Introduce a new Corrective Action system successfully

Introducing a new corrective action system into your organization is a good logical step which will boost your improvement culture and make your business better. Done correctly, a CAPA upgrade should make life easier for your employees, customers, and suppliers.

Plan to succeed

The deployment should be a breeze, but sometimes things don’t always go according to plan. Problems can pop up when rolling out any new system regardless of how easy it is to use. CAPA and issue tracking systems often rely on the engagement of large and diverse teams, any engagement issues can quickly escalate to cause significant deployment problems. Here are some examples:

• The new system looks strange and unfamiliar
• Operators don't know how to use it
• Why would I use my time to learn a new system?

Manage the change

"Prior preparation and planning prevents particularly poor performance". This is very true when dealing with the introduction of any new system. The key to success is planning for, and correctly marketing the change. This may feel like hard work initially, but will make life much easier later on.

Create a plan of events from the start which cover the following core elements:

Understanding the logical need for change

• Create a supportive change team (allies) who believe in the change
• Understand the benefits and what will happen if you don’t change
• Consider all stakeholders

Define the right solution

• Determine exactly what you need from a corrective action system
• Define the current constraints
• Select or design your preferred solution

Marketing and promotion

• Communicate 'change vision' to affected teams (Why is this required? What are the benefits for me?)
• Run a pilot, collect feedback and listen
• Provide limited training to pilot test teams and generate interest
• Market project status and results

Deployment planning

• Define rollout plan with critical influencers
• Provide training for all affected teams
• Roll out
• Provide excellent user support
• Continually market and promote the program

React to feedback

• Make corrections fast, as needed
• Keep monitoring and reporting project status for six months to senior teams
• You're done!

The 'new way' must be better

For any change to be quickly adopted by a team, the 'new way' must better and easier to use than your previous method of working. If not, then it's going to be a hard sell. The advantages may not be immediately apparent to everybody, so it's essential to understand and communicate the benefits for all stakeholders right at the beginning of the project.

Building system familiarity with potential teams as early as possible is also beneficial. Tantalising screenshots will build curiosity early on, be ready to engage and support your teams as they request more information.

That's all the main points to consider, if we think of anything more we will update this page.