Just a couple of months ago, it looked like the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic was over, and that related travel restrictions would be relaxed. Accordingly, the FAIM Coordination Centre planned FAIM on-site audits for the remainder of the year. With a second wave hitting many countries, it is now clear that travel restrictions will likely remain. On-site audits are, therefore, no longer possible for the time being.
The FIDI Board has decided to put a moratorium on on-site audits for the rest of 2020. At the same time, the Board requested the FCC look into developing a remote audit scheme for FAIM 3.2 for 2021, as an exceptional measure due to the COVID crisis.
To safeguard the quality in our membership, Affiliates subject to the moratorium will be requested to perform an Internal FAIM Audit (IFA) before the end of this year.
At the Extraordinary General Assembly of 20 October, the Board will ask the FIDI representatives to allow for that temporary remote audit possibility for the FAIM 3.2 Standard.
Practically, this would mean that all cancelled audits of 2020 as well as all planned audits for 2021 would be done virtually in 2021, subject to approval by the EGA. The FCC expects the first virtual audit to take place during March 2021.
The FIDI Board wants to emphasise that the imposed moratorium will have no further consequences regarding the expiry date on your FAIM certificate. Affiliates who need to demonstrate FIDI affiliation (for example, for tenders or RFPs) will be provided with an attestation by FIDI membership.
The FIDI Board and FCC will keep you updated on any further developments in this respect. If you have any questions, you can contact the FCC at fcc@fidi.org
