So judging from all your comments and other threads on this subject I have a few more questions as follows:
1. Can I issue a PA without having the need to issue a CA?
2. Do I need to know the Root cause of the problem before issuing the PA?
3. Do I need to know the Root cause before issuing a CA?
4. Can the Root cause potentially be different for a CA and a PA or are we really looking at resolving the same problem but with different time elements (i.e. past and future)?
Regards
Christopher
I think you suffer from a very common misconception.
If you think that Preventive action (as required by element 8.5.3) is what you do to keep something you have completed a Corrective Action on to prevent it from happening again, you are wrong.
That would be part of the Corrective Action.
Corrective Actions are reactive in nature. They are what you do to overcome something that has happened.
Preventive Actions are proactive in nature. Thay are what you do to keep a POTENTIAL problem from happening.
Think in terms of a train wreck. Once the wreck has happened, everything you do from that point on about that train wreck are part of a Corrective Action because it has already happened.
If you can see a train wreck is imminent, what you do to keep it from happening is part of a Preventive Action.
When you ask if you need to have a Corrective Action before you attempt to do a Preventive Action shows that you do not understand. They are, as Randy pointed out, seperate issues.
Take a look at the standard, and underline the word "recurrance" in 8.5.2 and underline the word "occurance" in 8.5.3. That may help to see the difference.