Ask Questions
ASK QUESTIONS
The auditor must learn to ask questions that promote feedback of information, and gather additional information when the initial feedback is inadequate. Good examples of questions are as follows:
· Tell me about your involvement in risk assessments in your part of the organization;
· How is safety performance measured?
· When do you carry out accident investigations?
Open questions that use the words why, when, where, who, what and how require an informative answer rather than yes or no. When these words are combined with a request to show the auditor, they enable the auditor to verify what has been said.
The results of interviews and questioning can be tape recorded, but many persons are not comfortable with this method, and it may lead to incorrect or misleading responses. The auditor should only write down the most significant responses if answers are recorded by hand, in order to keep the interview moving.