Nonconformance Categories - QMS web app to support ISO9001

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GregRus

I'm leasing a QMS web app to support ISO9001. In the NCR module there are 2 levels of NCR classifications, NCR Category and NCR Failure Classification. I was told the NCR Category is a higher level, more general term and the NCR Failure Classification is more specific term.

The NCR Failure Classifications are straight forward but I'm struggling a bit with the NCR Categories. I created some broad ones, assembly, dimensioning, drawing, etc. but have difficulty ensuring all our NCRs are properly categorized.

We are a machine shop and assembler operation. I appreciate any guidance you can provide for the NCR Categories.
 

AndyN

Moved On
I'm leasing a QMS web app to support ISO9001. In the NCR module there are 2 levels of NCR classifications, NCR Category and NCR Failure Classification. I was told the NCR Category is a higher level, more general term and the NCR Failure Classification is more specific term.

The NCR Failure Classifications are straight forward but I'm struggling a bit with the NCR Categories. I created some broad ones, assembly, dimensioning, drawing, etc. but have difficulty ensuring all our NCRs are properly categorized.

We are a machine shop and assembler operation. I appreciate any guidance you can provide for the NCR Categories.

We have here an example of my biggest fear about software to help people implement ISO 9001 - the fact that there's a deal more complexity that is really necessary. That said, is there any guidance from the authors of this app to help understand what they expected you'd put in these classifications?
 

somashekar

Leader
Admin
Hi Greg ...
You want two category: Take MAJOR / MINOR
You want four: Take CATASTROPHIC / MAJOR / MINOR / TRIVIAL
So what are you going to do next.
The standard wants you to take appropriate corrective action, based on the effects of the nonconformities encountered.
So its simply your choice to catagorize.
I just wish you see the effects of the NC and decide the appropriate CA and not be unduly bothered about categorization.
 
P

pldey42

I agree with Andy. If I were leasing software I would expect a manual and clear guidance, by phone if necessary. And yes, software can make life more complex, not always helpfully.

But here's my guess:

First, the idea that one is more general and the other more specific is either wrong or, indeed, making things more complicated than they need to be.

Assuming that they actually serve different purposes, here's how I'd guess they're supposed to be used:

Category is like major and minor, an indicator of the impact of the NC upon the customer, to be used when prioritising corrective actions. It might include a critical category as well, for emergencies that are bigger than major and risk serious contractual issues with the client if not fixed with the utmost haste.

The Failure Classification would be completed after finishing the root cause analysis part of the corrective action and would indicate the underlying cause of the problem - bad requirements spec, bad design, manufacturing fault, bad part, bad raw materials and so forth. It would be used for analysis of trends so that deeper corrective or preventive actions could be used to eliminate recurring root problems. Whether these are corrective or preventive is a moot point; the thing is, subtle problems in complex processes can be hard to spot and expensive to fix, and analysis of root cause data from several nonconformities can help.

Just a guess which I hope helps,
Pat

P.S. It's only a tool. If you don't find a field helpful, you can always ignore it.
 
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