Demystifying CAPA

CAPA means “corrective action / preventive action”. This concept, implemented in order to improve organizational processes and eliminate nonconformities liable to cause incidents, naturally finds its usefulness in any organization that wishes to optimize its management processes safely and legally.  

CAPA is implemented, among other reasons, either as a response to analyses and evaluations carried out after an accident or in order to avoid them after a particularly revealing audit. In fact, organizations should deliberate on multiple questions. In the case of a problematic situation, will the organization be able to apply the procedures to correct the incident? In what time frame? Which resources will be involved? Which measures need to be deployed to avoid similar incidents? This is where corrective and preventive measures come into play. It is necessary to plan a series of actions in order to remedy the situation and comply with the standards and laws meant to eliminate performance errors. In the long term, these tools aid in evaluating timelines during the implementation of a corrective action, evaluating the efforts required in terms of time and money, and determining the efficiency of corrective measures.  

Cases requiring CAPA can either be as dramatic as an accident in the work place or simply concern client complaints, which is every company’s reality. Rather than considering CAPA as a solution that helps to avoid the repetition of problems, it should be viewed as a complete process that enables the identification of the root cause of the problem. Once CAPA is formulated, it is imperative to maintain its flexibility, because, according to audits conducted to ensure the efficiency of the process, your organization might be required to revise its prevention and correction plan completely.  

Effective CAPA Management

Like all measures within an organization, CAPA requires centralization of information. It is necessary to take care to prioritize actions that will be implemented first, evaluate the time dedicated to each case, and of course, estimate the budget and the management of information. These are certain aspects to be considered in order to manage your next CAPA efficiently.   

Automated Management

With the arrival of the latest technological tools in the market, CAPA management is forging ahead towards modernity. Thanks to new management software, data is fed into the system in real time, on the computer or a mobile device.   

Internal and external reports for local authorities are now automated and there is finally a better comprehension and compilation of the statistics online. These new features enable your teams to save time and energy on management and finally focus on production.  

Workflows Management

It is possible to configure your software in order to prepare information workflows. This will enable you to lay greater emphasis on the optimal circulation of the information and approvals required at each step of CAPA management and avoid unnecessary silos. You can finally centralize your data without the fear of misplacing it. 

Customized Scorecards

You can now effectively evaluate all efforts required in the implementation of CAPA: from the timelines for installation up until the actions required for setting up. Besides the efficiency of your corrective measures, you can statistically analyze the success of your future corrective actions.  

Notifications and Reminders

With automated management of CAPA, you will have the possibility of managing your notifications and reminders online for all the members of your team. All the people working on projects will be informed in real time about future actions to be implemented. Do your employees sometimes forget their tasks? You can now automate your reminders when deadlines approach or have expired. 

Choosing a Software That Suits Your Needs

When your organization is ready to engage in optimization and automation of CAPA, you need to choose an appropriate software that is well adapted to your needs. Do not hesitate to consult our article on event management to help you find the technological tool that will meet all your requests. 

In Conclusion

CAPA management might seem complicated with basic computer applications. However, with the use of electronic and automated technics, CAPA monitoring has become an effective solution that enables you to improve the environment, health and safety.