Many organizations have excellent procedures and checklists. The problem isn't the quality of the procedures – the problem is they get forgotten.
An internal audit should be conducted every six months. Supplier evaluations should be performed annually. Fire safety inspections should happen weekly. But when daily operations take over, these critical tasks fall by the wayside, until the auditor points out the gaps.
The solution isn't more calendar reminders. The solution is building recurring procedures directly into your management system.
Most management systems contain checklists. You have a checklist for internal audits, one for supplier evaluation, one for month-end closing. But the checklists just sit there – they do nothing until someone remembers to use them.
The result:
ISO 9001 clause 9.1 requires "monitoring and measurement at planned intervals". Clause 9.2 requires internal audits "at planned intervals". The word "planned" is critical – ad hoc checks don't meet the requirement.
A recurring checklist is a template that automatically creates new checklists according to a schedule you define.
Instead of:
You get:
Suitable for procedures that must occur regularly at short intervals.
Examples:
How it works:
Real-world example:A mid-sized European manufacturing company uses weekly checklists for production safety checks. Every Monday at 08:00, a new checklist is created that the production manager must complete by Friday. If the check hasn't been completed by Thursday, a reminder is sent.
Suitable for procedures that should occur monthly or on specific days each month.
Examples:
How it works:
Real-world example:An IT consulting firm in Northern Europe uses monthly checklists for internal security audits. The first Monday of each month, a new checklist is created that the IT manager must complete. The history shows they've conducted 24 consecutive audits without missing a single one – something their ISO 27001 auditor noted very positively.
Suitable for procedures that should occur annually or at specific times of the year.
Examples:
How it works:
Real-world example:A laboratory company uses annual checklists for calibration of all measurement equipment. Each instrument has its own recurring checklist that's automatically created 30 days before the calibration date. The responsible technician receives a task, performs the calibration, documents the result – and next year's checklist is automatically created.
Review your management system and identify all activities that should occur regularly.
Questions to ask:
Common candidates:
For each activity, determine how often it should occur.
ISO standards provide guidance:
Business requirements provide guidance:
Tip: Start conservatively. Better six activities that work perfectly than twenty activities where half are ignored. You can always add more later.
For each recurring activity you need a template – a checklist that describes exactly what should be done.
A good template contains:
Example template for internal audit:
Internal Audit – Non-conformity Management
Tip: Use existing checklists as a starting point. Improve them based on previous experience.
In AmpliFlow, you create a recurring schedule by:
The system then automatically creates:
[EMBED]tutorial_ recurrent_checklist_2.mp4[/EMBED]
A unique feature in AmpliFlow is the visual timeline for recurring checklists.
The timeline shows:
Why this is valuable:
Practical example:A food & beverage company had 12 different recurring checks. In the first month they noticed that week 3 of each month had 5 different checklists – the production team couldn't manage. They adjusted the schedules so checks were spread more evenly throughout the month. Result: 100% completion rate instead of 73%.
The mistake: The organization creates 20 recurring checklists in the first week. The team is flooded with tasks and ignores half.
The solution: Start with 3-5 critical procedures. When these work smoothly, add more. Quality over quantity.
The mistake: A checklist is created automatically but no one knows who should complete it.
The solution: Each recurring schedule must have a clear responsible person (individual or team). This person can delegate specific checklists, but responsibility is clear.
The mistake: The checklist contains 30 steps that took 2 hours five years ago. Today the same check takes 20 minutes and some steps are irrelevant.
The solution: Review templates regularly. When a checklist is completed and something feels wrong – update the template immediately. Next time will be better.
The mistake: The system sends reminders, but they drown in all other emails and notifications.
The solution: Integrate checklists into daily work. Example: Monday meetings always start with "Which checklists do we have this week?". Or: Production manager's daily routine includes checking active checklists.
The mistake: Checklists are created automatically, but no one follows up on whether they're completed.
The solution: Management should have a monthly routine (which itself can be a recurring checklist!) where they review:
Situation: The company had ISO 27001 certification but struggled to keep internal security audits regular. Some areas were never audited, others too often.
Solution: Created 12 recurring monthly checklists – one for each area in the management system. The first Monday of each month, the audit rotated to the next area.
Results:
Situation: The company had 15 different safety and environmental checks that should occur regularly. In practice, 40% of them were completed.
Solution: Mapped all checks, created clear templates, established recurring schedules (5 weekly, 7 monthly, 3 annual).
Results:
Situation: The company had 50+ instruments that all required annual calibration. They regularly missed deadlines and received non-conformities during accreditation.
Solution: Created a recurring annual checklist for each instrument with different dates. Checklists are created 30 days before calibration deadline.
Results:
ISO standards don't specifically require "recurring checklists", but they require systematic planning.
Clause 9.1 (Monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation):"The organization shall determine what needs to be monitored and measured, the methods for monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation, and when monitoring and measuring shall be performed."
Recurring checklists define exactly "when" and ensure it actually happens.
Clause 9.2 (Internal audit):"The organization shall conduct internal audits at planned intervals."
Recurring checklists for internal audits guarantee "planned intervals" and create automatic documentation.
Clause 9.1.2 (Evaluation of environmental performance):"The organization shall evaluate its environmental performance at planned intervals."
Recurring checklists for environmental checks ensure systematic evaluation.
Clause 9.2 (Internal audit):"The organization shall conduct internal audits at planned intervals."
Recurring checklists for security audits meet the requirement.
Clause 9.1.2 (Evaluation of occupational health and safety performance):"The organization shall evaluate its OH&S performance at planned intervals."
Recurring checklists for safety checks ensure regular evaluation.
The common pattern: All ISO standards require regular, planned checks. Recurring checklists are the practical tool to meet this requirement.
Here's a concrete 30-day plan to implement recurring checklists:
After 90 days you should have:
Recurring checklists solve a fundamental problem in management systems: Procedures and checks get forgotten.
What recurring checklists give you:
Start simple:
The goal isn't to digitize everything at once. The goal is to create a management system that actually lives – where procedures are completed regularly, not just when someone remembers them.
AmpliFlow has built-in support for recurring checklists with:
Contact us to see how recurring checklists can work in your management system.
Sources:
