Is it possible to create a Corrective Action process that is genuinely value add for your organisation?

By Katherine Lindsay

A historic steam train

Corrective action processes have the potential to really value add, or to really bog down an organisation. In order to be efficient, it is important that you design a process that suits your organisation in terms of size and risk profile. You really want to be able so simply record your issues, note that you have fixed them and to have a streamlined simple process you can move through to undertake causal analysis when required.

Some of the factors to consider when creating a corrective action process that is genuine value add to your organisation:

Make sure all your staff understand what your process is for reporting and recording issues.
Determine clear guides for when a causal analysis is conducted, not everything needs a thorough investigation - your time is valuable.
Establish what type of framework you are going to use to determine the root cause, this could be a simple 5 whys, ICAM, Tap root, fish bone analysis, it's your choice.
Involve all relevant parties in the causation analysis to make sure you get to the bottom of why you are experiencing issues.
Assign responsibility for ensuring the corrective action tasks you have identified are implemented in your organisation, set reminders and follow up to make sure changes are made and that they are effective.
Make sure there is a systematic approach to evaluation of the correction and corrective action.

CertCrowd offers a neat and simple solution for recording your causal analysis and ensuring relevant stakeholders are consulted. You can set reminders to follow up tasks and easily see at a glance who has responded and when this response was made.