Corrective actions

Corrective action begins with a linked nonconformance. The action record keeps a root cause, action plan, owner, due date and status. Quality Manager can see the work that is planned, being implemented or due for effectiveness review. The parent link matters: a closed action should answer the specific nonconformance that prompted it, rather than serve as a general task completion note.

For a rejected incoming inspection, Quality Manager describes the defect on the nonconformance and assigns an action owner. The owner records the root cause and planned correction. After the action enters its approved state, the owner implements it and records completion. At effectiveness review, the workflow checks the retained cause and action. The parent nonconformance closes only after all linked actions meet the close condition.

• Cause and plan. The action keeps the reason, proposed work and due date with its parent nonconformance.
• Ownership. A named person carries the assigned work through implementation.
• Effectiveness. The effectiveness workflow checks retained action details before the action and its parent can close.

Agree what belongs in the root cause and action fields for the team’s common defects. Decide who owns implementation when the inspected part came from another team, and how the owner will record completion. Define what the team will inspect alongside the retained cause and action during effectiveness review. The due date should describe the commitment for the corrective action, not simply the date the defect was detected.

Agree how several actions under one nonconformance are handled. The close condition checks every linked corrective action. A parent cannot be treated as resolved because one owner has finished while another linked action is still earlier in its lifecycle. Quality Manager can use the effectiveness queue to keep that distinction visible.

Create a nonconformance from a rejected inspection and link a corrective action. Enter a concrete root cause and action, assign the owner and set a due date. Move the complete plan into its approved state, then implement it and record completion. At the effectiveness stage, confirm the workflow checks the retained cause and action and closes the parent only when all linked actions satisfy the condition.

Repeat with a second linked action still implementing. The parent should remain open until the second action reaches the required review or closed state. This test makes the dependency understandable to everyone who reads the status list.

• Due for effectiveness review — Actions waiting for a decision on completed work.
• Overdue corrective actions — Due dates and owners to discuss in the quality review.
• Open nonconformances — Parent cases still under containment, investigation or disposition.

Nonconformance to correction covers the close condition. Reports shows the due date and status questions.