ISO 9001:2015 requires organisations to take corrective action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity in order to prevent recurrence, not merely to contain or correct individual instances.
Relevant ISO 9001 requirements
Clause 10.2.1 – Nonconformity and corrective action The organisation shall react to the nonconformity, evaluate the need for action to eliminate the cause(s), and implement actions to prevent recurrence.
Clause 8.5.1 – Control of production and service provision Production shall be carried out under controlled conditions, including suitable infrastructure and environmental conditions.
Explanation of the correct corrective actions:
D. Redesign the factory layout to better handle finished products
This addresses a systemic cause of the problem by improving how finished products are handled after ejection, reducing the likelihood of products falling to the floor. This is a true corrective action aligned with Clause 10.2.
E. Set up a system of regular inspection of the floor condition
The dirty and wet floor is a contributing cause to product rejection. Establishing regular inspection and maintenance of floor conditions addresses the environmental conditions for production , as required by Clause 8.5.1, and helps prevent recurrence.
G. Install guides at the point of ejection to better direct products into the baskets
This directly eliminates the root cause of products missing the collection baskets by improving equipment control. It is an effective corrective action that prevents the nonconformity from happening again.
Explanation of why the other options are not corrective actions:
A : Recording nonconformities is detection, not prevention.
B : Placing a worker is a temporary containment action, not elimination of the root cause.
C : Asking customers to accept dirty products is unacceptable and contrary to ISO 9001.
F : Awareness alone does not remove the cause of the problem.
H : Cleaning products before release is correction, not corrective action, and does not prevent recurrence.
ISO-aligned conclusion:
Corrective actions must remove the root causes of nonconformities. In this scenario, improving product handling design, controlling environmental conditions, and modifying equipment to ensure correct ejection are the only actions that effectively prevent the recurrence of rejected products. Therefore, the correct answers are D, E and G .
