Do you know the difference between corrective action and preventive action? The difference between them is confusing because many practitioners don’t realize these terms have specific meaning in the quality profession. These two terms probably create more misunderstanding for quality professionals than any other pair of words.

There are two reasons for this problem. First, people tend to apply colloquial language without realizing they are defined technical terms. Second, corrective action prevents the recurrence of a problem, so the language leads us, incorrectly, to call it preventive action. With the term “correction”, the confusion can become a morass.

These two terms have clear meaning in a Quality Management System, and the formal definitions highlight the difference. This presentation uses the definitions found in ISO 9000:2005 to help attendees understand the terms, and illustrates the differences with examples that clarify each term.

This audio conference covers:

• The definitions of corrective action and preventive action
• The definition of correction and the various forms of correction
• A clear explanation of the difference between rework and repair
• A process definition and an explanation of improvement through corrective action
• A Monte Carlo simulation showing the effect of corrective action

About the speaker:

Dan O'Leary is President of Ombu Enterprises, LLC, a company offering training and execution in operational excellence, focused on analytic skills and a systems approach to operations management. Dan has more than 30 years of experience in quality, operations, and program management in regulated industries including aviation, defense, medical devices, and clinical labs. He has a Masters Degree in Mathematics; is an ASQ certified Biomedical Auditor, Quality Auditor, Quality Engineer, Reliability Engineer, and Six Sigma Black Belt; and is certified by APICS in Resource Management.

Who should attend?

• Quality Directors
• Quality Supervisors & Managers
• Quality Inspectors
• Quality Engineers
• Supplier Quality Engineers
• Design & Manufacturing Engineers
• Production and Process Engineers