PECB Certified EMS ISO 14001 Lead Auditor ISO-14001-Lead-Auditor Exam Questions

An audit team leader arrives at a steel fabrication organisation that manufactures fire escape stairs to carry out a Stage 2 certification audit. At a meeting with the EMS Manager, she is told that they have won their biggest contract from a construction organisation to manufacture and install fire escape stairs. They appointed a subcontractor to perform the installation work. The EMS Manager wants the ISO 14001 audit extended to cover the installation site.

Select which one of the options is the correct response by the auditor.

The audit lifecycle describes the ISO 19011 process for conducting an individual audit.

Which two of the following are part of conducting the audit activities?

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At the Stage 2 closing meeting of the audit, the EMS Manager objects to the nonconformity raised and asks for it to be withdrawn.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.

You are auditing the ISO 14001 management system of a primary school (School 21st Century) located in downtown Lima, Peru. There are 400 students, attending classes from 9 am until 5.30 pm.

You have presented a nonconformity at the closing meeting:

Non-conformity - No environmental aspect has been identified related to the impact of the education provided by the school on students' awareness (as future adults) related to generic environmental issues.

Select the three best acceptable corrections that the school may take.

During a Stage 1 audit, the EMS Manager asks that the audit includes coverage of a new storage site on the other side of town that they have taken over since the application was made.

Which two of the following actions should the auditor take?

A group of 22 Italian restaurants in downtown San Francisco (US) established an EMS following the requirements of ISO 14001. You are performing an internal audit before the fourth certification cycle. The audit plan included an audit of the General Manager (GM) as the last interview before the closing meeting. During the interview with the GM, you audit clause 10.3 (Continual improvement). The dialogue is as follows.

You: Could you please tell me how did you improve the EMS to enhance environmental performance (Clause 10.3)?

GM: One way to improve the EMS is to improve one or several of its processes. We decided to improve the water-consuming processes in all our branches. We use water in many of our processes (e.g. to wash our kitchens, our cutlery, plates, and glasses, to keep our floors clean). The idea was to review these processes in detail to reduce the amount of water used per customer. Each of the 22 branches sent us their results, we analysed the data and found out that the average water consumption per customer was reduced by 13%; therefore, we improved our environmental performance. We are happy about that.

You: What about the results in each branch?

GM: Have a look at this table:

Analysing this table, what would be your decision related to raising nonconformities to clause 10.3? Select two.

An internal auditor of a manufacturer of aluminium products for the car industry raised a nonconformity against section 6.2.2 of ISO 14001 in Report IA202. The nonconformity (NC3) stated:

"Top management has not analysed why none of the environmental objectives set for the last year have been met."

A third-party auditor reviewing the internal audit process came across the nonconformity and found that no corrective action was documented. The EMS Manager confirmed no action had been taken, but added he expected a number of objectives to be achieved in the next three months so there was no need for further action. He explained in confidence that the organisation was fighting a takeover bid and resources for environmental projects had been cut.

From the information, select three non-conformities options that the auditor could raise to ISO 14001.