Summary
In short
- A finding is a record used in General that records a single deficiency picked up during an audit, inspection or check. It is built against ISO 19011 cl.6.4 and forms part of the Incident and Investigation programme.
- Raised whenever an item fails a check. Completed by the person carrying out the check.
- The template holds 28 fields across 5 sections.
- Scoring is severity band, where high is bad.
- ISO 19011 is auditing management systems. How to plan, run and report an audit, and how to judge auditor competence. Not certifiable, it is the method.
- It connects to the rest of the library: feeds CAPA.
What it is
What it is
What is a finding?
A finding is a record used in General that records a single deficiency picked up during an audit, inspection or check. It is built against ISO 19011 cl.6.4 and forms part of the Incident and Investigation programme.
When is a finding completed?
A finding is completed at the moment the event happens, rather than reconstructed afterwards. Raised whenever an item fails a check.
When to use it
When to use it, and when not to
This record is one step in a larger programme. Using it for work that belongs to a neighbouring template produces records that are hard to report on later.
Use it for
- The event or activity this record covers has occurred, or is about to
- The workspace is being set up, or the register needs an entry added or retired
- You are running the Incident and Investigation programme and this is one of its steps
- A linked record needs this one to exist: feeds capa
Not for
- Risk Assessment, which the single risk assessment used across the whole business.
- Root Cause Analysis, which finds out why something happened rather than who was involved.
- Corrective and Preventive Action, which the single action record used everywhere.
- Anything outside General, which belongs in the workspace that owns that process
Standards
What it is built against
ISO 19011Auditing management systems
How to plan, run and report an audit, and how to judge auditor competence. Not certifiable, it is the method.
ISOInternational Organization for Standardization
A voluntary international standard. Widely adopted, often required by customers, and certifiable where a management system standard.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the finding template based on?+
It is built against ISO 19011 cl.6.4. ISO 19011 is auditing management systems. How to plan, run and report an audit, and how to judge auditor competence. Not certifiable, it is the method. ISO is international Organization for Standardization. A voluntary international standard. Widely adopted, often required by customers, and certifiable where a management system standard.
What sections does the finding contain?+
There are 5 sections: header, finding detail, classification, assignment, closure. Together they hold 28 fields, 18 of which are required.
How many finding records should we have?+
This is a singleton. One record per workspace, set up once and maintained, rather than one per event. Other templates refer back to it.
Which programme does the finding belong to?+
It is part of Incident and Investigation, Internal Audit and Certification, Master Data and Foundations. A single case thread from the event to a verified corrective action, with regulatory reporting handled.
How is a finding scored?+
Scoring is severity band. High is bad. Scores exist to make the form tell you something, not to produce a percentage for its own sake.
Can the finding template be changed?+
Yes. Every field, option, score and conditional rule is editable, and the links to other templates come with it. Most teams install it as it is, run it for a cycle, then adjust.
The agents
What the agents do with it
The form is the easy part. Keeping it current, routing it to the right owner and holding the evidence together is the work that actually slips.
Holds the finding library against your registers, routes each record to its owner, and keeps the evidence trail together.
Coordinates the crew, rolls completion and exceptions into one view, and holds every write for your approval before it touches a record.
This template lives in General — control tower. The orchestration layer. Registries and engines every other workspace reads from.
Meet General→Sources
Sources
- ISO 19011 — Auditing management systems
- ISO — International Organization for Standardization