Lalapanzi
Not wishing to cause to many ripples on here but it seems to me that your quality organisation is a bit screwed up....I agree entirely with the comments raised by FCIT.
It is not the job of a quality audit to correct any non-conformities...that has to be the responsibility of the company/individual.
It is the auditors job to spot things that may have slipped through your own net thereby adding an extra degree of safety....the auditors that we use definitely know which way up a loadsheet goes!
The most important thing to note is that under the principles of JAROPS and ISO 9001 it is not the job of the quality manager to suggest ways and means of correcting non-conformities, he is there solely to manage the quality process. If your area has a problem the emphasis is still fairly and squarely with you and your staff to spot it...preferably before the auditors do!
Hope I am not preaching...but the subject is a bit close to the heart
SPIKE