2.4. Follow-up and monitoring
A thorough follow-up and control systemwas put in place for an
appropriate implementation of the APL. It was agreed that three
audits were to be conducted by all individual companies, and that
although the first two audits could be performed by internal plant
personnel, it was suggested that all three should be carried out by
external companies, officially registered according to the national
Chilean Norm NCh 2825-2003 (INN, 2009c). For the third and final
audit, the hiring of an external, officially registered audit company
was compulsory for all partners.
The first audit was carried out at the beginning of the implementation
process. It aimed to characterize the status of each
company and to compare them against the goals and actions
undertaken by all partners, thus establishing an individual action
plan to reach these goals according to the time schedule established
in the Agreement. The second and third audits were carried out