Skip to content
VTValiTracAI

Procedure · SOP-05

Corrective Action and Improvement

Raising, investigating, implementing and verifying corrective actions; capturing improvement opportunities.

Get the pack — $299Download 3 free samples

Purpose

To define how the Laboratory reacts to nonconformities, determines and eliminates their causes so that they do not recur or occur elsewhere, verifies the effectiveness of the action taken, and identifies and implements opportunities for improvement, including the use of customer feedback.

What is inside

11 sections, about 3 pages when printed.

  1. 1. Purpose
  2. 2. Scope
  3. 3. References
  4. 4. Definitions
  5. 5. Responsibilities
  6. 6. Process overview
  7. 7. Procedure
  8. Records generated by this procedure
  9. Monitoring and performance indicators
  10. Assessment readiness notes
  11. Related documents

Records it generates

Applying this procedure produces the following records, which are the evidence an assessor samples.

  • –Corrective action register and requests
  • –Root cause analysis worksheets
  • –Effectiveness verification evidence
  • –Improvement proposals and outcomes
  • –Customer feedback and analysis

What an assessor looks for

The document closes with these points, so you can check your own practice before someone else does.

  • –Whether root causes go beyond 'human error' and whether the extent check was done.
  • –Whether effectiveness was verified with evidence after a suitable period, not closed on the day the action was implemented.
  • –Whether accreditation-body findings from the last visit were closed with corrective, not just corrective-looking, action.
  • –Whether customer feedback is actually sought, analysed and used.

Before you use it

  • Replace every square-bracket token, starting with [LABORATORY NAME], [ADDRESS] and [EFFECTIVE DATE]. The full token list is in GD-01 Read Me First.
  • Have the content technically reviewed against how your laboratory actually works, then approved by the responsible manager before it becomes a controlled document.
  • Update the Word fields after editing so the table of contents and page numbers are correct: select all, then press F9.
  • Record the document in your own document register and set its review date.
  • Delete the assessment readiness notes if you do not want them in your controlled version; they are guidance for you, not requirements.

Related documents

This is an original template published by ValiTrac. It does not reproduce the text of ISO/IEC 17025 or of any accreditation body publication, and it does not by itself confer or guarantee accreditation. Customise, review and approve it before use.