auditXpress
The Software „auditXpress“ enables a quick and simple evaluation of IFS audits and the generation of audit reports on the basis of IFS standards. 2 versions are available.
1. auditXpress for Certification Bodies and 2. auditXpress for Industry
The version “auditXpress for Certification Bodies” is a professional application software for certification bodies and IFS auditors. Many features and an interface to Word and to the IFS audit portal enable certification bodies and auditors to edit quickly error-free IFS audit reports and transfer them to the IFS database.
The version „auditXpress for Industry“ is a tool for the creation of internal audits on the basis of IFS standards that also provides additional information and tips during the IFS implementation in the company. Audit reports, which were generated through “auditXpress for Certification Bodies”, can be imported as benchmark in the version „auditXpress for Industry“ and are available for the internal audit. Reports that are generated by „auditXpress for Industry“ are in turn evidences of compliance to the IFS requirement “regular implementation of internal audits”.
1.1 System requirements
System requirements for auditXpress: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP/Vista Microsoft Word 2000/XP/2003/2007
Processor from Pentium I (100 MHz) or similar 64 MB RAM
40 MB free hard drive space VGA Graphics or higher Internet access
1.2 auditXpress for Certification Bodies Specific Features for certification bodies
Simple creation of IFS audits according to IFS Food and IFS Logistic due to a user-friendly interface
Additional information and tips for the auditor in form of standard evaluation objectives for each respective criterion
Quick and simple creation of IFS audits
Audits can be buffered at any time and completed later on
Automated evaluation of the audit result by a dynamic calculation of all relevant parameters
Generation of action plans
Automated generation of audit reports in accordance with the IFS requirements as auditXpress file and as Word document.
Export of audit reports / action plans directly to the IFS database via the export function Combination audits between IFS Food and QS
auditXpress for certification bodies can be updated Comparison between two auditXpress files
Import of data from a previous audit into the current one Opening and reading of internal audits
USP: It is possible to transfer audit results and generate reports quickly and flawless. The administration of certificates is thus considerably facilitated, which is advantageous in terms cost and time saving.
Pricing: according to the number of licenses purchased 1.3 auditXpress for Industry
The application software auditXpress for Industry has been designed to create and evaluate internal audits in your company. It helps you to prepare accordingly for your upcoming IFS audit. You have furthermore the possibility to generate standardized audit reports in compliance with the IFS Food standard, version 5.
The software auditXpress for Industry provides the following options: Simple creation of IFS audits due to a user-friendly interface
Tips for the IFS implementation are available for relevant requirements
Sub-division of internal audits in numerous sections and single evaluation possible Fast and flawless creation of internal audits according to the IFS Food, Version 5 IFS requirements check directly possible in the internal audit
Exhaustive documentation
Creation of an action plan after internal audits Pre-audit on the level of a real audit
Audit schedule for internal audits
Generation of additional requirements, for example company-specific requirements (Bio-certification, specific client requirements, about 30 requirement fields that can be defined individually)
Comparison with the original IFS audit report possible if the certification body uses auditXpress and the last IFS audit report has been saved as auditXpress file in the IFS database.
Automated evaluation of the audit result by a dynamic calculation of all relevant parameters
Automated generation of a standardized audit report
Tool can be used to evaluate your supplier (Supplier audits) Audits can be buffered at any time and completed later on
USP: Realization of internal audits by means of a professional software application that can be individually adapted to company-specific requirements
Software restrictions: free of charge updates are only possible within the currently valid IFS Food version / Creation of original IFS audit reports is not possible / Import of the original IFS auditXpress file is only possible in view mode.
Pricing: one single „auditXpress for Industry“ license costs 199,-- € plus VAT. The price includes free of charge updates within the currently valid IFS Food version, currently Version 5.
1.4 Interplay between auditXpress for Certification Bodies, auditXpress for Industry and the IFS Audit Portal
A comparison with the original IFS audit report is possible if the certification body uses auditXpress and if the last IFS audit report has been saved as auditXpress file in the IFS database. The last IFS result of the certification body is thus always available during the internal audit. This way, the implementation of corrective actions can be immediately controlled.
auditXpress
Explanations about single chapters and functions
By creating a new audit, you will be asked by the software which audit type you would like to edit. The software „auditXpress for Industry“ offers two possibilities: „IFS Food 5“ or „IFS Food 5 / Food Defence“. With the application „auditXpress for certification bodies“ you can furthermore create audit reports for IFS Logistic. As from April 2009 it is also possible to edit audit reports for „IFS Food 5 / QS“ und IFS Food 5 / Food Defence /QS“.
