ISO 9001 Clause 7.2 Competence: How to Prove Training (Without Spreadsheet Chaos)

ISO 9001 Clause 7.2 (Competence) sounds simple: ensure people are competent, and keep evidence.

In practice, it’s one of the most common audit pain points – not because teams don’t train, but because the evidence is scattered.

What auditors typically ask for

• Training requirements for a role (what should this person be trained on?)
• Records of completion (dates, trainer, evidence)
• Retraining/expiry control (what happens when a certification expires?)
• Effectiveness (how do you know the training worked?)

The spreadsheet trap

Spreadsheets work until they don’t. The moment you need:

• attachments (certificates, sign-offs)
• automatic reminders
• gap analysis by role/department
• audit-ready history

…you end up with a fragile system that depends on one person “keeping it updated”.

A practical model: Plan -> Record -> Gap -> Remind

1. Plan: define required training per role/department
2. Record: capture completions with evidence
3. Gap: instantly see what’s missing/overdue
4. Remind: prevent expiry surprises with notifications

Where NS-TMS fits

NS-TMS is an employee training records database built for audit readiness: training plans, completions, evidence, expiry tracking, gap analysis, and reminders.

If you want help translating Clause 7.2 into a simple system your supervisors will actually use, get in touch.