Guide to managing non-compliance: how to turn it into an advantage for your company?

settembre 22, 2021

Having to manage a non-compliance is always a very delicate moment, it often generates discontent in the customer. But, what if I told you that there is a way to turn a stressful situation into an advantage for your company?

Are you wondering how it is possible to turn a defective piece or batch into something profitable?

I'll explain it to you in this short article!

What is a non-compliance: pre-production vs production in serie

Non-compliance means failure to comply with the requirements described in the customer's specifications, which often also precludes its use. Surely, having to manage a non-compliance in the prototyping or pre-production phase is less serious than when it happens in full series. This first of all, because in the prototyping phase the cycle is not yet final so it is under test and can always be improved. Having a non-conformity after the approval of the process makes it necessary to do a careful analysis to find the cause.

How to manage a non-compliance: problem solving

All considered, following the 8D Problem Solving steps in an analytical and precise way allows you to quickly contain the non-compliance, especially limiting the damage to the customer. A fundamental element is to have a quality department trained and capable of managing this type of problem. The key points are being able to look for the cause both within the process, but also on the product itself.

In G.S.I., we believe that acting proactively to resolve the non-compliance and satisfy the customer is essential. At the same time, we realize that applying 8D to the letter without contextualising it to our reality as an SME would eliminate all its potential advantages.

Do you want to know on a practical level how we manage a non-compliance so that it becomes an advantage for us?

Here's how to turn a non-compliance into an advantage
There are four scenarios:

the customer informs us of a non-compliance of a lot already received, which is waived,
the customer warns us of a non-compliance of a batch that is returned to us,
we are the ones making a request for a waiver that is accepted,
we are the ones making a request for a waiver that is not accepted.

In the event that the derogation is successful, we continue production, deliver on schedule and in the next batch we correct the process in order to prevent the non-compliance from recurring.

In the event that the derogation is not successful, the customer must be protected in the most absolute way by blocking production and implementing timely corrective action on the remaining lot.

Now you are wondering how it is possible to turn these two situations into advantages. First of all, every non-compliance gives the possibility to review the production processes, it is an opportunity to train the team and acquire the necessary knowledge to prevent a similar situation.

Early production containment - EPC

Taking up the concept expressed in the first paragraph, preventing non-compliance in pre-series allows you to work in hidden time without causing delays for the customer. EPC is a procedure that helps analyse each phase of the project to identify all technical issues that could, if ignored, lead to problems during production. Once all these technical characteristics have been identified, they must be accepted and included in the control plans. In addition, all production departments are involved in this phase of study, control and analysis, so the advantage is tangible. In doing so, a possible non-compliance is transformed into an advantage, because all criticalities are kept under control and it is easier to implement corrective actions in a timely manner to completely eliminate any process errors.

And how do you manage non-compliances?

Guide to managing non-compliance: how to turn it into an advantage for your company?

What is a non-compliance: pre-production vs production in serie

How to manage a non-compliance: problem solving

Do you want to know on a practical level how we manage a non-compliance so that it becomes an advantage for us?

Early production containment - EPC

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