MACE Audit | VSA Audit | Maruti Vendor System Audit Checklist

MACE stands for Maruti Suzuki Centre for Excellence, and VSA stands forVendor System Audit.

MACE Audit or Vendor System Audit (VSA) checklist consists of 19 clauses as listed below:

1. Production Preparation / New Product Development
2. Regulation for initial production control
3. Changing Management
4. Standards Management
5. Education and Training
6. Quality audit and process verification
7. Supplier Control
8. Handling Abnormality in Quality
9. 5S Management
10. Equipment/Inspection Equipment’s Management
11. Implementation of Standards
12. Products Management
13. Handling Management
14. Critical Parts Management
15. Adequate Testing Facility
16. Process Audit
17. Scale and Top Management Bandwidth
18. Safety
19. Legal Compliance and Environment

MARUTI SUZUKI TIER-2 VENDOR ASSESSMENT – QUALITY SYSTEMS (PART A)

Clause1: Production preparation / New Product Development

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Regarding the implementation rule of production preparation	1	Do you define the procedure for Product development including the following? -scope of parts, the responsibility of each department, control contents/items?
2	Regarding management/implementation by production preparation plan/report (master plan)	1	Do you implement follow-up to control the schedule and progress of production preparation items? Incl top management
3	Defect prevention at the stage of process design by using FMEA/Matrix diagram	1	Do you consider the following items and implement corrective and preventive action to the processes and standards before regular production? -Troubles in the past; -Defect items expected; -Defect items unable to capture at customer; -Defect items difficult to repair;
4	Product/process evaluation at the quality evaluation meeting in each trial	1	Do you prevent defects by quality-improving activities of the cross-function team to evaluate quality performance?

Clause2: Regulation for initial production control

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Regulation for initial production control	1	Do you define the following items related to initial production control by standards? -controlled parts; -controlled items; -inspection method; -initial production control period; -a person who announces start/end of initial production control;    -finish condition;
		2	How do you define items that required special control during initial production control?  Do you set stricter inspection methods than ordinary inspection?
2	Implementation of initial production control	1	Do you control process capability and defect rate during initial production control?

Clause3: Changing Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Definition and implementation of changing management	1	Do you define unexpected change (unusual) and planned change clearly?
		2	Do you define procedure(rules applied from sharing information to result confirmation) at change occurrence?
		3	Do you record product quality check results to ensure traceability? Incl retroactive checks
2	Definition and control method for the initial part	1	Do you define and control the initial part clearly?
		2	Do you control initial parts separately and make quality records about them? (both internal and outsourced processes are included)

Clause4: Standards Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Procedure to make process control standards(QA process charts)	1	Do you make and review process control standards, Inspection specifications, and Operation instructions for all products which are shipped to SMC /MSIL /Tier 1?
2	Procedure to control standards   ・Process control standards   ・Inspection specifications   ・Operation instructions	1	Do you have consistency to keep process control standards, inspection specification,  operation inspection, and parameter chart?

Clause5: Education and Training

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Education/ training procedure	1	Do you clarify the department in charge of promoting quality education, and implementing education based on the annual plan? Are records of education kept?
		2	Do you define and implement the skill evaluation of the operator to determine whether an operator can work without surveillance? (e.g. acceptable revel/evaluation frequency/evaluation method)
2	Education for managers/Inspectors/ Special operators	1	Do you periodically monitor the skill of certificated operators and follow up to improve their skills?

Clause6: Quality Audit and Process Verification

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Activity to keep/improve production quality	1	Do you conduct a quality audit to identify issues and properly improve them?
2	Content of process review	1	Do you confirm consistency between actual operation and standard?
		2	Do you confirm if countermeasures are taken properly to prevent reoccurring quality failure?

Clause7: Supplier Control

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Evaluation method for new suppliers	1	Do you define criteria to certify new suppliers and implement them?

