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A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A BUREAU VERITAS LEAD AUDITOR
Ian Bartlett is a Lead Auditor at Bureau Veritas, in his tenth year with the business working to make a positive difference improving worker conditions and site standards across a wide range of sectors. Here he talks about his pride in the job and his continued passion for social responsibility in business.
In the last two or three years my role has mainly focused on ethical audits, which is a growing area of compliance and one where the competency is getting harder to attain as standards continue to rise. It’s also something I’m passionate about – I think it’s important that we all look at social responsibility in the current climate.
Bureau Veritas has always been committed to supporting its people and I’ve been given the platform to be able to put in many hours of studying and take numerous exams to achieve CSCA (Certified Social Compliance Auditor) status from APSCA (Association of Professional Social Compliance Auditors).
For clients, it means they are getting an auditor that has achieved an internationally recognised standard of competence – including 48 hours of CPD each year to maintain the status. In other words, complete peace of mind over the standard of my social responsibility audits.
Day one – starting an audit
My week starts around 6:45am on Monday with a quick check of the car to make sure the tyres are okay, the lights work, number plate is clear to read and there is water in the wash bottle. It’s important to work to the same safety standards that we assess our clients for.
Today I’m starting a four pillar SMETA audit at a confectionary company, which will see me on site for two and a half days. This particular site is around two hours from home, and because I’m currently working exclusively on social compliance audits I could go anywhere in the UK and Ireland, so it’s not unusual for me to stop overnight. There’s always plenty of notice though – our planning team works hard to schedule audits in advance and plans are provided to the client around one month before I’m due on site. It’s one of the benefits of having a central planning team liaising with clients.
Auditing really starts from when you turn up at the site. I’m already looking at the size of the site, the signage, parking provision and people movements. Once I’ve arrived I’m straight into the opening meeting, which includes introductions, a chance to explain what the audit is for and why we are doing it, plus confirmation of the Bureau Veritas code of conduct.
I then like to move ahead with a facility tour, so I can get the feel for the place, look at how people work and the conditions they work in. I’ll take this chance to speak to as many people as possible about what they are doing, before I start the more formal interviews with workers. The number of interviews is always defined in the project scope, and for this client there are 26 interviews so I won’t get them all done on day one.
The first day will finish around 5pm with a quick briefing to the site representatives, before I leave site and head over to the hotel. Usually I’ll do a couple of hours work in the hotel, just to keep on top of emails and write down some pointers for the next day, before I ring home and speak to my family.
Day two – understanding the business
SMETA audits include the facility tour, interviews and documentation review, so they always run on a busy schedule and I start promptly at 8.30am on day two.
It’s also good to speak to so many diverse cultures and nationalities – one of my favourite parts of the job is the sheer diversity of people I meet. This is all part of our values at Bureau Veritas, which shape the way we do business; trusted, ambitious & humble, responsible and open & inclusive. It’s important that we convey these values internally and externally.
After interviews, the next step is to review HR documentation and policies, across areas such as health and safety, environmental, business ethics and management systems.
I leave site at 5pm and tonight I’m meeting a colleague who lives locally. Social compliance audits are almost always a one-person job, so it’s nice to take opportunities like this to meet colleagues and share best practice, with the support of the business too. Aside from the social aspect, engaging with others and collaborating to solve issues is again part of our core values.
I get back to the hotel for 8pm and catch up on emails before I call it a day.
Day three – wrapping up on site
Back on site for 8:30am, this is the final part of the audit covering health and safety and environmental compliance. I have a closing meeting with the client representatives and senior managers, where we share the positives and the gaps, if needed.
As an auditor, I’m always mindful of how to deliver non-conformities. It’s important to be considerate and respectful, but often they present opportunities for the business to improve too. Bringing it back to our values again, giving feedback to others is an important part of working in an open and inclusive environment – whether that’s a client, or a colleague – but it also helps build trust if we’re honest and open.
The audit finishes around 1:30pm and I drive home to start writing up the report. When I’m at home I’ll generally finish around 5:30pm.
Day four – a virtual assessment
The pandemic changed many things about the way we work and one of the biggest changes was the growth of remote audits. It’s a real advantage for us and for our clients to be able to undertake audits remotely, saving on travel costs, carbon footprint and time.
Day five – report submission
Today I’ve set the day aside to finish the report of the two and a half day SMETA audit from earlier in the week. It’ll take the majority of the day to finish and once it’s done, I submit for internal technical review.
At Bureau Veritas you’re never isolated, even if you work individually. I have the support of the planning team, the technical team and my fellow auditors amongst others, all working together to achieve a common goal and help develop each other.
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