A Positive Spin on Non-Conformance

When NON-CONFORMANCE is mentioned with respect to management system implementation, the immediate thought would be, “something’s gone wrong”.  When something has gone wrong, the typical response is normally to find out who or what is to blame and so the finger pointing and counter finger pointing begins.  This can sometimes lead to counterproductive reactions such as a drop in morale or internal conflict.

Why not take a positive spin to non-conformance?  Treat a non-conformance as an opportunity for improvement.  Management of non-conformance should be the catalyst for continual improvement.  There is also an opportunity to develop a more positive terminology for example, rather than a Non-Conformance Report, consider calling it an Improvement Action Report.  If the focus is on improvement rather than fault finding, there will be more buy in from staff.  This helps to develop a good quality culture within the organisation, something that may well make an appearance in the new ISO 9001:2026 Standard.