ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Sample Exam Questions and Answers

CQI IRCA Certified ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Sample Exam Questions and Answers

To successfully complete CQI IRCA Certified ISO 9001 QMS Lead Auditor course, learners must pass both the continuous evaluation and the final examination.

1. Continuous Evaluation

It is a formative assessment that will be held throughout the 5 days course. You will undergo audit activities, and be provided daily feedback on your progress which will help you increase your knowledge in performing audits. The activities of each delegate are graded by the tutor. You need to successfully complete all the activities and score a minimum passing grade in the continuous evaluation.

2. Final Examination

Here are some of the key details you need to know before appearing for the final examination.

1. The duration of the exam is 120 Minutes, however, if you are a non-native speaker you will be given an extra 24 Minutes in addition to the 120 Minutes. 

2. The exam is conducted both in class or online depending on the mode of your training. (3FOLD Training conducts the entire training and the final exam online)

3. The only resource that you can use during the exam is the relevant ISO Scheme standard ISO 9001:2015. It is not permissible to use ISO 19011 standard.

4. English dictionary is allowed, however, it is not found useful by many of the participants.

ISO 9001 Lead Auditor Sample Exam Questions and Answers:

There are 4 sections in the ISO 9001 QMS Lead Auditor examination as illustrated in table 1 below. In this ISO 9001 lead auditor sample exam questions and answer article, we will examine one question per section and provide their answers.

In table 1 you can find the question break-ups and the passing scores. 

Table 1: ISO 9001 Exam Section and Question break-up

Table 1 shows us the total available and minimum marks to pass each section. It is mandatory to pass each section. For example: if you have scored 6 marks on section 1, 18 marks on section 2, 10 marks on section 3 & 30 marks on section 4, your subtotal would be 64 marks. Though you have scored a total of 64 marks, since you haven’t scored the minimum passing marks on section 3, it will still be considered a failure. 

Now let’s look at a few sample exam questions in each section. 

Section 1:
This section has 5 questions and each carries 2 marks, minimum passing score on section 1 would be 4.5 marks out of 10 marks.

Sample Question: Define Process & Process Mapping. (2 marks)

Sample Answer:

Process: A set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs into outputs

Process Mapping: The purpose of process mapping is for organizations and businesses to improve efficiency

Note: CQI IRCA provides ATP a grading scheme. However, while grading the paper it is not necessary that your answer must match exactly as per the grading scheme. Trainers will use their discretion while grading the paper according to the answer you have provided. Questions that relate to identifying the clause numbers are objective in nature and should match the grading scheme.

Section 2:
This section has 4 questions and each carries 5 marks, minimum passing score on section 2 would be 9.5 marks out of 20 marks.

Sample Question: Provide any five risk factors that are associated with a poorly designed audit program. (5 marks)

Sample Answer:

• • Planning, e.g. failure to set relevant audit objectives;
  • Resources, e.g. allowing insufficient time;
  • Selection of the audit team, e.g. the team does not have the collective competence to conduct audits effectively;
  • Implementation, e.g. ineffective communication of the audit program;
  • Records and their controls, e.g. failure to adequately protect audit records to demonstrate audit program effectiveness;
  • Monitoring, reviewing, and improving the audit program

Section 3:
This section has 3 questions and each carries 10 marks, minimum passing score on section 3 would be 14.5 marks out of 30 marks.

Sample Question:

Take any organization of your choice and answer the following two questions (10 Marks)

1. Write Five Quality Objectives for an Organization (5 marks)

2. Write Five agenda items for a Management Review Meeting (5 marks)

Sample Answer A:

Note: Depending on the organization the quality objectives are set. However, there are certain basic requirements in setting up the quality objectives that will be taught in the training. Here are a few examples of the Quality Objectives of a Construction Organization mentioned in table 2 please refer.

