The words "audits" and "inspections" often get used as if they are the same thing - THEY ARE NOT the same.  I always like to say we inspect "things," and we audit those inspections.

Much like my previous post earlier this month, explaining the difference between "examinations" and "inspections" as used in ASME B31 series; the terms have different meanings and we need to understand these differences.

For example, we inspect our fire extinguishers monthly, but how often are we auditing those inspections?

Inspections can become a "pencil whipping" exercise, as I am sure many of you have experienced. To avoid this from causing a failure in our layers of protection, we should "audit" those fire extinguisher inspections to verify that they are being done and to validate the data coming from those inspections.

Another way of saying this is from the QMS mindset.... we inspect objects and audit processes.