How to deal with Non-conformity?
To deal with non-conformance, it is essential to understand that the non-conformance process laid out in the various management system standards has several purposes.
It applies not only to the product developed by your company but also to the service provided and business process implemented within the company.
At some point, non-conformity can lead to a negative customer experience, affecting their satisfaction level toward your products and services if you do not adequately handle it. To prevent this, do not leave any issues untreated.
Here are some necessary Plan-Do-Check-Act steps you might need to take as preventive measures:
1. Identify the Problem and Report To address and resolve the issue, identification of the non-conformity is the crucial preliminary step to decide what corrective action is required at the next step. Usually, this process is documented in a Non-conformance Report. The sample of information needed within the Non-conformance Report is:
o Affected products and processes
o Source of non-conformances, including date and time that the non-conformity occurs
o Description of the non-conformance
o Collection of all supporting evidence
o Other related information
2. Address, and act on the corrective action After the non-conformance is identified and the information is completed, it is noteworthy that you are required to investigate and conduct a root cause analysis to obtain effective corrective action.All necessary steps to be implemented must consider the costs, workforce, tools and documents. This is especially crucial if your manufacturing processes are affected when corrective actions have to take place.Hence, it is always essential to determine the planned actions’ impact. Remember to retain the respective record as a supporting document. For further information, look at our post regarding Corrective Actions.
3. Review the system Any organisation needs to review the non-conformance process within a specific period during the management review as required in the standard, such as ISO 9001:2015 in clause 9.3.2.The management should review the effectiveness of each corrective action as well. For example, the similar nature of the non-conformities might have similar root causes and corrective actions in the end. The management of the company or organisation needs to test the corrective action and solve the root cause to prevent its recurrence.
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