Corrective Action (CAPA) Tools

Prevent "Death by CAPA" With the Right CAPA Tools

As the FDA, EMA, and other global regulatory agencies continue to tighten their oversight, developing a successful CAPA program is more important than ever, especially for organizations operating in the life sciences and manufacturing industries. In fact, one could argue that the very survival of these highly regulated companies depends upon the efficiency and efficacy of their corrective action processes, and the CAPA tools they use to facilitate those processes.

In order to be successful, a CAPA process must include a consistent method for identifying and investigating nonconformances, which are defined as an action (or result of any action) that does not meet specified regulatory requirements. While there is no denying that nonconformances must be controlled, it is important to remember that not all of them will be serious enough to require a CAPA, or the utilization of corrective action tools. In fact, employees that flood their respective companies with an overabundance of CAPA entries, often referred to as "Death by CAPA", may be doing more harm than good. CAPA investigations can take a significant economic toll on an organization's bottom line. Think of all of the time, money, and energy that life sciences and other regulated companies devote to resolving CAPA issues. Wouldn't these resources be better spent on research and development, marketing, and other efforts that help gain market share and profits? Using risk as a filter, the right CAPA tools can help regulated organizations streamline their CAPA process to avoid the "Death by CAPA" dilemma, improve their cost reduction and process improvement efforts, and remain competitive.

How Automated CAPA Tools Help Reduce Costs and Improve Efficiency

Without robust automated CAPA tools, ensuring effective CAPA oversight can be challenging, particularly in today's fledgling economy where companies are struggling to do more with fewer resources. Once the CAPA process is initiated, the company is obligated to see it through to resolution, which means it must research and determine the root cause of the issue, as well as identify the appropriate corrective action (and corrective action tools) needed to remedy it. CAPA event resolution can be overwhelming, especially when a company is investigating numerous open CAPAs simultaneously. Automated CAPA systems are designed to automate the manual processes regularly used to resolve CAPA issues. Not only does this save significant time and money, it also reduces the risk of human error.

According to the FDA, "the level of study should be commensurate with the risk involved." However, far too many companies continue to deploy their already scarce resources to work on quality events that carry minimal risk for the company. Corrective action tools - like MasterControl CAPA™ - help overburdened companies deploy and automate good risk management processes as a way to filter or classify CAPAs based on severity.

The most common risk filter should consist of a matrix that evaluates impact (e.g., critical, important, minor, and negligible) and frequency (e.g., continually, frequently, occasionally, and rarely); this simple matrix is an essential CAPA tool. Using it, a company can determine whether the issue or event requires corrective action, mitigation/containment, or simple observation. This type of risk filter should precede the organization's SOPs and work-forms, which dictate the data entry and analysis of complaints, deviations, and audit findings. The faster a company can implement these types of automated CAPA tools, the faster it can reduce its number of open CAPAs and achieve corrective action and preventive action compliance success.

MasterControl's CAPA Tools Help Companies Develop Effective CAPA Management

MasterControl's electronic corrective action tools are designed to comply with 21 CFR Part 11 and meet FDA GMP, GLP, GCP, and other stringent quality requirements around the globe. MasterControl automates and streamlines not only all CAPA-related documentation and activities, such as routing, follow-up, escalation, and approval, but also the documents and tasks of other quality processes - including risk assessment and management - which are critical to effective CAPA management. This integration helps companies improve their overall compliance efforts. MasterControl CAPA offers:

• Best-Practice Process and Forms: MasterControl's electronic "8D" process is based on industry best practices, and designed to guide and support the quality team through the entire CAPA process. Closed-loop CAPA management (from root-cause investigation through implementation of preventive action) yields many competitive advantages. As part of its corrective action tools, MasterControl also offers a form that will simplify the time - consuming process of gathering data; it can be used as is or configured according to a company's particular compliance needs.
• Part 11 Compliant Features: There are a plethora of automated CAPA systems available, but MasterControl is different. MasterControl solutions were designed to satisfy the most stringent quality regulations. Companies who use MasterControl enjoy the peace-of-mind of knowing that their tools are compliant with 21 CFR Part 11 requirements on security features, time-stamped audit trail, electronic signature capabilities, and other important requirements.
• Robust Analytics and Reporting Capabilities: In order to be successful, an organization's CAPA tools must be easy to manage and transparent. Lack of visibility hinders the efficiency of an organization and can lead to quality "blind spots" that allow serious CAPAs to fall through the cracks. MasterControl's robust analytics and reporting capabilities provide standard and configurable reports that improve the management and monitoring of CAPAs. For added convenience and quality assurance, reports can be scheduled in advance or sent to users regularly.
• Web-Based Platform: One of the reasons companies prefer MasterControl's CAPA is because they are part of a configurable, off-the-shelf enterprise-wide quality management solution that can be installed, implemented, and validated quickly, which allows for faster CAPA compliance and accelerated time to market.
• Centralized Database: Locating documents in preparation for or during audits and inspections is difficult and time-consuming in a manual or paper-based system. Fortunately, MasterControl provides users with a centralized repository to house all CAPA-related documentation, which makes search and retrieval quick and easy; tools like this can be the difference between passing and failing an audit or inspection.
• Revision Control: Without realizing it, many point solutions like legacy and paper-based systems create data silos that inhibit communication and collaboration, making it almost impossible to pass critical information about one quality process or department to another. Inaccurate and/ or redundant documentation is often the result. MasterControl CAPA was designed to break down or avoid data silos. For example, the solution's automatic revision control ensures that only the most current version of a document is available, so users avoid the mistake of utilizing obsolete or unapproved documents.
• Integrates with Training, Risk, and Other Quality Processes: Unlike many other corrective action tools on the market, MasterControl CAPA can integrate the CAPA process with training control, risk management, document management, audit management, and other quality processes in an enterprise-wide fashion. This allows for a more holistic approach to quality and compliance management.

For More Information on Corrective Action (CAPA) Tools

For more information about MasterControl's CAPA tools, please feel free to contact a contact MasterControl online or call toll free at 1.800.825.9117 to speak with a representative.