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No matter how much effort we put into meeting a quality standard’s requirements for continual improvement, there are times when we are not sure whether to call for a corrective action. Although there is no instrument that points to yes or no and determines when a corrective action is needed, I have a few simple rules to make your decision easier and a bit clearer.
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When to generate corrective actions
Corrective actions are best suited for systemic issues or issues that affect the quality of your products or services. One-time issues usually aren’t suitable for corrective action unless they are customer complaints or they significantly affect the quality of your products or services.
Here are some examples of problem situations and my take on whether they need a corrective action:
1. A form going from planning to shipping (i.e., packing list) was not filled out correctly: No.
2. A form going to a customer (i.e., quote) was not filled out correctly but was later fixed: No.
3. A form going to a customer (i.e., quote) was not filled out correctly, but the order itself was entered correctly: No.
4. A form going to a customer (i.e., quote) was not filled out correctly for three consecutive times: Yes.
5. The customer complained once about a form (i.e., quote) that was not filled out correctly: Yes.
6. A form going to a customer was not filled out correctly once and caused $1,000 in expedite fees: Yes.
Take two
If you are wondering about examples 1, 2, and 3, you may not be alone. Although they are not suitable for corrective actions, they are appropriate for employing another tool in your continual improvement program: preventive actions.
However, if you are limited in resources and don’t have enough manpower to problem-solve one-time incidents, then talk to the people involved, discuss the issues, and make the incident known to your workforce. If it happens again, then you know that simply discussing the matter isn’t going to work. You may need to change your strategy (i.e., create a corrective action).
I hope this helps in your continual improvement journey. Remember continual improvement is not just about doing corrective actions for the sake of doing corrective actions; it is about creating and implementing effective corrective actions so problems won’t happen again.
