Internal Auditor Training

            Recently I took an Internal Auditor training course provided by Seaglass Training and taught by Anja Einseln. Anja Einseln worked for ASCLD/LAB (now merged into ANAB) from 2006 to 2017. The training covered the main documents used during internal audits for crime laboratories: ISO/IEC 17025 2017, ANAB AR3125 Accreditation Requirement, and the 19011 Auditing Guidelines. The course was attended online with the instructor’s video/voice overlayed over a PowerPoint presentation. The course was taught in a 5 day period for 5 hours per day. We had two 15 minutes breaks each day…for those readers wondering about breaks. Although I took the course online the course has previously been taught in person. By the time you take this course, your experience may differ if the course was to convert back to in-person training.

Background

            The course was structured where the instructor went through each section one by one. Ms. Einseln read most of the section aloud while the students took notes. We were provided with a PDF copy of the PowerPoint where we were able to take notes and read along. The PDF copy had fill-in-the-blank spaces every couple of slides, which meant that we had to be constantly cross-checking her PowerPoint against our own PDF to make sure we had all the information. This was done to make sure we were engaged throughout the course. Before starting the class, she explained her teaching methods to us. She explained that she structured her course to be able to help students who learn in different ways: Kinesthetic, visual, and auditory. Kinesthetic learners benefited from the fill-in-the-blanks, visual learners benefited from the PowerPoint slides, and auditory learners benefited from the audible reading of each section of the documents. She also asked us questions from time to time and required us to write the answer in the chat. They were usually simple questions, but they made sure we were engaged. We had to make sure we answered these questions because she would monitor the chat to make sure everyone in the class was participating. The last day included exercises that further engaged us and allowed her to test our knowledge. The exercises will be explained in the next section.

Day-to-Day Breakdown

Day 1

            The first day was focused on background information. This included the background of ISO, accrediting bodies, and other organizations. Some organizations mentioned were OSAC, ILAC, IAAC, and NIST. She explained the importance of these organizations and how they relate or interact with one another. She also discussed how the overall auditing process is layered: General requirements, Accrediting body requirements, Community adopted standards, Agency orders/manuals, and Laboratory policies and procedures. Another topic heavily covered on the first day was a concept called Deming’s Wheel, which goes over the basics of auditing. The wheel consists of the following concepts plan, do, check, and act, which was created by W. Edwards Deming.

Rest of the week

            The second and third day was allocated to covering the ISO 17025 2017 document. This was done through the method explained above where each section was read one by one. During this process, we were filling in our PowerPoints. The instructor allowed us to ask questions at any time and she was good at catching when a question was asked in the chat portion of our virtual meeting. All questions were answered thoroughly, and she ensured everyone understood the answer before moving on. The fourth and fifth day was dedicated to the ANAB AR3125 document. These days were structured the same as the days prior.

On the fifth day, two exercises were handed to us. One exercise required us to make a checklist based on a procedure. Then she showed us the final product of a couple of cases. We had to take the checklist we made and ensure that the final product matched up with our checklist. If the end result did not fulfill our checklist, we had to say that the case was not compliant and what areas caused the determination. For the second exercise, we were given a procedure and a video to watch of someone performing the experiment. We had to take notes when any deviations occurred in the video. This exercise had us practice case work observations. At the end of the video, everyone wrote in the chat the deviations they found. Some people went overboard with their findings, but most people found what was supposed to be found.

Final Thoughts

            Overall, this class was helpful but very dry. BUT, the dryness of the class cannot be helped because there is no way to make reading these documents entertaining. She did try her best and created multiple ways to engage the students so that we had an easier time absorbing the information while also being stimulated. One of the best parts of the class was the question-and-answer dynamic. This allowed us to clarify anything from these informationally dense documents. I wish I knew about this dynamic because I could have asked the laboratory if they needed clarification on anything from the documents; because the instructor was very knowledgeable about everything within those documents. There were times when she didn’t have an answer right away but either after a break or the next day, she would have a detailed answer ready for the person who originally asked. She also made herself available during breaks and after class for any questions we had. I would usually stay after class just to hear what other people were asking and to hear her answer. I would recommend that anyone taking her class to listen carefully and ask your own questions. The answers she gives can help immensely during an internal audit. Lastly, make sure the notes you take, the documents that are marked, and the PowerPoints are kept in a safe place because they will be very useful as a reference in the future.