules.

Explanation:
Non-Conformity Report:
ISO 9001 Clause Number
Nature of Problem
ISO 9001 Requirement That Has Not Been Fulfilled
6.1.1
Several risks and opportunities have not been determined.
"The organization shall consider the requirements referred to in 4.2 and determine the risks and opportunities that need to be addressed."
6.1.2 (a)
Actions to address risks and opportunities not planned.
"The organization shall plan actions to address risks and opportunities." Step-by-Step Reasoning:
* Clause 6.1.1 - Determining Risks and Opportunities:
* Requirement: The organization must determine risks and opportunities that are relevant to its Quality Management System (QMS). This ensures that the QMS achieves intended results and prevents undesired effects.
* Problem Identified: While some risks and opportunities were discussed, the organization did not perform a systematic evaluation of all risks (e.g., health and safety legislation changes, retiring trainers).
* Clause 6.1.2 (a) - Planning Actions for Risks and Opportunities:
* Requirement: The organization must plan actions to address identified risks and opportunities.
These actions should be integrated into the QMS processes to ensure continuous improvement.
* Problem Identified: The Quality Systems Manager confirmed that no plans were made to address the risks and opportunities because the Managing Director deemed it unnecessary. This violates the requirement to plan actions.
* Correct Options Selected:
* Clause 6.1.1 with the nature of the problem as: "Several risks and opportunities have not been determined."
* Clause 6.1.2 (a) with the nature of the problem as: "Actions to address risks and opportunities not planned."
* ISO 9001 Requirements Not Fulfilled:
* For 6.1.1:"The organization shall consider the requirements referred to in 4.2 and determine the risks and opportunities that need to be addressed."
* For 6.1.2 (a):"The organization shall plan actions to address risks and opportunities."

According to ISO 19011:2018, clause 6.6.2, a nonconformity is the non-fulfilment of a requirement. A nonconformity can be classified as either major or minor, depending on the nature and extent of the deviation from the audit criteria. A major nonconformity is a nonconformity that affects the ability or the integrity of the organization's management system to achieve the intended results. A minor nonconformity is a nonconformity that does not affect the ability or the integrity of the organization's management system to achieve the intended results, but is a deviation from the audit criteria1.
According to ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015, clause 9.4.9, the organization is required to analyze the cause and describe the specific correction and corrective actions taken, or planned to be taken, to eliminate detected nonconformities, within a defined time. The organization is also required to provide the certification body with records and evidence of the implementation and effectiveness of the correction and corrective actions taken.
The certification body will then verify the correction and corrective actions taken by the organization and decide on the certification status2.
Therefore, the two options of when the organization is required to act in response to reported findings are D and F, as they indicate the presence of nonconformities that need to be corrected and prevented from recurring.
The other options are not correct, as they do not require the organization to act in response to reported findings:
*A. A recommendation is given in the report: A recommendation is a suggestion for improvement that is not related to a nonconformity. A recommendation is not binding for the organization and does not affect the certification status. The organization may choose to accept or reject the recommendation, but it is not required to act on it.
*B. A finding of good practice is reported: A finding of good practice is a positive observation that indicates a strength or a best practice of the organization's management system. A finding of good practice is not related to a nonconformity and does not affect the certification status. The organization may choose to acknowledge or share the finding of good practice, but it is not required to act on it.
*C. An opportunity for improvement is raised: An opportunity for improvement is a potential area where the organization's management system can be enhanced or optimized. An opportunity for improvement is not related to a nonconformity and does not affect the certification status. The organization may choose to pursue or ignore the opportunity for improvement, but it is not required to act on it.
*E. A finding of conformity is reported: A finding of conformity is a confirmation that the organization's management system fulfils the audit criteria. A finding of conformity is not related to a nonconformity and does not affect the certification status. The organization may choose to celebrate or communicate the finding of conformity, but it is not required to act on it.
References: ISO 19011:2018(en), Guidelines for auditing management systems, ISO/IEC 17021-1:2015(en), Conformity assessment - Requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of management systems
- Part 1: Requirements