Any organisation with a quality management system understands the importance of corrective and preventive action. Corrective action involves identifying the root cause of an undesirable situation, failure, or nonconformity. The corrective action also involves preventing the recurrence of the problem.
The company’s management has the responsibility to decide whether or not to apply corrective action. Corrective action is necessary if there are several serious management and quality issues or if there are repetitive issues that may affect the organisation.
Corrective Action Process
Corrective action is an action to eliminate detected nonconformity or failures. The corrective action procedure below is proven to work for ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001.
- Define the problem– Identify the problem and detail it in quantifiable terms. Also, ensuring that the problem is real and not just perceived is essential. You can detail the outcome you expect and how the problem can be resolved.
- Containment actions– Try to find a short-term solution to the problem while waiting for the root cause and ultimate solution. Containment involves stop-gap measures and checks to identify the problem again if it recurs before you find the ultimate cause.
- Identify root cause– Identifying the root cause of a problem can be complicated. Luckily there are certain root cause analysis techniques to help you find the initial cause of the problem. You can create a corrective action report, complete a comparative analysis, use root cause theories, test the theories, and verify the root cause of the problem.
- Plan a corrective action- Establish measurable and achievable targets with realistic deadlines focusing on the root cause.
- Implement the corrective action- Execute the actions and follow them to completion. It could be as easy as bringing software changes or investing in new equipment.
- Follow-up- Close the process by reviewing what was done and inform everyone about the changes. Corrective and preventive actions follow up involve being patient enough to ensure that the issues do not manifest again.
Importance of an Appropriate Corrective Action Procedure
Having a reliable corrective action procedure is essential for the success of any organisation. Without a suitable procedure, you may be unable to identify non-conformances that may ultimately compromise the quality of work.
A good corrective action procedure allows your workers to understand the steps needed whenever a process problem arises. Besides, your employees no longer have to spend too much time communicating process issues to the wrong people.
How Best Practice Biz Can Help
A corrective action procedure is appropriate for organisations making mistakes or those that intend to improve. Unfortunately, this applies to most companies. However, you can reduce non-conformance or defects by complying with ISO standards.Best Practice Biz is a JAS-ANZ accredited body ready to help your organisation become ISO certified. Contact us today to discover more about how we can help you improve your quality management systems with our training and support.
