Workflow Template
Nonconformance Management Workflow
Captures nonconformance reports for products or processes, routes them through quality review, corrective action (when required), effectiveness verification, and quality manager closure approval, with status tracking and notifications throughout.
When nonconformances are logged in emails or spreadsheets, reports get lost, corrective actions stall, and no one can say for certain whether a fix actually worked before closure gets signed off. This workflow captures each report as a record with a reference number, routes it through quality review, corrective action when required, effectiveness verification, and quality manager closure approval, updating status and notifying the reporter at each key point. The result is a traceable record for every nonconformance, from Open to Closed, with the trend data, root cause and verification notes captured along the way.
Business Outcomes
- Reduces time nonconformances sit unreviewed by routing them straight to quality review
- Makes it easier to see, at a glance, which nonconformances are open, in corrective action, or pending closure
- Helps ensure corrective actions are verified for effectiveness before closure is approved
- Supports faster reporter communication with automatic acknowledgement and closure emails
- Builds a consistent record timeline of disposition, root cause and category for trend reporting
Workflow Steps
Steps
- 1Create Nonconformance Recordcreate record
Registers the submitted report as a nonconformance record.
- 2Set Status to Openupdate record
Sets the nonconformance status to Open on creation.
- 3Send Acknowledgement Emailsend email
Emails the reporter an acknowledgement with their reference number.
- 4Set Status to Under Reviewupdate record
Sets the nonconformance status to Under Review before quality review begins.
- 5Quality Reviewcreate task
Quality reviewer records disposition, category, and whether corrective action is required.
- 6Save Review Outcomeupdate record
Persists the disposition, category, and corrective action decision to the record.
- 7Route on Corrective Action Requirement
Routes to corrective action if required, otherwise straight to closure approval.
corrective_action_required: "Yes"→Set Status to Corrective Actioncorrective_action_required: "No"→Set Status to Pending Closure ApprovalDefault→Set Status to Pending Closure Approval - 8Set Status to Corrective Actionupdate record
Sets the nonconformance status to Corrective Action.
- 9Corrective Action Taskcreate task
Action owner investigates root cause and records the corrective action taken.
- 10Save Corrective Actionupdate record
Persists the root cause and corrective action taken to the record.
- 11Verify Corrective Action Effectivenesscreate task
Quality reviewer verifies whether the corrective action was effective and records notes.
- 12Save Verification Resultupdate record
Persists the verification result and notes to the record.
- 13Route on Verification Result
Routes to quality manager approval if effective, otherwise back to the action owner for rework.
verification_result: "Effective"→Set Status to Pending Closure Approvalverification_result: "Not effective"→Return to Action OwnerDefault→Return to Action Owner - 14Return to Action Ownerrestart from step
Closes this iteration and restarts corrective action with the action owner since verification found it not effective.
- 15Set Status to Pending Closure Approvalupdate record
Sets the nonconformance status to Pending Closure Approval before quality manager review.
- 16Quality Manager Closure Approvalrequest approvalrequires approval
Quality manager approves or rejects closure of the nonconformance.
- 17Route on Closure Approval Outcome
Routes to closure if approved, or back to the quality reviewer if rejected.
approval_status: "approved"→Set Status to Closedapproval_status: "rejected"→Return to Quality ReviewerDefault→End - 18Return to Quality Reviewerrestart from step
Closes this iteration and restarts quality review since the quality manager rejected closure.
- 19Set Status to Closedupdate record
Sets the nonconformance status to Closed once closure is approved.
- 20Send Closure Emailsend email
Emails the reporter to confirm the nonconformance has been closed.
Fields
Show all 17 fieldsShow fewer fields
FormNonconformance Report
- Reporter Name*· Text
- Reporter Email*· Email
- Source*· Choice
- Requirement Not Met*· Long text
- Description*· Long text
- Affected Item or Batch*· Text
- Quantity Affected*· Number
- Containment Taken· Long text
- Evidence· File upload
TaskQuality Review
- Disposition*· Choice
- Category*· Choice
- Corrective Action Required*· Choice
TaskCorrective Action Task
- Root Cause*· Long text
- Corrective Action Taken*· Long text
TaskVerify Corrective Action Effectiveness
- Verification Result*· Choice
- Verification Notes· Long text
Other fields
- Nonconformance Status· Choice
- Reporter Name*
- Reporter Email*
- Source*
- Requirement Not Met*
- Description*
- Affected Item or Batch*
Forms
Nonconformance Report
9 fields
Data Views
Nonconformance Register
source, affected_item, disposition, category +1 more
Dashboard Widgets
Recommended integrations
Setup the following integrations to extend workflow capability.
Send email in the workflow
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FAQs
What happens if the quality reviewer decides corrective action isn't required?
The workflow checks the Corrective Action Required field the reviewer sets during Quality Review. If it's marked No, the record skips the Corrective Action Task and Set Status to Corrective Action steps and moves straight to Set Status to Pending Closure Approval. This keeps low-risk nonconformances moving quickly to closure without unnecessary steps.
Can this handle a corrective action that turns out not to be effective?
Yes. At Verify Corrective Action Effectiveness, the quality reviewer records a Verification Result, and if it's marked Not effective, the Route on Verification Result step sends the record back to the action owner via Return to Action Owner. This restarts the corrective action cycle, with root cause and corrective action taken recorded again on the record.
What if the quality manager rejects closure?
If the Quality Manager Closure Approval outcome is rejected, Route on Closure Approval Outcome sends the record back to the quality reviewer via Return to Quality Reviewer. This restarts the review cycle from Quality Review, so the disposition and category can be reassessed before another closure attempt.
Who is involved in this workflow, and what do they do?
A quality reviewer handles the initial Quality Review and later verifies corrective action effectiveness. An action owner is assigned the Corrective Action Task to investigate root cause and record the fix. A quality manager is assigned the final Quality Manager Closure Approval task, and the reporter is kept informed by acknowledgement and closure emails without needing an account.
What information does the reporter see and when?
The reporter submits the initial request form with details like the requirement not met, description, affected item or batch, and containment taken. They receive a Send Acknowledgement Email with their reference number right after submission, and a Send Closure Email once the nonconformance status reaches Closed.
Can we customise the fields captured on the request form or tasks?
Yes. The workflow's steps, forms and fields can be edited in the workflow editor, or changed by describing the change in plain English. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so changes can be made without losing the previous setup.
What status values does this workflow track, and where can we see them?
The record moves through Open, Under Review, Corrective Action, Pending Closure Approval, and Closed as the steps execute. Table views and dashboards show records by status, and each record's timeline logs what happened at every step, including disposition, category, root cause and verification notes.
What if we need to record additional trend or category data for reporting?
The Category field is already captured during Quality Review specifically for trend reporting and saved on the record. If more fields are needed, the Quality Review task or other steps can be edited in the workflow editor to add them, and they'll be saved on the record the same way.
Does the reporter need to log in to check on their nonconformance?
No login is required. The reporter submits their report through the public request form and receives updates by email, first an acknowledgement with their reference number, then a closure confirmation, without ever needing an account.
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