A corrective action is realizing and defining a problem, containing the problem, determining its underlying cause, and taking appropriate corrective action thereafter to prevent it happening again.
React to a detected nonconformity when it arises from sources such as nonconforming products, identified during manufacture or post delivery, customer complaints, audit findings, and warranty claims, etc.
Take whatever action is necessary to control and correct the non-conformity, and to deal with any resultant process impact;
Identify what caused the non-conformity and then to consider whether the potential for a similar problem remains;
Consider whether any further corrective action is required to prevent a similar non-conformity recurring at the same place or occurring somewhere else, at some point in the future;
Assess whether a similar non-conformity has occurred elsewhere and consequently whether it needs to take similar corrective action.
There may be instances where it is impossible to completely eliminate the cause of non-conformity, so in instances, the best organizations can do is to reduce the likelihood or the consequences of a similar occurrence happening again in order to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
What's the Difference Between a Corrective Action & Preventive Action?
A Corrective Action is re-active — deals with the problem AFTER the event. Corrects it.
A Preventive Action is pro-active — deals with the problem BEFORE it happens. Prevents it.
A formal corrective action report should be considered as a reactive response to a non conformance problem since it is about corrective actions taken when a nonconformance is detected (for example, customer complaints, a customer complaint).
The following steps will help you create a corrective action process:
Define the Problem
Establish an investigation team
Select an Interim Containment Action
Verify the Interim Containment Action
Identify the Root-Cause
Complete a Comparative Analysis
Develop Root-cause Theories
Verify the Root-Cause
Determine and Verify the Escape Point
Implement & Validate Permanent Corrective Actions
Preventing Recurrence
If necessary, employees can provide written warning of the process as an emergency response action to protect the employee or customer and initiate the process.
Updated: 5th December 2023
Author: Richard Keen
Richard Keen
Richard is our Compliance Director, responsible for content & product development.
But most importantly he is ISO's biggest fanboy and a true evangelist of the standards. Learn more about Richard
Don’t Try to Manage It All Alone!
Our ISO Auditors and Quality Manager Trainers have been in this industry for years, and since 2002 we’ve been providing thousands of small businesses and large corporations with the tools they need to get certified.
Instead of trying to create everything you need to follow this process from scratch, use ours. We have procedures, templates, checklists, process maps, forms and gap analysis tools to help you control your documented information without missing a single input or output.
Before you invest all the hours reinventing the wheel, before you spend countless dollars outsourcing the task — try our templates.
The purpose of this procedure is to establish the process for identifying, documenting and analyzing nonconformities and mitigating their impacts by implementing appropriate corrective actions. Your organization’s quality management system is geared toward the proactive elimination of actual and potential deficiencies.
Nonconformities in products, services, processes and our management system are investigated and action implemented to prevent their occurrence.
Forms & Reports also included:
Control of nonconformity & Corrective Action Process Activity Map
Fully-editable MS Word or Excel files, compatible with Google Docs and Apple Pages
All the templates use styles – making reformatting and rebranding a breeze
Immediate download
Pay by Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal or Apple Pay.
We are 100% confident in the quality and contents of our products. Used by thousands of organizations around the world, our templates
have been sold online since 2002.
Bought by Small Businesses and Large Corporations our templates have been sold online and CD since 2002.
Used by:
Small Businesses – dentists, accountants, engineers
Large organizations – hospitals, power plants, aircraft manufacturers
The Templates are used by first-timers following our step-by-step, clause-by-clause guidance documents; and experienced Quality Managers wishing to streamline and improve their existing documentation.
The application of our templates and quality manuals is scalable and generic; regardless of the size and type of organization. The elements that form the quality management system are the same.
Five Reasons To Choose Our Templates
1. Our customizable templates save you time and money by offering a streamlined process to create your quality documentation
2. They’ve got everything you need in one simple template
3. Proven to work our templates have helped thousands of businesses big and small achieve certification
4. Documents use styles to make reformatting and rebranding a breeze
5. Our templates are generalizable for any industry or sector. The application of our templates is scalable and generic; regardless of the size and type of organization.