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🔎 Corrective Action Reports

Investigating and resolving quality issues with CARs

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Overview

A Corrective Action Report (CAR) is a formal record used to investigate the root cause of a quality problem and track the actions taken to resolve it and prevent recurrence. CARs are typically opened in response to a Non-Conformance Report (NCR), a customer complaint, or an internal audit finding.

A well-completed CAR answers three questions: Why did it happen? (root cause), What was done to fix it? (corrective action), and How will it be prevented in the future? (preventive action).

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CAR List View

The CAR list shows all Corrective Action Reports in your workspace. Search by CAR number, title, or part number, and filter by status or assignee using the controls in the top bar.

• Search — finds matches in CAR number, title, or part number.
• Status filter — filter to Open, In Progress, Completed, or show all.
• Assignee filter — narrow to CARs assigned to a specific team member.

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Creating a CAR

Editors with the appropriate permission can create a new CAR using the form at the top of the list view (unlock the view first). Fill in the title and description and click Add CAR. The CAR number is assigned automatically in sequence.

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Fields Reference

Field	Description
CAR #	Auto-assigned sequential number (displayed as CAR-000001).
Title	A brief label for the corrective action investigation.
Description	Background on the issue being investigated — what happened, when, and the scope of impact.
Part Number	The part number most directly associated with this CAR (optional).
Status	Open, In Progress, or Completed.
Assigned To	The team member leading the investigation.
Due Date	Target completion date for the corrective action.
Linked NCR #	The NCR that triggered this CAR, if any. Entering an NCR number here causes the NCR detail view to display this CAR in its Linked CARs card.
Root Cause	The underlying reason the issue occurred. See below.
Corrective Action	The specific actions taken to fix the immediate problem.
Preventive Action	Steps taken to prevent the issue from recurring.

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CAR Detail View

Click a CAR number in the list to open its detail view. The detail view shows all fields in a read-only layout. Editors can click Edit to update any field. Below the form, derived cards show any Linked ECRs and Linked MCRs that reference this CAR, followed by the comment thread.

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Root Cause, Corrective & Preventive Action

These three text fields are the heart of a CAR:

• Root Cause — the fundamental reason the problem occurred. Techniques like 5-Why analysis or fishbone diagrams are often used to determine root cause. Be specific — "insufficient incoming inspection" is more actionable than "human error."
• Corrective Action — what was done to address the immediate problem. Examples: replacing nonconforming parts, issuing a vendor corrective action request, updating a work instruction.
• Preventive Action — systemic changes to prevent recurrence. Examples: adding a new inspection step, updating acceptance criteria, retraining staff.

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Comments

The comment thread provides a running log of investigation notes, interim findings, and updates. All workspace members can view comments; editors can add, edit, and delete their own. Comments are timestamped and shown in chronological order.

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Closing a CAR

Change the status to Completed once the root cause has been identified, corrective action has been implemented, and preventive action is in place. The completion date is recorded automatically when the status is set to Completed. Closed CARs remain searchable and visible in the list.

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See also: Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs)

If you have questions, please visit our Contact page.