1. The Certified Quality Process Handbook Chapter 22: Preventive Action
Presented by Dr. Joan Burtner
Certified Quality Engineer
Associate Professor and Chair
Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Industrial Management
Mercer University

2. Introduction to Preventive Action
Actions taken to avoid making a mistake or creating a defective product
Formal definitions – Preventive action is …
action taken to remove or improve a process to prevent potential future occurrences of a nonconformance (ASQ Glossary)
action taken to eliminate the potential causes of a nonconformity, defect, or other undesirable situation in order to prevent occurrence (CQPA 2nd edition)
Process steps
Identify potential problems
Identify potential causes
Develop preventive action plan
Implement preventive action plan
Verify and confirm effectiveness
IDM ISE ETM 2017
Dr. Joan Burtner, Assoc. Prof. and Chair, Dept. of Industrial Engineering

3. Identify Potential Problems
Standard (straightforward) sources of information
Customer feedback
Quality records
Audit results
Analytical methods
Review corrective action reports (CAR) and look for applicability to similar processes or products
Review product and process monitoring reports and look for trends
Use Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) results
IDM ISE ETM 2017
Dr. Joan Burtner, Assoc. Prof. and Chair, Dept. of Industrial Engineering

4. Identify Potential Causes
Use flowcharts or value stream maps
Document “as-is” condition of a process
Serve as a communication tool for preventive action team members
Use a team to conduct a failure mode and effects analysis (ASQ Glossary)
A systemized group of activities to recognize and evaluate the potential failure of a product or process and its effects, identify actions that could eliminate or reduce the occurrence of the potential failure and document the process
Ideally, FMEA is conducted early in the product life cycle
Quality Function Deployment may be helpful for some new products
IDM ISE ETM 2017
Dr. Joan Burtner, Assoc. Prof. and Chair, Dept. of Industrial Engineering

5. FMEA Methodology
Potential failures are brainstormed and placed in a table as shown in Table of the CPQA 2nd edition
Risk priority number (RPN) is calculated to help prioritize the order in which each potential failure should be addressed.
RPN = S x O x D
S = severity,
O = likelihood of occurrence
D = probability of detection
IDM ISE ETM 2017
Dr. Joan Burtner, Assoc. Prof. and Chair, Dept. of Industrial Engineering

6. Preventive Action Plans
Address potential failures that have high RPN ratings
Identify recommended actions
May completely eliminate the cause
May reduce the occurrence
May improve detection
Action plan implementation should be tracked
Preventive action effectiveness should be verified and confirmed
IDM ISE ETM 2017
Dr. Joan Burtner, Assoc. Prof. and Chair, Dept. of Industrial Engineering