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An experienced ISO 9001, 27001, 14001, 45001
Consultant & Auditor in Malta
Corrective actions and non-conformities in ISO are the way that we track
mistakes that happen within our organisation. In previous blog posts, I have
mentioned multiple times that an ISO Certification does not mean that a
company has perfect products and service and that no mistakes are done.
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3/11/22, 12:00 AM Corrective actions and non-conformities in ISO - Explained in detail
Non-conformities in ISO
Non-conformity in ISO means that there was some kind of mistake, error, or
defect – something didn’t go as planned. This can be caused within our
organization, resulting in an internal defect. Should the defect go on undetected,
eventually it would be detected by the client, resulting in a customer complaint.
Another source of non-conformities might be internal audits when
following the criteria set by the ISO 9001:2015 standard.
1. Handle the non-conformity there and then. Solve the mistake and ensure that
the customer or supplier are handled in an appropriate manner.
2. Ensure that the mistake does not happen again – this is done through
corrective action (see below).
Corrective actions as per ISO standard refers to any actions that we take to
prevent an error from (re)occurring. We are human and mistakes do happen –
however we cannot let this stop us from continually striving for perfect – an ideal
that will never be reached.
We must design systems, train people, change suppliers, and better inform our
customers, to make sure that mistakes that were done in the past are not
repeated.
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3/11/22, 12:00 AM Corrective actions and non-conformities in ISO - Explained in detail
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them
all yourself.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
Conclusion
Corrective actions and non-conformities in ISO are the basis for continual
improvement and are one of the ISO 9001 certification requirements, and
they are to be discussed during the management review meeting. The idea is
to give some ideas and examples of what type of quality objectives the
company should go for. You don’t need to get an ISO certification to implement
these ideas. You start from where you are right now. Both in business and in life.
Find a mistake that you recently did, and find ways to mitigate it. Ideally, you’d
also have a system for organizational knowledge-based as per ISO 9001,
to make sure that everyone within your team is informed about the important
lessons being learnt. Let’s take a simple example:
Non-conformity: You’re stuck in traffic, and you’re running late for a meeting.
First of all, the first thing you should do it to mitigate the current issue. This is
done by getting touch with the people you are meeting to advise them about your
tardiness. That way, you wouldn’t keep them waiting – they’ll either start without
you, or they’ll have to reschedule.
Then, when you are in a quiet place, think about the reason why you were late.
You can use various lean principles to identify the problems, including
DMAIC, 5Whys, Fish-bone diagrams, FMEAs etc. In this case we’ll use a simple
5Why.
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3/11/22, 12:00 AM Corrective actions and non-conformities in ISO - Explained in detail
2. Why problem that stuck in traffic? Left home slightly late (not allowing room
for traffic – which is a known factor in your area)
3. Why left home late? Woke up late
4. Why woke up late? Slept later than usual
5. Why slept later than usual? Couldn’t stop watching Netflix
From the above, it is evident that the true reason for being late isn’t some
external reason (traffic), but rather a totally internal reason (Netflix). By using
the above methodologies to identify root causes for improvement, we are bound
to start taking responsibility for our own actions and making sure that we don’t
repeat mistakes.
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