A corrective action is the action taken to eliminate the root cause of a detected nonconformity and prevent its recurrence.
According to ISO 9000:2015, corrective action is action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity and prevent recurrence. It differs from correction (which only remedies the immediate effect). It requires root cause analysis, change implementation and effectiveness verification. It is a mandatory requirement of clause 10.1 in all Annex SL ISO standards.
ISO standards do not set rigid deadlines. The timeframe must be proportional to risk. In certification audits, major nonconformities typically require corrective action evidence within 90 days.
No. Corrective action responds to a nonconformity that already occurred. Preventive action (term used in earlier ISO standard versions) sought to prevent potential nonconformities. In current versions, the concept is integrated into risk-based thinking.
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