Audit Management for Metrology Laboratories — Atlantis NDT Inspection Software

Internal and third-party audit scheduling with finding-to-CAPA closure tracking

Overview

Odoo's Quality/Audit workflow configured for NDT firms manages the full audit lifecycle: internal audit program scheduling against ISO 9001/17020 clause coverage, third-party accreditation body surveillance audit preparation, and client-conducted vendor qualification audits. Audit checklists are built per standard/scope (an ISO 17020 technical competence audit differs structurally from a client HSE vendor audit), with findings captured in real time during the audit — including evidence photos and reference to the specific procedure or record reviewed — and automatically classified by severity (major nonconformity, minor nonconformity, observation, opportunity for improvement). Every finding routes into the same CAPA workflow used by Quality Management, with owner assignment, root-cause investigation, and verified closure required before the finding is marked resolved. An audit calendar tracks the full program across internal audits, accreditation surveillance cycles, and client vendor audits so nothing is scheduled reactively. Historical audit data feeds a findings-trend dashboard by clause, department, method, and auditor, directly supporting management review inputs required by ISO 9001 and ISO 17020.

Why inspection and testing businesses run it differently

For an ISO 17020-accredited inspection body, the audit program itself is under scrutiny during accreditation surveillance — auditors check not just whether findings exist, but whether the audit program is planned, executed to schedule, and findings are genuinely closed with objective evidence, not just marked closed administratively. This module gives an accreditation body reviewer exactly what they look for: a documented audit schedule, checklist-driven execution against specific clauses, and a finding-to-CAPA trail with verification evidence. It also handles the operational reality of client vendor audits (refineries and EPCs frequently audit their approved NDT vendors' QA systems before and during long-term contracts), keeping those audit records separate from but structurally consistent with internal/accreditation audits.

Capabilities

How the workflow runs

The annual audit program is scheduled at the start of the QA year, allocating internal audits across departments/clauses to ensure full ISO 9001/17020 clause coverage before the accreditation body's surveillance visit. Each audit is executed against a standard-specific checklist, with the auditor logging findings, evidence, and clause references in real time via mobile or desktop. Findings above observation-level automatically generate a CAPA record routed to the responsible owner, following the same investigation-root-cause-corrective-action structure as quality NCRs. Closure requires the auditor or QA manager to verify implemented corrective action with objective evidence before the finding status changes to closed. Ahead of external accreditation surveillance, the QA manager pulls a full findings-trend report and open-CAPA status to confirm audit readiness and identify any systemic issue needing pre-emptive correction.

Standards and compliance covered

Integrations

Measured impact

Structured audit-to-CAPA tracking with verified closure has helped firms move from mostly-closed-some-findings-recur-year-over-year to sustained zero-repeat-finding status across two consecutive accreditation cycles. Pre-audit readiness reporting has cut accreditation surveillance preparation time from roughly two weeks of manual file assembly to two to three days of dashboard review. Client vendor audits conducted through the same structured system have shortened client audit response and evidence-provision time significantly, supporting faster vendor-qualification renewal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the audit tool distinguish between our internal audits and audits our clients conduct on us as a vendor?

Yes. Audit type is tagged as internal, accreditation surveillance, or client vendor audit, each with its own checklist template, but findings feed the same trend and CAPA infrastructure.

Can a finding be marked closed without evidence of corrective action?

No. Closure requires the auditor or QA manager to attach or reference verification evidence; status-only closure isn't permitted by the workflow.

How does this help us prepare faster for our ISO 17020 accreditation surveillance audit?

The findings-trend dashboard and audit calendar give a real-time view of clause coverage and open CAPA status, replacing manual file compilation with a report that's essentially audit-ready on demand.

Related: Atlantis NDT ERP · NDT inspection software · ERP modules · ERP by industry · Digital Twin platform. Request a demo and tailored quote.

Built for any business that runs on operations

Most companies do not fail at their craft. They lose time, margin and goodwill in the gaps between the tools they use to run the place — a quoting spreadsheet that does not talk to the job sheet, a job sheet that does not reach accounts, and a compliance folder nobody can search when a client asks. Atlantis closes those gaps by putting the whole operation on one platform, so information is entered once and everything downstream stays in step.

What you can run on it

  • Sales and CRM — leads, quotes, follow-ups and the pipeline that tells you what next month looks like.
  • Projects and job costing — plan the work, track the hours and materials against it, and see the margin while the job is still live rather than at final account.
  • Field and service teams — dispatch, schedules, mobile capture that works with no signal, and sign-off from site.
  • Inventory and purchasing — stock, suppliers, reorder points and goods receipt, joined to the jobs that consume them.
  • People — records, qualifications and licences with renewal reminders, timesheets, leave and payroll.
  • Quality and documents — procedures and forms under revision control, with the audit trail an inspection or accreditation body actually asks for.
  • Accounts — invoicing, expenses, multi-currency and the reporting your accountant stops chasing you for.

Affordable, accessible, fully customizable — and we mean each word

Affordable because the whole suite is included rather than sold to you a module at a time, and because implementation is done by people who have run operations rather than by a chain of subcontractors. Accessible because it runs in a browser and on a phone, works for a small team on day one, and does not need a specialist on staff to keep it alive. Fully customizable because your process is the thing that makes you competitive — the software should bend to it, not the other way round.

Industries we configure for

Service businesses and contractors, manufacturing and fabrication, trading and distribution, laboratories and testing houses, engineering consultancies, construction and facilities, and asset owners across energy, marine, aerospace and infrastructure. Inspection and testing is where we started, and it remains the sector we go deepest in — but the platform underneath is general-purpose, and most of what it does has nothing to do with inspection at all.

What happens when you get in touch

A short conversation, not a sales sequence. We ask how the business runs today and where it hurts, show you the platform doing that work, and send a written quote shaped to your region, your team size and the scope you actually need. No obligation, nothing to install first, and no pressure to decide on the call. Reach out and tell us what you are trying to fix.

Related: business management platform · inspection management software · choosing the right category of software · modules · by industry · asset integrity platform. Book a free consultation.