Table 2: Quality Objectives for an Organization

Sample Answer B:

Note: Depending on the organization the meeting agenda is set. Here are a few examples of management review meeting agenda items.

a) The status of actions from previous management reviews;

b) Changes in external and Internal Issues that are relevant to the quality management system;

c)  Information on the performance and effectiveness of the quality management system, including trends in:

1)  customer satisfaction and feedback from relevant interested parties;

2)  the extent to which quality objectives have been met;

3)  process performance and conformity of products and services;

4)  nonconformities and corrective action;

5)  monitoring and measurement results;

6)  audit results;

7)  the performance of external providers;

8)  the adequacy of resources;

9)  the effectiveness of action taken to address risk and opportunities ;

10) opportunities for improvement.

Section 4:
This section has 3 questions each carries 10 marks, minimum passing score on section 4 would be 14.5 marks out of 30 marks. (10 marks)

Questions in this section are designed to test your ability to analyze audit situations, evaluate audit evidence and apply knowledge of the audit criteria correctly.

You are required to either:

1. Complete the non-conformity report template (or)
2. Complete the audit investigation template 

Depending on the case, you have to determine whether to use a non-conformity or audit investigation template.

Non-Conformity template grading rubric:

1. For correctly identifying the scenario as non-conformity (2 Marks)
2. Description of the nonconformity (3 Marks)
3. Relevant Evidence (3 Marks)
4. ISO 9001:2015 Clause and requirement (2 Marks)

or

Audit investigation template grading rubric:

1. Their reasons for why there is not yet sufficient evidence to report nonconformity. (2 marks)
2. Write four audit trails they would follow and specific examples of audit evidence. (8 marks)

Sample Question 1 – Case study

During a surveillance audit of JEB Manpower (a company that supplies manpower to shipping & logistic companies), it is observed that while verifying documented information in the customer complaint register, at varying occasions and ongoing for many years, workers were returned due to lack of experience and knowledge. 

As an auditor, you interviewed the manager to know why this has been happening and he confirmed that he is well aware of the situation, and it is so because of insufficient funding and low profit margin. You inquired further to know what viable action has been taken to supply skilled manpower to the customer and to ensure their satisfaction. The manager replied that before sending workers to the customer, they conduct awareness training as it is economical. 

Sample Answer: 

Based on the given scenario, we will now see how to fill the non-conformity template.

1. You need to correctly identify the scenario as non-conformity. (2 Marks)

2. Description of the nonconformity (3 Marks)

The organization does not meet the requirements of its customer, even though the customer had complained several times.

3. Relevant Evidence (3 Marks)

The customer complaint register shows that the services provided to the customer are not meeting acceptance criteria.

4. ISO 9001:215 Clause and requirement (2 Marks)

8.5.1 Control of production and service provision
The organization shall implement production and service provisions under controlled conditions.  Monitor & measure activities at appropriate stages to verify that criteria for control of processes or outputs, and acceptance criteria for products and services, have been met.

Note: The QMS Exam is a closed book, only the ISO 9001:2015 standard will be allowed during your exam. 

As part of the ISO 9001:2015 QMS Lead Auditor training program, participants will get a full-length specimen examination with answers and grading rubrics. This will help facilitate the preparation for the final examination. 3FOLD Training tutors can help you to understand each element of the final examination.

What if you don’t pass the final examination?

We have a stellar passing track record. In the unlikely event of you not passing the final exam, the second attempt is completely free of cost. However, this will likely change because CQI IRCA is planning to administer the exam through a third-party testing partner.

Hope this ISO 9001 Lead Auditor sample exam questions and answers article has helped to ease the tension that you may have regarding the ISO 9001 final exam and show you that with our guidance and hard work, you can pass the ISO 9001 final exam!

Why 3FOLD? 

3FOLD provides world-class training resources, including mock and specimen exam patterns for ISO 9001 QMS Lead Auditor course, this will help you know the type of questions to expect in the final exam.

Interested in knowing more?

Enroll in 3FOLD ISO 9001:2015 QMS Lead Auditor Course to gain access to our Learning Management System (LMS) where we have more ISO 9001 Lead Auditor sample exam questions and answers to help you in your final exam.

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