Here you can enter the master data of the audit site. Besides, headquarters master data can be saved if the audit was carried out in a branch. Finally relevant information on the audited site can entered in the field “factory profile”.
In the tab „Company master data“, you can save all relevant data about the audit. Furthermore, the software gives you the possibility to provide more information on the audit duration, the audit participants and co-auditors as well as the audit schedule (only available in “auditXpress for Industry”).
In the „annual overview“ (only available in “auditXpress for Industry”), the internal audit can be planned in the different sub-areas one year in advance. This enables the user to plan carefully single phases of the internal audit with its respective audit focuses in the corresponding company departments. This way, no important aspect of the internal audit might be forgotten.
The product categories of the audit can be defined in the tab „Categories“. In the field “Production of…”, you can enter further information or give more details on the type of product. With a right mouse click you will access the context menu “generate” that automatically inserts the product category selected previously. The product charge produced during the audit can also be saved in the field “Packing code”.
The IFS checklist is available in the tab „Audit checklist“. You can check and evaluate here all IFS requirements during the audit. In the column “Remarks”, many questions that define the minimum necessary for this requirement are listed to help you while completing the audit. This way, tips concerning the respective IFS requirements and the required minimum evaluation are provided for the user.
In the column “Evaluation”, a mark can be selected for each requirement. Besides, the field “Explanation” gives the auditor the possibility to add justifications for the deviations or other important information that needs to be listed here. The columns “EU law” and “US law” provide cross references to the most relevant aspects of EU and US food law.
With a right mouse click in the tab “Audit checklist” you can add or delete single columns by using the context menu “customize columns”.
By clicking the field “Evaluation” with a left mouse click in the tab “Audit checklist”, a window will be displayed, in which you can select the evaluation of each respective requirement. In addition to the evaluations „A“, „B“, „C“, „D“ and „Major“, the criteria “Not allocated” and “N/A” (Not applicable) can also be selected here. Excepted for “A”, the explanation fields must be completed, otherwise the final report cannot be created by the software. This way, all explanations will be accurately entered.
Having selected the marks „A“, „B“, „C“, „D“ or „Major“, the corresponding points will be automatically reported in the field “Points”.
In case of a KO criterion, only the evaluations „A“, „B“ or „KO“ can be selected. Alternatively, the criterion “Not allocated” can be chosen. An explanatory statement must be entered for each case in the field “Explanation”.
Having selected the marks „A“, „B“, or „KO“, the corresponding points will be automatically reported in the field “Points”.
If you have selected it while creating a new audit, the optional IFS Food Defence Checklist will be added at the bottom of the IFS Checklist and can be evaluated as well.
The version „auditXpress for Industry“, provides an additional option, which permits you to add up to 30 free editable site requirements to the IFS checklist. These 30 company-specific requirements can be drafted individually by the user. „auditXpress for Industry“ gives thus each company the possibility to evaluate in addition to the IFS requirements its own criteria within an internal audit.
To add or delete individual site requirements, you just need to go with a right mouse click in the chapter “Site requirements for internal audits”, the context menu will be displayed and you can here either add a row to add a new requirement or delete a row to delete a selected requirement.
In the overview table of the tab „Audit report“ all evaluated requirements of the checklist are displayed by level and chapter. Further tabs on top of the form enable you to display the evaluations of single chapters. It is thus quick and simple to generate the audit report. The form “Summary” provides the complete audit evaluation.
All deviations that were assessed in the “Audit checklist” are listed in the tab „Action plan“. This ensures that a corrective action is defined for each deviation. With the software “auditXpress for Industry”, users have the possibility to open the audit file of their IFS certification body and enter their corrective actions directly in the file.
The requirements of the „Audit checklist“ that were not yet evaluated are displayed in the tab „Status”. Thus, no requirement might be forgotten in the audit.
You will be automatically reminded of the number of requirements that still need to be completed.
The version „auditXpress for Industry“ gives you the possibility to export the final audit report, the audit schedule and/or the annual overview to Word as well as the “Action plan” to Excel. With the version „auditXpress for certification bodies“ you can also export the audit directly to the IFS database.
Export window to Word for the audit report, in which you can select the document you would like to export.
