Corrective Action Request (CAPA)

A corrective and preventive action request (CAPA) is the record of how a problem is understood, fixed and kept from coming back. A corrective action deals with a problem that has already happened; a preventive action deals with one that could happen. Both follow the same path: describe the problem, contain it, find the root cause, decide actions with owners and dates, and check later that the actions really worked before closing.

The sheet follows that path in six numbered parts. The containment part, what you did at once, is hidden when the request is only about a possible problem. The root-cause part has a five-row "why" table and the usual cause categories (people, machine, method, material, measurement, environment) to tick. The action table separates corrective from preventive actions, with owner, due date and a done tick, and works out how many are finished and the percentage complete. The date of the effectiveness check is calculated from the day all actions were completed plus the number of days you choose. The wording is what ISO 9001-style systems commonly use; the sheet is a general template and does not by itself make a record audit-ready.

• An NCR, a complaint or an audit finding needs a real fix, not only a clean-up of the goods.
• The same problem has appeared more than once.
• A customer or auditor asks for the root cause and the actions taken.
• You see a risk and want preventive action on record before anything goes wrong.

1. Number the request, say who raised it and who owns it, and enter the NCR number if there is one.
2. Describe the problem with facts, and record what you did at once to contain it.
3. Ask "why" until you reach a cause you can remove, tick the cause categories and write the root cause in one sentence.
4. Ask whether the same weakness exists elsewhere, and say what you will do about it.
5. List the actions with type, owner and due date, and tick "done" with the date as each is finished.
6. Say how you will know it worked, and enter the day all actions were completed; the check date follows from it.
7. Record the result of the check, then close the request with the approver's name and the date.

• Stopping at the first "because": a symptom or a person's slip, not the reason the process allowed it.
• Writing blame ("careless operator") instead of the gap in the process.
• Listing actions with no owner or no date, so nobody answers for them.
• Counting "retrain the operator" as a lasting fix when nothing in the process changes.
• Closing as soon as the actions are done, without checking that the problem has really stopped.
• Setting a vague effectiveness criterion ("looks better") instead of a measure and a period.

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Pick the country you need. Each version uses the wording and layout commonly found there; a version marked “check with local advice” should be read by someone who knows the local rules before it is used.

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