I have been assigned to prepare HSE Corrective action procedure and we plan to categories non-conformities only to significant and non-significant . For judgement criteria , to be honest i am struggling, because i can not go through Risk Assessment matrix for every different type of non-conformity For example if it is finding from Incident, the Risk assessment matrix is very straight forward but if Audit finding are: Lack of training matrix for X department or HSE responsibilities of supervisors in X and Y departments are not defined and documented or there is no internal Audit..etc This make difficult to judge and i can not use Matrix to judge for mentioned issues Do you think for different level of non-conformity , I should find different tools for measurement ? Any thought? Any comment highly appreciated ! SHV

To be honest I find your problem some what confucing. What is the non conformance with? The law or simply a company or system process? If the law you must undertake a corrective action to comply with the law or face probable proscution. If it is simply a non-compliance with a compant process a simple CAR would sufice. As to tools to measure non-compliance does the NC actually affect your H&S performance? or is it simple a technical NC which can be managed by simply applying what you have in ppace already more effectively? You can see by the number of questions I ask that it is not simply a thing that anyone without the knowl;edge of the company can answer, but there are some very basic concepts that need to be undertstood.

Thanks from people who replied! Bob, the country that i am working , the regulations is weak, From other side, Management doesn't want to issue CAR for every single Non-conformity (such as House keeping).. as the Corrective Action Request will be send to Line Manager for the action. So i am thinking if the non-conformity is a Hazard put it in Risk Assessment Matrix and with checking likelihood and Severity, Both (Potential) and if it is high , i will consider as a Significant Non conformity From Other aspect,i want to measure other Non-conformity such as lack of Training Matrix or lack of documented OHS responsibilities with refereeing to OHS Management requirement , so if its not fulfill , it is Significant Non-conformity because i can not measure it with Risk Assessment Matrix .. Any thought?..

Having been involved in Auditing where I am employed, we use a scoring system that works quite well. Using your knowledge of the processes award points as follows:- 5- fully compliant, 4- minor probelms but no significant issues, 2- major problem which will need attention and 0-not compliant which needs addressing asap. On completion of your Audit, get the "department" to raise an action plan to address all entries awarded points of 0, 2 and 4. Then the completion due date can correctly reflect the level of non-compliance i.e. 24 hours for any 0, a week for any 4 and a month for any 2. Of course the timings are all subjective and is best left for you to decide as the Auditor in consultation with Management. You will soon loose your credability and co-operation, if you put unachievable or unrealistic deadlines against pick up points. Hope this helps, remember above all the purpose of the Audit should be to assure Management that their workers and the workplace are a safe place to work and which meets all the statutory requirements. As i have found out, this does not make you the best liked person but that comes with the territory.