TSM Verification Process
TSM’s primary objectives are to drive performance improvement and, through demonstration of this improvement, to build trust with stakeholders. To build this trust, TSM includes a number of checks and balances to ensure that reported results present an accurate picture of each facility’s management systems and performance.
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Facilities annually self- assess their performance against all indicators under the TSM protocols using the rating system above. The performance results are published in the annual TSM Progress Report. New members have three years to start publicly reporting, which allows them the opportunity to train employees for full implementation.
Every three years, a Verification Service Provider (VSP) critically reviews a company’s self-assessments to determine if there is adequate evidence to support the performance ratings reported. The VSPs are experienced auditors who are independent of the company being externally verified. The VSPs rigorously apply the protocols and, where required, can change the ratings to ensure they accurately reflect the facility’s management practices and performance.
In the year of external verification, the company’s CEO, or most senior executive, submits a letter to COMP that confirms the external verification has been conducted in accordance with the Terms of Reference
Each year, COMP’s independent Community of Interest (COI) Advisory Panel selects a sample of companies to present and discuss their TSM results. Through these discussions, the Panel tests to see whether and how facility systems are leading to performance improvement. The Panel explores the challenges faced by the facilities and the steps they are taking to address them.
Verification Service Providers (VSPs)
The Verification Service Providers or VSPs are essential to the ongoing success of TSM. The independence and professional judgment they bring helps to ensure that facility-level management systems are meeting the TSM requirements. VSPs are expected to follow standard verification methodology, which includes three phases:
Planning:
Pre-verification communication with the client to determine sample size (if applicable), verification agenda and interview questions, and ensure that all required documentation is available beforehand.
Execution:
Validation that the performance level reported by the client is consistent with the VSP’s determination based on standard auditing tools, including interviews with relevant personnel and review of relevant documentation.
Reporting:
Preparation of a report that includes, at a minimum, a verification statement from the VSP confirming the completion of the external verification and its results.
For a facility’s first external verification, the VSP must validate all indicators for all TSM protocols. For subsequent external verifications, the VSP has the independence to determine the external verification sample size on the basis of standard auditing practice and professional judgment.