Acción Correctiva
Understanding Corrective Actions in Processes
The Five Variables of Process Development
- The development of a process involves five key variables known as the "five M's":
- Mano de obra (Labor)
- Métodos (Methods)
- Materiales (Materials)
- Maquinaria (Machinery)
- Medio ambiente (Environment)
- These variables interact to produce results that can either meet expectations or fail to comply with requirements. Non-conformities are detected using the five senses: taste, sight, smell, hearing, and touch.
Sources of Non-Conformities
- Non-conformities within an organization can arise from various sources:
- Customer complaints
- Audit non-conformities
- Management reviews
- Failure to meet standards or goals
- Process failures or non-compliant products/services
- Data analysis and regular inspections
Corrective Actions vs. Corrections
- Upon identifying a non-conformity, organizations can choose between two actions:
- Correction: Immediate action taken to eliminate the non-conformity; it provides a temporary solution.
- Corrective Action: Aimed at eliminating the root cause of the non-conformity; requires analysis and knowledge for permanent solutions.
PHVA Cycle Approach to Corrective Actions
- The corrective action process is structured into four stages based on the PHVA cycle:
- Plan: Develop a corrective action plan.
- Do: Teach methodology and apply procedures.
- Check: Monitor measurements and analyze results.
- Act: Implement necessary actions to achieve planned outcomes.
Process Approach for Corrective Actions
- From a process perspective, corrective actions involve:
- Inputs related to sources of non-conformities.
- Activities that identify causes and develop actions.
- Outputs that evaluate the effectiveness of implemented actions while maintaining documented information throughout each stage.
- The procedure begins with identifying and correcting the non-conformity before opening a corrective action case, identifying probable causes, proposing elimination actions, implementing planned actions, verifying effectiveness, and closing if successful. If not effective, revisit root cause identification.
Tools for Identifying Causes of Non-Conformance
- To identify causes of non-conformance effectively, seven quality tools can be utilized:
- Flowchart
- Pareto chart
- Cause-and-effect diagram
- Check sheet
- Histogram
- Scatter diagram
- Control chart