Investigating a Non Conformance (Investigator Guide)

Your Role

As the Investigator, you are tasked with reports in 'Open Report' status. Your goal is to thoroughly understand why the non-conformance occurred and recommend how to fix it and prevent it from happening again.

Documenting the Investigation ('Investigation' Section)

• Sequence of events: (Required, Rich Text) Clearly outline the events leading to the non-conformance.
• Witness statements: (Rich Text) Summarize or attach any statements.

Root Cause Investigation ('Root Cause Investigation' Section)

This section helps you systematically analyze the underlying causes. The system guides you to consider:

• Personnel Factors: Issues related to knowledge, skills, attitude, or physical condition.
• Technical Factors: Issues related to design, equipment, materials, or maintenance.
• Organisational/Operational Factors: Issues related to supervision, procedures, resources, or communication.

For each category, you'll typically select from checklists to identify Basic Causes and then more specific Triggering Causes. You will also have space to describe any hazardous acts or conditions observed.

• Recommendations: (Required, Rich Text) Based on your findings, propose clear, actionable recommendations to address the root causes. These may become formal 'Actions'.

Detailing Corrective Actions ('Corrective Action' Section)

• Immediate Corrective Action: (Required, Text Area) What was done immediately to address the issue?
• Corrective Action Type: (Radio Buttons) Choose 'Correction' (to fix the immediate problem) or 'Concession' (to formally accept the non-conformance, perhaps with limitations). This choice can affect which subsequent fields appear.
• Disposition: (Dropdown, often appears if 'Correction' is chosen) How was the non-conforming product/service handled (e.g., 'Rework', 'Scrap', 'Use As Is')?
• Disposition Details: (Text Area) Further details on the disposition.
• Action taken by whom: (Required, Person Search) Who performed the corrective action?
• Action Date: When was it completed?

Additional Details

• 'Failure Mode' Section: Use the 'Product Problem Code' or 'Service Problem Code' dropdowns to classify the failure mode, which aids in trend analysis.
• 'Associated Costs' Section: Record any 'Estimated Costs' and the 'Currency'.
• 'Lessons Learnt' Section: (Rich Text) Document any broader insights.

Linking to Other Records ('Links' Section)

• Associated Actions: Create or link to formal tasks in the Actions module to implement your recommendations.
• Associated Hazards: If the non-conformance revealed a new hazard, link or create a record in Hazard Management. (Refer to general help on 'Linking Records' and 'Actions Module Overview').

Submitting for Sign-Off

1. In the 'Sign Off' section, select the Internal Authoriser (Required, Person Search) who will review and approve your investigation.
2. Add any final Comments for the Authoriser in the designated history/comments field.
3. Click the 'Submit for sign off' button. This moves the report to 'Pending Sign-Off' status and notifies the Internal Authoriser.