Original Date: 04/28/1995
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Lockheed Martin Electronics and Missiles (E&M) developed a Compliance Audit System as a result of a high level of audit deficiencies found by a government audit in 1985. This internal auditing mechanism was designed to check for compliance on all internal and external deliverables.

The system is well documented and is driven by procedures and its own set of guidelines and audit checklist. Measurement criteria include effective corrective action, environmental and safety, non-conforming hardware, documentation, procedures, shelf life, tool calibration and certification, facilities, property management, material handling, training and certification, and discipline. The system uses a highly visible green, yellow, and red rating system to indicate the level of compliance. Green indicates isolated incidents that do not create concern for product quality or safety; yellow denotes "minor non-compliance" that does not affect deliverable product or safety; and red alerts a "major non-compliance" that may affect delivery of a defective product, safety, or improper application of processes.

Audits are conducted throughout the Lockheed Martin facility where deliverable products are produced at scheduled times for any measurement criteria selected, and results are posted utilizing the green, yellow, red rating system. Audit deficiencies are reported, corrective actions are recorded, transactions are entered into a database, and weekly reports are filed with top management, all performed by a single person.

Critical components in this successful system have been the commitment from top management, auditor independence, top management visibility of the issues, timeliness of the responses, and immediate and effective corrective action by the actionee. This internal auditing system has contributed to the sharp reduction in external audit deficiencies from over 200 in 1985 to near zero in 1995.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.