Issue Management vs. NCR Management
Issue management and NCR management are two management processes that focus on solving problems within a company. In both forms of management, it is important that when a problem occurs, it is documented and resolved quickly. If this does not happen, problems can pile up and have a negative impact on the company.
Some companies use issues for reporting and some non-conformity reports (NCRs). In this article, we filter down the similarities and differences between these two processes, and how you can handle them using a QHSE management platform.
What Is the Difference Between Issue Management and NCR Management?
We have found that issue and NCR management are widely used in various industries and markets. But how exactly do these two forms of management differ? Some companies define issue management as the process of identifying and resolving problems within an organization. It is important that these problems are documented and fixed quickly. Unresolved issues can be a source of conflict that keeps the project team from achieving goals and milestones.
Other companies define nonconformity management as a management process — closely related to issue management — that keeps control over the process outputs, products, or services. It documents non-conformities when they are found and makes a decision on how to prevent them from happening again.
Log Issues and NCRs
Within different industries and markets, problems and non-conformances are also documented in different ways. Log issues are part of the issue management process. When a log issue is created, employees can report problems and communicate what is going on. An issues log should include:
- The name and type of the issue
- A detailed description of the issue
- The name of the person who reported the issue
- Date and time of the issue
- The name of the person responsible for solving the problem
- The date and time that the issue was resolved
NCR or non-conformance management can be reported in a document. Identify clearly what the problem was or is — include the who, what, why, and when. Also, raise the non-conformance against the system and not a person. Also, in NCR management, it’s important that non-conformities get dealt with really quickly.
Assign Actions
In both processes, actions have to be taken to solve or prevent the issue or NCR again. It has become clear that problems will only be solved if there is someone or something where problems can be reported. You need a contact person who can solve the problems and not move on until the problem is resolved. Taking responsibility is very important.
When a nonconformity occurs, a company must respond by controlling and correcting it. Evaluate the need to eliminate the cause(s) so that the nonconformity does not recur and take the necessary corrective action. Corrective action is defined as the action taken to prevent the recurrence of nonconformity.
Monitor Progress
When it comes to monitoring the progress of the actions, we have seen that it looks almost identical. However, In both types of management, the issue or NCR has to be documented. There are no big differences in monitoring an issue or NCR.
Issue Management or NCR Management with a QHSE Management Platform
In both issue management or NCR management, when problems arise, they also need to be reported and fixed. It doesn’t matter what you are calling it, reporting, fixing, and preventing should be the goal. As a company, you can use online tools to facilitate these processes to save time and money. We highly recommend using a QHSE platform as it’s very beneficial in terms of saving time and money, which should be used for better purposes.
Conclusion
We can observe that no matter which form of management you use, also, it is important that if a problem occurs, it is documented and quickly fixed to avoid a negative impact on the organization.
In conclusion, NCR and issue management are not significantly different. Both follow the same processes, a QHSE management platform can make these processes much smoother.
