ISO 9000:2015 defines the audit criteria as a "Set of policies, procedures or requirements used as a reference against which the objective evidence is compared."
In simple words, the audit criteria tell you what to expect, or it gives the requirements.
KEY Takeaways
Organizations are required to meet multiple audit criteria depending upon the industry they are in or the organization's goal. Here I have a small list of audit criteria organizations might be following. This is not a complete list of standards and is only presented here as an example. Please note that not all companies use all these criteria.
Industry Standards
- IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- API American Petroleum Institute
- ASME The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
- ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials
- NFPA The National Fire Protection Association
- ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers
Management System Standards
- ISO 9001 Quality management system
- ISO 14001 Environmental management system
- ISO 22000 Food safety management systems
- ISO 22301 Business continuity management systems
- ISO 45001 Occupational health and safety management systems
- ISO 50001 Energy management systems
Industry-specific Management Systems
- ISO 13485 Medical devices
- ISO 17025 Competence of testing and calibration laboratories
- ISO 29001 Petroleum, petrochemical and natural gas industries
- TL 9000 Telecommunications
- AS 9100 Aerospace
- IATF 16949 Automotive
- ISO 21001 Educational organizations
- ISO 22163 Railway applications
- ISO 39001 Road traffic safety (RTS) management systems
Other Audit Criteria
- Contract
- Client Specification
- Internal Quality Management System
- Quality awards
- Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award
- Deming prize
- European Quality Award by EFQM
