| STEP |
WHO |
WHEN |
INFO TO USE |
WHAT TO DO |
RESULT |
| 1 |
Any Manager
(or any Team Member working with a Manager) |
Upon
determining the need for formal corrective or preventive action (see
list of CAR categories below) |
Own
observation and any evidence deemed appropriate |
E-mail
request for CAR to President; include actions already taken and as
appropriate, Job Order, Customer and TOP ID. Attach supporting
documentation deemed appropriate. Do not use the CAR system as a means
of immediately fixing a problem: make any immediate correction of
problem through formal procedures. |
CAR
requested |
| 2 |
President |
Upon
Receiving CAR request |
CAR; list
of CAR categories (below); own judgment |
Verify that
any immediate problem correction is proceeding properly, determine if
CAR is appropriate for the case at hand; if not, handle request at own
discretion; otherwise, assign a CAR ID (CAR
category-slash-date-dash-letter, such as Q/2000-10-31-A) and place it as the
first component in the e-mail subject line, folloed by a brief
description of the subject of the CAR. Determine who is the best person
to administer the CAR (typically an officer or the QA Manager) and
include that person's name in the e-mail subject line (can be omitted
if the President will personally be the administrator). E-mail the CAR
to the designated CAR Administrator. |
CAR/PAR
returned or accepted and entered into CAR Control File; if accepted, initiated
as e-mail to CAR Administrator
|
|
CAR Categories
|
|
1st letter of CAR-ID
|
Type of
CAR |
Notes |
|
A
|
Internal
Audit |
See TOP-IAUDT |
|
C
|
Customer
Complaint |
See TOP-CUSTC |
|
E
|
External
Audit |
External
audit finding. |
|
H
|
Safety
or Environmental Hazard |
From Safety
Committee, Environmental Coordinator or subsequent to an injury or
spill. |
|
Q
|
Quality
System |
For
violation and/or failure of quality system. |
|
S
|
"IDEAS" |
See TOP-IDEAS |
|
T
|
Adverse
Trend |
This type
may come from analysis or from observation of trends among CARs. |
|
V
|
Vendor
(supplier/subcontractor) |
For any
adverse trend related to a supplier or subcontractor. |
|
X
|
Management
initiative |
Any CAR may be elevated to this category at
management discretion. |
|
2nd letter of CAR-ID
|
Type of
CAR |
Notes |
| Lower case of any letter listed above |
Secondary
CAR category |
Where there are multiple categories relevant to
a CAR, the lower-case second letter can be used to indicate the
secondary category. This categorization might be added well into the
life of the CAR. For example, if a customer complaint CAR C/9999-999
proved to be caused by a subcontractor’s error, its ID could be
extended to become CAR Cv/9999-999.
|
|
p (lower case)
|
Preventive
Action |
The use of a lowercase "p" signifies an
issue being addressed is "Preventive" rather than "Corrective" |
3
|
CAR Administrator
|
Upon
receiving CAR e-mail from President or assignee
|
CAR; own
judgment; other data deemed appropriate
|
Review CAR carefully. If deem
further work is needed on the CAR, determine who is the best person to
perform the corrective/preventative action procedures and e-mail the
CAR and the assignment with due date to that person, saving a copy of
the e-mail in CAR Control File; when CAR appears to be completed,
verify that the root cause of the nonconformities has been clearly
identified in the text with yellow highlight, verify that corrective
action to eliminate or prevent occurrence has been adequately performed
and clearly identified in the text with blue highlight (plus green
highlight for a formal plan of action, if included), e-mail CAR back to President.
|
CAR pursued
to completion
|
4
|
Person
receiving CAR assignment |
Upon
receiving CAR e-mail from CAR Administrator
|
CAR; own
judgment; other data deemed appropriate |
Read CAR
assignment carefully to understand exactly what is being assigned;
within that assignment take whatever action is needed to gain an
understanding of the cause of nonconformities relating to product,
process and quality system, and recording the results of the
investigation; determine the corrective action needed to eliminate the
cause of nonconformities; apply controls to ensure that corrective
action is taken and that it is effective; use appropriate sources of
information such as processes and work operations which affect product
quality, concessions, audit results, quality records, service reports
and customer complaints to detect, analyze and eliminate potential
causes of nonconformities; determine the steps needed to deal with any
problems requiring preventive action; initiation of preventive action
and application of controls to ensure that it is effective; e-mail
results of assignment to CAR Adminitrator for effectiveness review (see step 3); if help is
needed at any time with assignment, e-mail CAR Administrator for assistance or
reassignment of corrective/preventive action analysis. |
Corrective
and preventive actions; results of CAR assignment e-mailed to CAR Administrator |
5
|
CAR Administrator
|
Frequently
(typically once a week) |
Open order
file of CARs from CAR Control File |
Send
reminders via e-mail to any person delinquent in completing their CAR
assignment; extend due date as deem appropriate; reassign CAR as deem
appropriate. |
Unnecessary
delay of CAR prevented |
6
|
President |
Upon
receipt of completed CAR
|
CAR; own
judgment |
If deem
further work is needed on the CAR, (re)assign the CAR and continue at step 3; when CAR appears to be completed, place in CAR
e-mail in a CAR review e-mail folder to allow time for effectiveness of
action to be properly reviewed; monthly, review CARs awaiting long-term
effectiveness review after long-term effectiveness has been determined,
note within the CAR e-mail and save the CAR e-mail as "closed" in CAR
Control File; if deemed appropriate, notify person who originally
requested the CAR of its disposition. |
CAR pursued
to verified, effective completion; history maintained in CAR Control File |
