In this guide 6 sections
Buyer audits such as SMETA and BSCI check how workers are employed, paid and protected, and how chemicals are handled. An export house keeps ready a worker list, wage and hours records, a chemical register and production records that agree with each other, in one place.
What the audits are looking at
SMETA and BSCI are social audits that buyers ask for. They look at labour standards, working hours, wages, health and safety, and the age of workers. Chemical audits look at what is used, stored and discharged.
The auditor does not test your software. The auditor walks the floor, interviews workers and then asks for paper. The records must agree with what was seen and heard. Auditors also ask workers privately whether they signed blank papers, how overtime is paid and who hears grievances, so the paper must hold up against those answers.
A Kanpur tannery and a Noida garment unit face different questions, yet both are asked to prove the same thing: that the numbers on paper match the floor.
- Worker list with age and joining date
- Attendance and overtime records
- Wage slips and payment proof
- Chemical register and safety data sheets
- Fire and safety drill logs
Records that must agree with each other
Auditors cross check. They take a worker name from the floor and look for the attendance sheet, the wage slip and the bank payment. One mismatch becomes a finding. One worker ID, used the same way in the gate register, the wage sheet and the production line, lets an auditor follow a person from floor to bank.
They also compare production output with hours worked. If a line shipped a large order in a week and the overtime sheet shows nothing, the gap invites a question.
This is why scattered folders hurt. Each record is correct alone. Together they contradict each other, because different people made them at different times.
The chemical register
Dyeing, tanning and finishing units keep a register of every chemical on site. Each entry has a name, a supplier, a storage location, a quantity received and a safety data sheet.
An auditor picks a drum in the store and asks for its line in the register. Then comes the next question: where was it used? That means linking each chemical to the batch or the production order. Tanneries and dyeing units in Kanpur buy drums from several suppliers, so the register must say which drum went into which lot of leather or fabric.
Restricted substance lists from the buyer add another layer. The register should flag any item that appears on them, before the audit and not during it.
- Chemical name and supplier
- Storage location and quantity on hand
- Safety data sheet on file
- Link to the batch where it was used
Where scattered folders go wrong
Wages sit in one workbook kept by accounts. Attendance sits in a biometric export. The worker list is a Word file in HR. Production lives on the shop floor board.
Before an audit, someone spends a week lining them up. Names are spelled three ways. A worker who left in March still shows on the list. The auditor spots it in ten minutes. Production managers keep their own sheets of output per line, and these are rarely reconciled with the overtime sheets kept by HR until an auditor asks for both together.
Linked records fix this at the source. One worker ID flows through attendance, wages and the production line. Corrections happen once, and the evidence is the same everywhere.
Build an audit folder you can open in an hour
Pick one line or one unit. Collect the worker list, last three months of attendance and wages, and the chemical register. Check that one worker can be traced through all of them. Keep the folder current every month, so that when a buyer announces an audit with short notice you are updating a finished folder and not building one overnight.
Fix what does not match, then repeat for the next unit. Name an owner for each record. The audit then stops depending on one person’s memory.
Buyer audit readiness sheet
A one-page readiness sheet with four blocks: workers, hours and wages, chemicals, and production. Each block lists the record, the owner, the last update date and a tick for whether it agrees with the next block. A final row names the person who answers the auditor on each topic.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between SMETA and BSCI?
Both are social audits that buyers request. They are run under different schemes and report formats. Ask your buyer which one is required, and which version, before you prepare.
How far back do auditors check records?
It varies with the scheme and the buyer. Expect several months of attendance and wages at least. Confirm the period with the auditor when the visit is booked.
Do we need software to pass an audit?
No. Well kept paper can pass. Software helps when the same facts must agree across attendance, wages and production, because it removes the retyping where errors creep in.
Who should own the audit folder?
One compliance or HR manager, with a named owner for each record. Shared ownership with no names is what lets records drift apart between audits.