Learn with PECB : ISO-14001-Lead-Auditor training material for 100% pass

A chemical organisation has a plant at which they have to clean several vessels 4-5 times per day, and during the process, they release for 5-10 minutes some water vapor with a strong acid smell.
You are the audit team leader and are auditing the plant, as part of a second-stage initial certification audit.
When auditing the environmental aspects register, you see that the emission of that acid vapor has not been evaluated as a significant aspect. You raise a nonconformity.
At the closing meeting, only two people are present: the Health & Safety supervisor and a sales analyst, neither of whom has participated in the audit.
You: Good evening, could you please inform the managers that we are ready to start with the closing meeting?
H & S Supervisor: Good evening. We are sorry to inform you that the Sales Manager was involved in a serious car accident, and the General Manager and the Environmental Manager have had to leave urgently to attend the emergency.
Sales Analyst: They have asked us to listen to what you need to say and to sign whatever we need to sign.
However, the Environmental Manager said that he will not accept the nonconformity related to the acid smell and requests you not to include it in the audit report. Here is a note in which he explains why.
Which one of the following would be your preferred response to the final comment made by the Sales Analyst?

• A. Please tell him that I will phone him in two days and will discuss the issue. Could you please give me his mobile number?
• B. Please tell him that this nonconformity has been reviewed with the Environmental Supervisor. I will include it in the report, making reference to his concern about it.
• C. OK. I will get in contact with my organisation to ask for instructions on what to do with this nonconformity. We will call you later as soon as we have an answer.
• D. OK. Please, let me review the note. I will try to see if I can change the text of the nonconformity if necessary. Let ' s take a 10-minute break, as I would like to discuss this issue with the audit team.

Which two audit characteristics are features of a Stage 1 initial certification audit?

• A. Reviewing some of the auditee ' s documentation.
• B. The purpose of this audit is to determine if the EMS is effectively implemented and maintained.
• C. Gaps in the EMS against the requirements of ISO 14001 are reported as ' areas of concern ' .
• D. To conduct an analysis of the organisation ' s environmental system processes to determine compliance obligations.
• E. The audit team ' s recommendation regarding certification is the key outcome of this stage.
• F. Except for a pandemic or other natural disaster, this audit must be performed onsite at the auditee ' s location.

A small services organisation has been contracted to handle the disposal of waste for a local hospital. You are an auditor conducting a Stage 2 audit of the care home to ISO 14001. You are reviewing the contract with the Service Manager (SM). An addendum to the contract only requires that biological waste is disposed of in the most environmentally friendly way, without reference to any regulatory requirements.
You: How was the waste disposal plan for the contract developed?
SM: We have a basic template that covers the materials, labour requirements and methods to be employed.
Some of that is specified by the contractor.
You: How does the plan deal with specific items like biological waste, which are included in the contract and can pose biological hazards to the environment?
SM: The basic plan covers general waste, but we have an addendum that covers biological waste.
You: Are you aware of the regulatory requirements for waste disposal standards in hospitals?
SM: Yes but we depend on the contractor to look after that side of things.
You raise a nonconformity against section 8.1.d of ISO 14001.
At the Stage 2 closing meeting of the audit, the EMS Manager objects to the nonconformity raised and asks for it to be withdrawn. He insists that they meet all the regulations.
Choose one of the options that the audit team leader should take in response to the request.

• A. Confirm that it is a valid nonconformity supported by a lack of evidence for meeting the requirement.
• B. Offer to downgrade the nonconformity to an opportunity for improvement if the organisation can prove its compliance with regulations.
• C. Consult with the auditor who raised the nonconformity and ask whether he will agree to withdraw it.
• D. Advise that the nonconformity will be reconsidered after the meeting.

A huge public library established an EMS following the requirements of ISO 14001, which was third-party certified 10 years ago. You are performing the second surveillance audit of the third certification cycle. The audit plan included an audit to the Director as the last interview before the closing meeting.
During the interview with the Director, you audit clause 6.2 (Objectives and planning to achieve them). The dialogue is as follows:
You: Could you please tell me which were the environmental objectives defined for last year and show evidence of their achievement?
Director: Yes. We had defined three objectives. As you can see from our Annual Plan, one of them was to separate our waste in four categories: paper, plastics, metals, food - before, we had only three (plastic and paper were disposed together). We developed an Action Plan to achieve this objective.
Which six of the questions would you ask related to the Action Plan?

• A. Was it approved by the Director?
• B. How was progress of the plan being monitored?
• C. Did you estimate what resources would you need?
• D. Who was responsible for the completion of the plan?
• E. How did you measure it?
• F. Were actions integrated into the organisation ' s business processes?
• G. Is it consistent with the environmental policy?
• H. Did you define any method for monitoring progress?
• I. How will you evaluate the cost savings?
• J. When is its completion date?

You work for a certification body. In two months, you will have to lead an audit of a pharmaceutical organisation, ABC, that manufactures vaccines to combat a pandemic. When planning the audit team, you select one of the certification body auditors who is professionally qualified in Biochemistry and Pharmacy.
However, she is not fully aware of all legal applicable requirements. You recommend the certification body hire a compliance expert to assist the audit team. In which two clauses of ISO 14001:2015 would you consider that auditors may need the help of the expert?

• A. 9.1.2 Compliance obligations
• B. 4.2 Understanding needs and expectations of interested parties
• C. 7.1 Resources
• D. 5.1 Leadership
• E. 9.2 Internal audits
• F. 5.2 Environmental Policy