Short Note - Nonconformity

Short Note

Nonconformity

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Let us understand what Nonconformity means.

Many ISO management system standards define nonconformity as the non-fulfilment of a requirement.

A requirement may originate from different sources. It may be:

- a requirement of the applicable management-system standard;

- a statutory or regulatory requirement;

- a customer requirement;

- a contractual requirement;

- an organizational policy;

- a documented procedure or process requirement;

- an internally established objective or commitment;

- a requirement established by the organization; or

- another requirement applicable to the management system.

Therefore, a nonconformity exists when there is a gap between what is required and what is actually happening, and the gap is supported by objective evidence.

In simple terms, we can state:

Requirement + Objective Evidence of Non-fulfilment = Nonconformity

For example, if an organization's procedure requires measuring equipment to be calibrated at defined intervals, and objective evidence shows that the required calibration was not carried out, there is a nonconformity. Here, the issue is not whether the auditor personally considers calibration desirable. The issue is that an applicable requirement exists and objective evidence demonstrates that the requirement has not been fulfilled.

Regards,

Keshav Ram Singhal