Steps To Corrective Action
Immediate corrective action is really a misnomer. It is really a description of what was done after the problem or event was discovered. What actions were taken to contain the problem and stop it from continuing? If you were making bad parts, what did you do to stop making bad parts and what did you do about the bad parts you made? Immediate Corrective Action is where you describe the extent of the problem and the action taken to assure no other hardware is affected and that all affected hardware is identified.
After the problem/event is contained, the causes must be identified to prevent recurrence. The direct cause is the source that directly results in the nonconformance. Contributing causes are those that left unchecked, bring about the direct cause but on their own, may not have sufficient power to result in the incident taking place. Root Cause is simply the last reasonable cause in the chain and the essential logical change necessary to prevent a recurrence.
The impact of the incident is where you describe what impact the nonconformance actually had. recommend if hardware was impacted or not and tell us how you determined this. Failure to comply with contractual requirements constitutes an impact on hardware. If the product was (or may have been) impacted, be certain to include information and objective evidence on customer notification.
Preventive Actions cannot be determined until the direct, contributing, and root causes have been identified. When formulating a solution, remember that there is no single right answer. The solution should be chosen on its effectiveness, viability, appropriateness to the company, and the company’s budget. Solutions should not be rushed into. Rushing can cause additional problems. It is best to think about alternatives before choosing a solution. It is also important to correct the process from a long term viewpoint instead of focusing on the short term. If the solution is only focused on the short term, there is no point in performing a corrective action.
Objective Evidence needs to be provided to verify that Preventive Corrective Actions were put into place and that they are effective in preventing recurrence. Your CIS Consultant can help you develop the tools to capture this information and analyze it to continuously improve your business management system.
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The immediate action is a correction, a containment of the non conformance.
Corrective Actions may take between seven (7) and thirty (30) days depending on the severity of the non conformance. The better the analysis of the root cause of the non conformance the better the corrective action. In any case, corrective actions may require several months to complete, such as training of staff in large organizations.
The definition of preventive action is incorrect. Preventive action is action taken to prevent the OCCURRENCE of a nonconformity and not to stop the RECURRENCE of an existing nonconformity.
The following post explains CORRECTION, CORRECTIVE ACTION and PREVENTIVE ACTION.
http://parkerquality.blogspot.com/2009/08/preventive-action-corrective-action-and.html
In the ISO 9001 and AS 9100 standards preventive action shows up twice; the first time it appears is in section 8.5.2 under Corrective Action when the goal is to implement an action based on the root cause and PREVENT it from recurring (from happening again).
In AS9100C it also shows up in 7.2.1 for Risk Assessment
The last time it appears is in section 8.5.3:
Preventive Action
The organization shall determine the action needed to eliminate the causes of potential nonconformities to prevent occurrence. Preventive actions taken shall be appropriate to the impact of the potential problems.
In this blog post we are talking about the section 8.5.2. Hope this clear things up for you