A Plan for the Corrective Action Plans (CAP) and Processes
NOTE: This post is from one of our frequent contributors to this blog, "Birdseye59604."
An Enterprise without a Plan for the Corrective Action Plans (CAP) is being lost in a Maze of Corrective Options. The Maze of Corrective Options is a place of traditions and familiar operations, and it is a "safe place" to make decisions. It's a maze because for each decision made there is a fork in the road without a direction sign.
CAPs are not just for making changes after surveillance findings of non-regulatory compliance, but also as internal corrections of processes that are giving non-desired outputs. There are generally speaking two types of CAPs. One is an immediate fix and the other is a long term repair. A fix considers the malfunction but not the cause, while a repair considers the problem in addition to the the process which lead to the malfunction.
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| A fix is for the malfunction, while a repair considers malfunction in addition to the malfunction. |
A fix is compatible to dumping a task on someone, while a repair is a delegation of organizational authority and responsibility to repair processes. An Enterprise that has a clear commitments and directions of processes when arriving the fork in the road, is avoiding the continuous dumping of fixes on whoever is most convenient available.
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| A Process repair must be tailored to the vehicle it is intended to serve. |
It might be tempting for an Enterprise to stay within the safety of an established process and fixing malfunctions. By taking this approach there is no one in the organization who accepts accountability and there is always someone else who can be blamed when things go wrong.
There are times when a CAP repair may not be effective. However, an Enterprise with a Plan for the Corrective Action Plans (CAP) has a map of how to make it back to fork in the road where they took the wrong turn.
Your thoughts.......
BirdsEye59604
Most enterprises look at CAPs as a punishment for getting caught in some regulatory contravention. The CAP is an essential part of the continuous improvement process. The CAP requires a risk assessment and A Root Cause Analysis process. These processes must address the Root Cause in order to prevent the orginal probem from happening again. The best tool for RCA is the fishbone diagram. The session must be structured and facilitated in order to be effective. I recommend the booklet: SMS Memory Jogger II by Goal/QPC. Available @ dtitraining.com.
ReplyDeleteAlso consider the SMS Tools Symposium, Sept 29-Oct1, 2013 at the Coronado Resort Hotel DisneyWorld FL. goto: dtitraining.com click on symposium.