SHEQ managersSupervisorsProcess plantsMines

    Corrective Action Register Template

    One register for every finding that needs fixing, whatever raised it: an inspection, an incident, a near miss, an observation or an audit. Each row has an owner, a due date and the evidence that closed it.

    Kept per site or per area, updated as findings are raised, and reviewed at the weekly safety meeting until every open row is closed.

    An electrician testing contactors in a panel with a multimeter

    What is in the template

    Register

    Columns: Ref · Date raised · Source · Finding · Root cause · Corrective action · Owner · Due · Closed (date, evidence, verified by) · 14 rows per page

    Source is the record that raised it: inspection, incident, near miss, observation or audit, with its number. A row closes only when the evidence is attached and someone other than the owner has verified it.

    Overdue at this review

    • Open rows
    • Overdue rows
    • Oldest open ref and date
    • Escalated to
    • Signature of reviewer

    How to fill it in

    1. 1Give every finding a reference number and record where it came from, so the inspection or incident record and the action can always be matched.
    2. 2Write the finding as what was seen, then the root cause as why it happened. "Guard missing" is a finding; "guard removed for cleaning with no procedure to refit it" is a cause.
    3. 3Name one owner and one due date. An action with two owners has none.
    4. 4Close the row only with evidence (a photo, a document, a test record) and a second person verifying the fix.
    5. 5Count the overdue rows at every review and escalate the oldest.

    A general template, not legal advice. Check it against the Act, the regulations and the codes of practice that apply to your site, and against your own safety management system. The MHSA section 11 requires an employer to identify hazards, assess risks and record the measures taken; the OHS Act section 8(2)(d) and (e) require the employer to establish what hazards exist and take the steps that remove or mitigate them. ISO 45001 clause 10.2 requires nonconformities and corrective actions to be recorded, with their effectiveness reviewed.

    Convert this template into a digital form

    Run it on an Android phone with no signal, attach photos as evidence, and every failed item raises an issue with an owner and a due date.

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    The same record in Inspecable

    On paper the register is only as current as the last person who updated it. In Inspecable the same record keeps going:

    Do it in InspecableCorrective actionsThe longer readSection 54 vs Section 55 Notices Explained

    Questions

    What is the difference between a corrective action and a preventive action?

    A corrective action fixes the cause of something that has already gone wrong: a failed check, an incident, an audit finding. A preventive action addresses a hazard before it causes harm. ISO 45001 folds both into clause 10.2 and the risk process; one register with a source column handles both.

    Who should own a corrective action?

    The person who can actually get it done in the area: a supervisor, an engineer, a contractor manager. Not the SHEQ officer who raised it, and not a department. One name per row, and someone other than the owner verifies the closure.

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