Utilising non-conformance reporting to drive improvement

Lucy Dabnor, twoSB Management Systems Consultant

Non-conformance reporting (NCR), simply, is a way to document, analyse, and rectify any ‘inconsistencies’ from your business’s standards, procedures, or customer expectations. Usually, NCR is all about meeting ISO 9001 compliance requirements, but I think it can be so much more.

One of the most important factors in leveraging NCR compliance to enhance performance for your business is staff engagement. There are two important elements to increasing staff engagement:

·       It is important to set up a non-conformance reporting mechanism where all staff can contribute and engage. You can do this by using an online form, an app or trusted pen and paper, allowing them to report non-conformances they come across, including their take on the root cause, and any corrective actions they have already taken.

·       It is also essential to make staff aware of what non-conformance reporting really is, how it is effective, and that it is not a blame game, I have found the most effective way to do this is to hold awareness sessions and include team members in the non-conformance meetings.

Once you have raised awareness, encouraged engagement and have received NCRs, this is when you want to dig deep with root cause analysis. It’s not enough to just address the surface issue; you need to get to the heart of the problem.

To help my clients understand that root cause is never the surface issues I explain you need to ask ‘Five Whys’ to help uncover any underlying causes, remember, it’s never the most obvious reason! This is when you can take non-conformance reporting from compliance to performing for your business – you can track trends and working as a team you can implement change and improvement (corrective action) to really prevent issues from recurring.

So, the next time you encounter a non-conformance, don’t just tick it off your list. Embrace it as a chance to get better.

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