Can absence of work instruction be nonconformity

Answer:

The absence of work instruction on place of application can be a nonconformity under following clauses:
- 7.5.3.1 a) "Documented information required by the quality management system and by this international standard shall be controlled to ensure it is available and suitable for use, where and when it is needed."
- 8.5.1 a) "Controlled conditions [for production] shall include, as applicable the availability of documented information that defines[...] activities to be performed".

Furthermore, keep in mind that your QMS should be aligned not only with requirements of the standard but also with the documents that you defined as necessary for effectiveness of the QMS which means the documents the company defined within its QMS. So you don't have to be in collision with the standard to have a nonconformity, a nonconformity can be issued if you do not follow your own procedures and work instructions.

For more information, see: How to deal with nonconformities in an ISO 9001 certification audit https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2015/06/09/how-to-deal-with-nonconformities-in-an-iso-9001-certification-audit/