Lesson Outcomes

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain what corrective action means.
• Identify when corrective action is necessary.
• Select appropriate corrective actions.
• Apply corrective action to address weaknesses.
• Verify whether the problem has been resolved.

Lesson Overview

When you evaluate a solution against its established criteria, you may discover that the solution has not achieved the expected results.

When this happens, you need to determine whether corrective action is necessary.

A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system.

Corrective action does not necessarily mean abandoning the solution. You may need to modify the process, provide additional training, change maintenance practices, or take another appropriate action.

5.3 What Is Corrective Action?

Corrective action responds to a weakness identified through evaluation.

The basic process is:

The unit standard requires corrective action to be identified and applied, where possible.

When Is Corrective Action Necessary?

Corrective action may become necessary when:

• The solution does not achieve its expected results.
• Performance falls below the required standard.
• A customer complaint identifies a weakness.
• Internal nonconformities occur.
• An internal audit identifies a nonconformity.
• The organisation identifies adverse or unstable trends in a product or process.

The key question is:

What needs to change to correct the weakness and improve the result?

Identify the Weakness First

Do not apply corrective action simply because the results are different from expectations.

First identify what went wrong.

For example:

Expected result

A new process should reduce customer complaints by 30%.

Actual result

Complaints decrease by only 5%.

The difference tells you that something needs investigation.

Possible causes might include:

• Employees did not understand the new process.
• The process itself contains a weakness.
• Employees did not receive adequate training.
• Required equipment was unavailable.
• The original plan was unrealistic.
• An external factor affected the results.

The corrective action should address the identified weakness rather than simply treating the symptom.

Examples of Corrective Action

There are several examples.

1. Process Redesign

Change the way a process operates to remove a weakness.

Example: Redesign a customer-order process that creates unnecessary delays.

2. Product Redesign

Modify a product where the product itself contributes to the problem.

Example: Change a product component that repeatedly fails during use.

3. Training

Provide new training or improve an existing training programme.

Example: Employees repeatedly make errors because they do not understand the new procedure.

4. Maintenance Improvements

Improve maintenance schedules or practices.

Example: Equipment repeatedly breaks down because maintenance intervals are inadequate.

5. Material Handling or Storage Improvements

Change how materials are handled or stored.

Example: Materials become damaged because employees store them incorrectly.

More Than One Corrective Action

Sometimes one action will not fully address the problem.

For example, a company discovers that production errors occur because:

1. The procedure is unclear.
2. Employees have not received adequate training.

The organisation may therefore need to:

• Redesign the procedure and
• Provide additional training.

Note that a combination of corrective actions may sometimes be necessary to fully correct a problem.

Corrective Action During Implementation

Corrective action can occur during implementation, not only after implementation has finished.

Monitoring allows you to identify whether results meet planned requirements. If they do not, you can decide what action is needed to put the plan back on course.

Example

A project has three activities scheduled for completion in sequence.

The first activity takes longer than expected.

The manager may:

• Investigate the delay.
• Reallocate resources.
• Adjust responsibilities.
• Accelerate another activity.
• Change the schedule.

The purpose is to get the plan back on course.

Minor Problems vs Major Problems

Not every problem requires a major intervention.

You need to distinguish between minor and major problems:

Minor problem

A small problem that is unlikely to happen again may require little or no corrective action.

Major problem

A significant weakness in the plan may require substantial corrective action.

If no appropriate corrective action can resolve a major problem, the organisation may even need to abandon implementation.

Verify Whether the Problem Has Been Resolved

Applying corrective action is not the final step.

You need to verify whether the corrective action actually worked.

It is recommended to return to normal operations and consider:

• What changes can prevent the problem from happening again?
• Should policies or procedures change?
• Is additional training required?
• What did the organisation learn from the problem-solving process?

The Verification Cycle

This prevents the organisation from assuming that a corrective action worked simply because someone implemented it.

Learning From the Problem

Corrective action should also create organisational learning.

Ask:

What did we learn from solving this problem?

You may gain:

• New knowledge.
• Better understanding of the process.
• New skills.
• Better procedures.
• Better training requirements.
• Improved policies.

It is recommended to consider what was learned from the problem-solving process and share important lessons with supervisors, peers and subordinates.

Practical Example

Problem

A company introduces a new stock-control process.

Expected result

Stock discrepancies should decrease by 50%.

Actual result

Discrepancies decrease by only 10%.

Investigation

The organisation discovers that employees understand the new process but do not know how to use the new scanning equipment.

Corrective action

Provide additional training and supervised practice.

Verification

After one month, the organisation measures stock discrepancies again.

Result: Discrepancies have decreased by 55%.

The corrective action successfully addressed the identified weakness.

Key Notes / Lesson Summary

• Corrective action addresses a weakness identified through evaluation.
• Identify the weakness before deciding what action to take.
• Corrective action can involve process redesign, product redesign, training, maintenance improvements, or material-handling improvements.
• Sometimes you need more than one corrective action.
• Corrective action can occur during implementation or after evaluation.
• Minor problems may require little intervention.
• Major problems may require significant corrective action.
• Always verify whether the corrective action resolved the problem.
• Use the experience to identify lessons and prevent similar problems in the future.