Concept

What is Corrective Action?

In 30 seconds

Corrective action is action taken to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity and prevent it from recurring. An action defined without understanding the root cause is often only a correction.

How does it work?

  • The nonconformity is investigated and its root cause identified.
  • An action that removes the cause is chosen and assigned an owner and a deadline.
  • The action is implemented and its effectiveness verified; related documents (FMEA, control plan) are updated where needed.

Often confused with

Corrective and preventive action

Corrective action targets the cause of a nonconformity that has occurred; preventive action targets the cause of a potential one that has not.

Common mistakes

  • Closing the root cause as "operator error" or "lack of training".
  • Treating completion of the action as verification of its effectiveness.

From a QWorks perspective

In QWorks every corrective action has an owner, a deadline and an evidence expectation; the case does not close until effectiveness is verified.

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