Clause8: Handling Abnormality in Quality

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Handling when an abnormal situation occurs	1	Do you define clearly what is an abnormal situation and make operators know the definition?
		2	Do you clarify and standardize the handling rules/routes for customer claims, in-process failure, and supplier failure?
		3	Do you have criteria to estimate the scope of a suspected lot for an abnormal situation?　When an abnormal situation occurs, do you trace the suspected lot based on the criteria?
2	Prevention of recurrence   ・Customer claims ・In process failure ・Suppliers failure	1	Do you prevent the recurrence of issues by analyzing the cause of occurring defects based on process investigation results such as 5-why analysis?
		2	Do you reflect corrective action to the improvement of process control and review of standards?
		3	After corrective actions are taken, do you conduct on-site checks and evaluate the effectiveness? And horizontal deployment.

Clause9: 5S Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Location of the production site	1	Do you keep store material, work-in-process, finished products, inventory, and containers at appropriate storage prevented from dust, rust, scratch, deformation, and rainwater?
		2	Do you control material, work-in-process, and finished product by designated location,  volume, and standard using visual control?
		3	Do you implement inspection or critical operation under a properly controlled environment luminance /temperature/humidity/vibration/noise/work table, etc.)?
2	Production equipment’s management	1	Do you keep the condition of production equipment, jigs and tools properly?
		2	Do you keep the condition of inspection equipment properly to ensure accuracy?

Clause10: Equipment/Inspection Equipment’s Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Maintenance of equipment, jigs, and tools	1	Do you conduct daily/regular checks of production equipment, dies, and jigs? Are records of maintenance kept?
		2	Do you confirm regularly the function of Poka-yoke, automated stop, and alarm? Are records of maintenance kept?
		3	Do you standardize the frequency of polishing and replacement for consumable tools(blade/electrode/rub stone, etc.)?
2	Maintenance of inspection equipment	1	Do you calibrate regularly inspection equipment and put the expire date on them?
		2	Do you control the deterioration (expire date) of boundary samples for objective judgments such as appearance inspection?

Clause11: Implementation of Standards

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Implementation of standards	1	Do you use easy expressions (visualizer, onomatopoeia, etc.) for operation instructions? So that operator can easily understand processes and critical points.
		2	Do you keep operation instructions in an accessible place and most important quality points and critical operation points in a place where operators can see them easily?
		3	Do you regularly monitor that each operator operates according to the operation instructions？
		4	Is it possible to judge OK/NG specifically by each check sheet (of daily equipment check, quality control report, etc.) you use?

Clause12: Products Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Management of parts flow	1	Do you keep first-in first-out of finished products and work-in-process (material, reserve parts）by using an identification tag or lot indication?
		2	Do you control follows production history by product lot numbers? -production date; -production volume; -shipping date
		3	Do you control the identification of similar parts separately?
2	Non-confirming parts management	1	Do you control the identification of non-confirming parts and parts on hold? Do you store them separately?
		2	Regarding repaired non-conforming parts and parts on hold to re-use, do you define responsibility to implement?  Are repair records kept?

Clause13: Handling Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Bins/ Trolley Management	1	Do you make arrangements with customers about the packing style & transportation system to prevent damage during the handling of finished products & perform accordingly?
		2	Do you have a system to maintain Bins /Trolleys in Good Condition?

Clause14: Critical Parts Management

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Maru A Parts Management	1	Do you have Special checks/Inspections for Maru A parameters of the Maru A part available?
		2	Do you have the Identification of Maru A Process/Operator on Shop Floor?
		3	Do you keep the repair history when repairing & using Maru A items?

Clause15: Adequate Testing Facility 

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Testing Facility	1	Does the supplier have all inspection instruments required as per drawing requirements?
		2	Does the supplier have all Testing Equipment/Rigs required as per drawing requirements?
		3	Does the Supplier has trained manpower to operate these inspection and testing instruments?

