ABSTRACT
An effective corrective action and preventive action program is one of the foundational building blocks for any system, including Quality and Environmental Management. In some organizations environmentally related corrective actions are not reviewed by a general management review board, but are directed towards the Environmental Committee for action. Response time for an environmental corrective action request needs to be watched much more carefully due to the potential liabilities involved. The requirements for preventive action can be integrated into the corrective action procedure in several locations and included in any process flow diagrams. In most organizations, quality-based corrective actions may be addressed by a management team that may meet only once a week. For environmental corrective actions this may not be adequate — potential legal issues and other liabilities will warrant a much quicker response time.
