Add an Issue
This version of Quality Systems Toolbox is no longer in use. Current documentation for v3 is here.
The process of adding and resolving an issue in QST is effectively your corrective action procedure.
To begin, open the Issue Tracker in QSToolbox and click on “Add Issue”.
From the drop-down list of issue types, choose the best fit. e.g. “Product / Process Non-conformance.”
If you choose ‘cancel’, no issue will be created.
You can now fill in the details for the Issue. Fields marked with a red square are required, and cannot be left empty.
Category: Select a category for the issue. These categories can be changed to suit your company by your site admin user.
Short Summary: This text will be visible in the front table and acts as a descriptive title.
Folder: Optionally assign the issue to a ‘folder’. These ‘folders’ provide a way to group issues for later reporting and can be customised to suit. You may want to use departments, process stages, projects, … anything that makes sense for your company.
Date of Issue: Enter the date that the issue occurred, not the date you are reporting it (which may or may not be the same).
Describe the issue: Describe the problem in detail, indicating the type and nature of the problem, the deviation from acceptable criteria, the potential impact of the problem (e.g., costs, safety, function, etc) and the risks to the company and/or customers. Assessing the risk will help to prioritise the issue. You can begin the description of the problem here, and add further description with responses later.
Attach Files, Attach Images: Attach/upload any files and/or images that will assist in describing and documenting the problem. You can scan handwritten logs and forms, upload photos of the incident, attach any relevant documentation, etc.
Action Officer: Assign the issue to an action officer. This should be the person who is responsible for the next steps to be taken in resolving this issue. They will be sent an email notification when the issue is saved.
Target Resolution Date: Optionally give a date by which the issue should be resolved. You can use the ‘Target Resolution Date’ to prioritise important issues. Late issues will be highlighted in red on the front table of the Issue Tracker. For external Audit findings, the target resolution date may be the date of the next audit. Keep in mind that time will be needed to investigate the root cause and implement and verify the solution. The time needed to resolve the issue will also depend on it’s complexity.
CC List: You may add email addresses for non-users that notifications should be sent to. Note that the issue description text and the text of all responses added to this issue will be sent to any email addresses you enter here.
(Labour Cost, Materials Cost): For product/process non-conformance issues, you may choose to indicate the hours lost or cost of the issue.
Related Items: You can link to related items stored in QSToolbox that may relate to the issue, e.g., specifications, procedure/work instruction documents, the asset involved in the processing, etc.
Save.
