Re: Alturnate Terms for NonConformance, Internal Audits, Corrective and Preventative
Brian, I hope you are still with us on this thread. It was a great question. I hope, too, that you see this as a group who are passionate about quality, and there are some things that there is not a clear-cut right or wrong (as some others have correctly pointed out in their posts).
1. It is your system. You can definitely name/modify it however you want.
2. I still feel passionately, though, that there may be some underlying issues with perceiving a culture where we can't call things what they are. For example, you might correctly perceive an uncomfortable nature when you say "internal audit". Do they know what it is? Do they understand it? Do you have anybody trained to be internal auditors? Are the words really that bad, or is it what they entail?
3. After you have renamed everything, will it have sustainability after the "new" wears off? If you search the Cove, you will find a huge # of posts regarding measuring quality, customer satisfaction, etc. In my opinion, if you have some valuable brainstorming resources, I might suggest quality metrics is significantly more important than renaming Corrective Action.
4. After you rename what you choose to rename, the same level of effort will need to go into the activity. To me, it's like renaming laundry. You can call it whatever, but... it's still laundry! By no means am I saying quality activities equates to laundry, but hopefully I have made a point in there somewhere.
It's OK, and even admirable, to be sensitive to your group, and not wanting to just cram something at them. I just wonder if by developing measures of success (increased stock price, market share, raises, promotions, etc.) of the quality system, you will be able to keep their interest keen and sharp, no matter what you call it.
Please repost on this topic, and feel free to tell me I'm silly or whatever. But please do visit and tell us how things are going, and to re-post any questions you may have.
, others with getting details of nonconformities over to an irresponsive customer and others (those of us who have to get management systems in place) with getting a "one size fits all" standard to mean something to those who have to work with it in "their" world. 
