FAA Audit - Major nonconformity for lack of timely calibration of two devices

Recently, my company was subjected to a ISO/FAA audit. 2 gages which were called out for were out of calibration. They did have stickers on them. They were written up a Majors. The spec says inspect prior to each use. They were 15 days late. Any ideas how to beat this? HUMAN ERROR will not be accepted. The gages were calibrated the day after the audit as the auditor would not accept immediate corrective action, calibrate in his presence. Thank you. Note: If this is the wrong forum, please point me in the right direction.

KL11590 said:

Any ideas how to beat this?

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An effective gage recall process where gages are retrieved in a timely manner, BEFORE they are overdue for calibration.

They were 15 days late and had not been used. How can this be knocked down to a Minor?

That question can only be answered by the FAA auditor who categorized the NC or his/her superior. But, in my experience, regulator auditors have very little "understanding" for appeals. We have no context of the audit. You want to present a case where you are being treated unfairly, but without being there and knowing the totality of the audit context and evidence, it is impossible for anyone here to pass meaningful judgement on the adequacy of the audit nonconformity.

I am sure the FAA can provide you with a channel for you to voice your disagreement, but be very, very careful. They can shut your organization down if they think you are not deserving of their license. The FAA is under severe scrutiny due to highly visible events and if you ignore their current context, you do so at your own peril.

A couple of clarification points:
What does your procedure(s) say with regards to calibration?
You say the Marjor NC is written against the devices being out of cal or simply outside their calibration windows?
What's the exact wording of the written finding?

KL11590 said:

Recently, my company was subjected to a ISO/FAA audit. 2 gages which were called out for were out of calibration. They did have stickers on them. They were written up a Majors. The spec says inspect prior to each use. They were 15 days late. Any ideas how to beat this? HUMAN ERROR will not be accepted. The gages were calibrated the day after the audit as the auditor would not accept immediate corrective action, calibrate in his presence. Thank you. Note: If this is the wrong forum, please point me in the right direction.

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What spec said inspect prior to each use? Was the the sticker in conflict with the requirement to calibrate prior to each use? This is part of RCA.