What Is a Corrective Action Plan Template?

A corrective action plan template will help you create a document that addresses problems and identifies how they will be solved. It is used by a wide variety of businesses such as universities, fashion houses, banks, and service agencies. It is a straightforward response to a problematic situation, such as mistakes in financial statements, inventory records, or trade secret protection. You can use corrective action plan templates to design a plan specific to your business. They are designed to write a clear plan of execution.

Preventive Action Plan (CAPA)

A corrective and preventive action plan identifies the source of the problem and takes measures to avoid recurrences. Once the problem is solved that will be added to the corrective action plan. It is not used to explain errors in clinical research studies. It is forward-looking. The corrective and preventive action plan clarifies information about source document standards and those that address protocol and procedures. Print corrective and preventive action plans on institution letterhead. It should be written by the organization or individual themselves. The corrective and preventive action plan should be signed by its author. It will then go to the institutional review board, and recorded for future use.

Creating an Effective Action Plan

Define the problem, explain what is happening, what is the effect, what should be happening and how you can fix the problem. Use a team to create your action plan and brainstorm to help create a stronger plan of action and in the course of creating a plan, you may find that you need input from others outside the team as well. Choose action steps that are

  • concrete
  • measurable
  • attainable

All steps should be clearly defined rather than vague ideas.

Identify who is responsible for each action step and who will be supporting them. Support people are not responsible for the outcome of an action step, but they assist in the process. It's important to break down the timeline for each step along the way by listing the resources necessary for accomplishing action steps and if sufficient resources are not currently available, include a plan for their acquisition. Review and update your action plan as it is implemented.

Communicate with key people about the plan's progress and effects as it is carried out. Carefully analyze the constraints that are holding up completion in order to develop a more realistic deadline and progress estimate. Always be prepared for emergencies; authorities are also supposed to be armed with a sample corrective action plan template, in case of an untoward event. If there is a legal need for a corrective action plan, find a lawyer.

Action Plan Template

An action plan template provides sections for four goals, and more can be added. The goals are then broken down into action steps that can be assigned a priority and completion status for tracking progress. Starting and ending dates can be added for each action, and a column for notes is also included. This action plan template would work well for project management, event planning, business goals and more.

Action Item Template for Excel

An action item template for Excel focuses on action items, which are listed in the first column with additional space provided for detailed descriptions of each item. The timeline for each item is tracked with a

  • starting date
  • due date
  • completion date

Other information for each action item includes priority, responsible party and status. This action item template is simple, yet detailed with extra room included for notes.

Template in Word

The school action plan template was designed with school improvement in mind. The school action plan template will help you identify the budget, materials, and time needed for each action step as well as the timeline for its completion and evidence of success. Tracking the success of each action step will help ensure that your school improvement efforts lead to your long-term goals.

Template in Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-inspired task and work management tool with powerful collaboration and communication features. Smartsheet's pre-built action plan template makes it even easier to track plan details, communicate status, and collaborate on key strategies. Easily switch between spreadsheet, Gantt, calendar, and card views to gain visibility into the big picture. Attach files and working documents, collaborate with your team and external stakeholders, and add notes and status details. And with Smartsheet's powerful collaboration features like comments, reminders, and attachments, you can store all documentation in one place for everyone to view, access, and make changes in real time.

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