Clause16: Process Audit

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	As per PCS	1	Conduct process audit as per process control standard
		2	Closure of all the observations

Clause17: Scale and Top Management Bandwidth

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Management Bandwidth & Organization Structure	1	Do you have adequate organization structure and defined roles/ responsibilities for key areas such as Plant Head, Quality, Production, and Maintenance?
2	Review Mechanism	2	How frequently Top management visits the shop floor? How frequently Top Management monitors key performances (Performance at the customer end, in-house quality, productivity, maintenance, safety, etc.)?
3	Plant Sales Turnover*	3	Plant Sales Turnover for the audited plant. Group Turnover
4	PAT/Sales	4	PAT/Sales
5	D/E Ratios	5	D/E ratio
6	ROCE	6	ROCE

Clause18: Safety

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Working Conditions	1	Is the shop floor temperature, noise level, and air quality (fumes) ok? Is the layout and escape route on the shop floor Ok? Are Rest Areas/Toilets Available? Is the area/machine sufficient enough to allow easy movement of machines and tools?
2	Human and Machine Safety	2	Are Safety Standards made (as per process requirement) and taught to all operators? Are PPEs available as per the standards or not?
		3	Machine Safety system (Door sensors etc. ) available or not? Is Safety in material movement and tools ensured or not?
		4	Are safety standards followed on the shop floor as per the procedure? Are usage of PPEs adhered to and monitored (by supervisor/senior) on the shop floor? What accident reporting mechanism is defined? Countermeasures against accidents taken and periodic verification being done?
3	Fire Safety	5	Audit Conducted by a reputed 3rd party on MSIL defined check sheet?

Clause19: Legal Compliance and Environment

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Consent to Operate	1	Is consent to operate (Valid as on date) available or not?
2	ESI & PF	2	Are all operators enrolled for ESI and PF? Does management review the status of PF contributions /ESI payments? If  ESI& PF are managed by the Contractor, then does management review and check the ESI enrolment/ payments?
3	Hazardous Waste Management	3	Are the different types of wastes identified on the shop floor and standards/ Procedures made? Is Segregation done at the source for different types of waste? Storage and disposal are done as per consent and periodic confirmation at the disposal stage?

MARUTI SUZUKI TIER-2 VENDOR ASSESSMENT – EHS (PART B)

Note: The clause no. 17, 18 & 19 has been revised in the new MACE Audit Check Sheet for Tier-2 Vendor Assessment-EHS (Part B).

Clause17: Financials

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Plant Sales Turnover	1	Plant Sales Turnover for the auditee plant. Group Turnover (Rs Cr)
2	PAT / Net Sales (%)	2	PAT / Net Sales (%)
3	Total Debt/ Equity Ratio (times)	3	Total Debt/Equity Ratio (times)
4	Return on Capital Employed (%)	4	Return on Capital Employed (%)
5	Internal Cash Generation / Net Sales (%)	5	Internal Cash Generation / Net Sales (%)
6	Debt Service Coverage Ratio (%)	6	Debt Service Coverage Ratio
7	Current Ratio (times)	7	Current Ratio (times)

Clause18: Safety

Clause19: Top Management bandwidth & HR Practices

	Audit Area		Concerning Regulation
1	Management Bandwidth & Organization Structure	1	Do you have adequate organisation structure and defined roles/ responsibilities for key areas such as Plant Head, Quality, Production, Maintenance and Safety?
		2	Is HR Structure and HR person Available and responsibilities defined
2	Review Mechanism	1	Does Top Management monitors the Safety parameters and verify the countermeasures implemented on monthly basis?
3	Statutory Compliance	1	Is Child Labour Policy Available ? (not less than 14 years)
		2	Is Minimum wage being paid as per skill level ?
		3	Factory license Available and valid?
		4	Contractor license Available and valid?
		5	Standing orders there or not. (appl. where >100 workmen are employed on any day of the last 1 year)
		6	Is POSH policy available and compulsory trainings given for the same.
4	Consent to Operate	1	Consent to operate (Valid as on date) available or not (Air & Water)?
5	ESI & PF	1	Are eligible workers or employees, are covered or entitled under ESI?
		2	Is PF contribution of employees and employers are done ? (The due date for Monthly Challan remittance to Bank for PF is 15th of Every Month)
		3	Management reviews the status of ESI/ PF contributions payment? (Due date for payment of ESIC is 15th of following month.)
		4	If ESI & PF managed by Contractor, then does management reviews and checks the ESI enrolment/ payments?
6	Hazardous Waste Management	1	Are different type of wastes identified on shop floor and standards/ Procedures made?
		2	Is Segregation done at source for different type of wastes? Storage and disposal being done as per consent and periodic confirmation at disposal stage?