Three different things
| Term | What it addresses | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nonconformity | A requirement not fulfilled | Eye protection was not used during chemical transfer. |
| Correction | Removing the consequence | Goggles issued, the task stopped. |
| Corrective action | Removing the cause | The goggles were kept out of reach; a cabinet is installed at the transfer point. |
The steps
- React: take control, deal with the consequences.
- To prevent recurrence, investigate the cause and check whether similar nonconformities exist elsewhere.
- Implement the action needed.
- Review the effectiveness of that action.
- Change the management system if necessary.
The step most often skipped
The fourth. The action is marked "complete" but whether it worked is never measured. The test is simple: does the same nonconformity appear again? If it does, the action did not close — the record did.
Why "who did it" is the wrong question
A system that ends its root-cause analysis at a person stops learning: the person disciplined does not report the next event. The right question is which condition made the wrong action easy and the right one hard.
Records
The nature of the nonconformity, the actions taken and their results are documented. In Optifora's data layer "nonconformity and corrective action" is a shared document type of the harmonised structure (10.1).