Corrective & Preventive Actions (CAPAs) are the structured fixes for problems you want to stop seeing. A CAPA is not the one-time rework — it’s the change to the process, part, or training that prevents the problem from happening again.

How to get there #

Menu: Quality → Corrective Actions
Direct URL pattern: https://yourdomain.com/?bizRt=quality/capa/manager

Corrective vs. Preventive #

• Corrective — responds to a problem that already happened. “We shipped the wrong brake pads three times this month. Here’s how we stop that.”
• Preventive — responds to a risk you’ve identified before it causes a problem. “Our torque wrench calibration is due in 45 days. Here’s how we schedule it so we never work with an out-of-cal wrench.”

Both are CAPAs. Bizuno tracks them on the same screen with a type flag.

When to open a CAPA #

• Three or more Non-Conformances with the same root cause.
• A single Critical-severity NC (safety implications).
• A customer complaint trend.
• An internal or supplier audit finding.
• A near-miss that could have been serious.
• A regulatory or insurance requirement.

Creating a CAPA #

1. Click New.
2. Set Type: Corrective or Preventive.
3. Enter a short Title — describe the problem or risk in one line.
4. Source: link to the NC(s), audit finding, or complaint that triggered the CAPA.
5. Severity / Risk: High / Medium / Low.
6. Root Cause Analysis — the five-whys box. Spend real time here; a weak root cause makes a weak action plan.
7. Action Plan — specific steps, each with an owner and target date.
8. Effectiveness Check — how you’ll know the fix worked, plus when to check (e.g., “review NCs for this item in 60 days”).
9. Assignee — the single person accountable for closing the CAPA.
10. Save.

CAPA lifecycle #

Status	Meaning
Open	Identified, awaiting root cause analysis.
Investigation	Root cause in progress.
Action Plan Approved	Plan signed off, work beginning.
In Progress	Action steps being executed.
Effectiveness Check	Actions done; verifying the fix worked.
Closed – Effective	Fix verified.
Closed – Not Effective	Fix didn’t hold; new CAPA spawned.

Example: repeat mis-picks from CrankCo #

Source: NC-024, NC-027, NC-031 — all CrankCo orders, 2–5 line items mis-picked per order.

Root cause (five whys): CrankCo picker misreads part numbers → two very similar SKUs in their warehouse → they don’t use a barcode scan at pick → we accept the order without 100% incoming inspection → we trust the packing slip.

Action plan:

1. Email CrankCo account manager with the NC pattern. (Owner: owner, due: this week)
2. Add a mandatory incoming-inspection checklist for CrankCo orders until three clean deliveries. (Owner: lead mechanic, due: immediately)
3. If clean-delivery count isn’t hit in 90 days, evaluate alternate distributor. (Owner: owner, due: +90 days)

Effectiveness check: Zero mis-pick NCs on CrankCo orders for three consecutive shipments.Important: Every action step needs an owner and a date. A CAPA with “everyone” as the owner and “ASAP” as the due date is an unfunded wish.

Action steps inside a CAPA #

• Each step is a sub-record with its own owner, due date, and status.
• Steps can be marked complete independently.
• The CAPA can’t move to Effectiveness Check until all action steps are complete.

Editing & closing #

• Edit — any field, at any time while the CAPA is open. Changes are logged in the audit trail.
• Extend due date — allowed; prompt a comment explaining the extension.
• Close – Effective — require a short statement of the evidence the fix worked.
• Close – Not Effective — spawns a new CAPA linked to the closed one.

Tips for Ridgeline Cycles #

• Keep CAPAs rare. If every minor NC becomes a CAPA, the process collapses under its own weight.
• Tie the effectiveness check to a real metric you’ll see in the dashboard or a report — “NCs per 100 orders from CrankCo” is better than “we’ll see how it goes.”
• Review open CAPAs in a monthly 20-minute huddle. Status: on track / at risk / blocked. Decide, note it, move on.
• Reserve CAPA-Preventive for real risks, not general wishes. “Get a better POS” is not a CAPA — that’s a project.

Where to go next #

• Audits — findings often drive CAPAs.
• Supplier Evaluations — CAPA outcomes feed the vendor scorecard.
• Quality Reports — CAPA cycle time and effectiveness rate.