CCIL Implementing 50/50 Virtual/In-person Laboratory Audits in 2023
February 27, 2023
This e-mail is to inform you that CCIL will be conducting 50% of our laboratory audits in person this year in all the Certification Programs; the other 50% will continue to be done virtually. We had to introduce virtual audits and technician examinations in May 2020 in response to the pandemic, and we are pleased that we are now able to conduct some in-person audits. Virtual audits have provided opportunities in removing geographical restrictions during rush times for technician examinations, eliminating travel costs, increasing flexibility and the ability to rotate inspectors to ensure impartiality and auditing consistency. The experience with the 50/50 blend in 2023 will be used in determining an appropriate mix of virtual and in-person audits in future years.
The decision as to which laboratories will be audited in-person has proven to be very complicated. The factors which have been considered are requests from laboratories, connectivity issues when conducting virtual audits, a laboratory’s performance in the most recent audits, input from inspectors and, finally, management’s need to balance the workload of all our inspectors.
When your inspector contacts you to schedule an audit in 2023 you will be advised whether the audit will be virtual or in-person. In order to maximize the number of in-person audits, laboratories being audited this year in more than one Program area (i.e. any two or more, of Aggregate, Asphalt and Concrete), only one program area will be audited in-person and the others will be audited virtually. We understand that some laboratories will be pleased with the decision, and others less so. Our intention is that for laboratories audited virtually this year, the next audit will be in-person.
We are confident that you will work with your inspector to ensure a positive outcome from the 2023 audits. Thank you for your cooperation.
Regards,
Nabil Kamel, M.A.Sc. P.Eng.
Manager, CCIL Certification Programs
Phone: 289-337-8888
Fax: 289-337-8889
Email: nkamel@ccil.com
