The Standard
3.04 – Purchasing
The organisation shall ensure that a purchased product or service conforms to the specified requirements. The type and extent of control applied to the supplier/sub-contractor and the resulting product/service shall be dependent upon the effect of the product/service on the final product/service itself. Purchasing information shall describe the product or service to be purchased, including, where appropriate
- Requirements for approving products, procedures and equipment, and
- Requirement for qualifications and experience of personnel to be engaged on the works.
Guidance Notes
The critical question here is “Do the company get what they ordered”?
If the person ordering the goods (maybe by phone or online from the office) is not the person that will receive them (probably a Supervisor on site), how does the Supervisor know what’s been ordered?
Happily accepting and signing for the wrong goods could have huge consequences on the quality or the service ie. wrong grade of turf, wrong colour paving?
Control of Sub-contractors is also key, how are they assessed for competence, are records kept of insurances and certification, do they receive clear instructions/orders?
Possible Sources of Evidence
Evidence for purchasing of goods may vary from informal emails, simple purchase orders to full design drawings, detailed specification and/or contracts.
When engaging sub-contractors to provide a critical element of the product realisation process then clear instructions, specifications and /or contracts may be considered a requirement to evidence this element as well as evidence that the providers and their people are competent.
Appropriate records of all instructions and processes should be retained as evidence.