Nonconformity reduction plan

Element 4.13 of ISO 9001 deals with specific nonconformities and element 4.14 deals with the action to eliminate their cause and prevent their recurrence. This additional ISO/TS 16949 requirement does seem to duplicate what is covered in clause 4.14.2. However, it does add a significant aspect - a reduction plan. One could be complying with elements 4.13 and 4.14 of ISO 9001 but have no reduction plan, since element 4.14 does not impose any time constraints on corrective action or require the incidence of nonconformity to be reduced. It is quite possible to take corrective action continuously and still not reduce the number of nonconformities. The requirement may be in the wrong place (i.e. in 4.13 rather than 4.14) but it is a useful addition nonetheless. 

The nonconformity data should be collected and quantified using one of the seven quality tools (see Part 2 Chapter 14), preferably the Pareto analysis. You can then devise a plan to reduce the 20% of causes that account for 80% of the nonconformities. However, take care not to degrade other processes by your actions (see Theorg ofcon-staints in Part 2 Chapter 2). The plan should detail the action to be taken to eliminate the cause and the date by which a specified reduction is to be achieved. You should also monitor the reduction. The appropriate data collection measures therefore need to be in place to gather the data at a rate commensurate with the production schedule. Monthly analysis may be too infrequent analysis by shift may be more appropriate. 

The standard requires the supplier to define the responsibility for review and authority for the disposition of nonconforming product. 

The decision on product acceptance is a relatively simple one because there is a specification against which to judge conformance. When product is found to be nonconforming there are three decisions you need to make based on the following questions  

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Devise nonconformity reduction plans for common cause nonconformities. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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