Does the CAMO quality system need to be subject to monitoring?

Yes, the quality system is part of the activities of the CAMO and therefore it should be monitored.

Point M.A.712(b) requires that the quality system monitors:

• that all CAMO activities are being performed in accordance with the approved procedures, and,
• the continued compliance with requirement of part-M.

The quality system procedures are considered to be within these approved procedures . This implies that quality system must be subject to audits and the CAMO audit programme/plan needs to reflect this.

Besides that the audits to the quality system shall satisfy the requirement of independent audits. This is further explained in AMC M.A.712(b) point 8: the independence of the audits should be established by always ensuring that audits are carried out by personnel not responsible for the functions, procedures or products being checked. So, the quality manager cannot audit the quality system in terms of independence of the audit. Therefore, to audit the quality system, it is acceptable:

• to use competent personnel from a different section/department in the same organisation not responsible for the quality function/procedure, or,
• to contract the independent audit element of the quality system to another organisation or a qualified competent person, or,
• that the quality system is monitored and certified against an internationally recognised quality standards by a certification organisation

The way the quality system is going to be audited has to be described in the CAME and approved by the competent authority.