General quality and complianceShort courseFoundation

Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Action

Find the real cause, fix it so it stays fixed, and prove it

Duration: 3 hours
Modules: 6
Final exam: 70% to pass
Certificate: No expiry

$99

Lifetime access to the course and your certificate
Verifiable Certificate of Completion. Certificate does not expire.
3 exam attempts
Progress saved to your account on every slide

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$420.75

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Each seat is a single-use code. Send one to each learner; they sign in with their own account and earn their own certificate. Track progress on your Team page.

About this course

Most corrective action reports fail for the same reasons: the problem was never defined, the cause stopped at a person, the action was a reminder, and the effectiveness review was a signature. This course teaches the discipline that avoids each of those failures, in the order a real investigation runs: define the problem, preserve the evidence, find and verify the causes, choose actions that do not depend on memory, deploy them across similar products and processes, and prove they worked.

You will work through 5 Whys, is / is not, fishbone diagrams, fault tree basics, the three legs of a cause (why it was made, why it was not detected, why the system allowed it) and the full 8D method on one realistic case from an aerospace machining supplier. Human factors are treated as causes to be understood, as AS9100D requires, not as labels to be applied.

The course is anchored in ISO 9001:2026 clause 10.2, AS9100D clause 10.2.1 and the CAPA requirements of ISO 13485:2016 clauses 8.5.2 and 8.5.3, so it serves quality, manufacturing and supplier quality staff in aerospace, defense and medical device organizations. It also shows you how to answer a customer corrective action request in a way that gets accepted first time, and what an auditor looks for when sampling your closed actions.

The course closes with a 20-question examination drawn from a bank of 30. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion with lifetime access to the course content and your certificate. The certificate does not expire.

What you will be able to do

Distinguish containment, correction, corrective action and preventive action, and decide when a problem deserves formal root cause analysis.
Write a problem statement using 5W2H and is / is not that contains no assumed cause or solution.
Preserve evidence, build a timeline from records and gather data at the place of work.
Apply 5 Whys, fishbone and fault tree methods, verify cause and effect, and identify occurrence, escape and systemic causes including human factors.
Lead an 8D investigation from D0 to D8 with outputs that a customer will accept.
Select corrective actions using the hierarchy of controls, write action plans with owners and dates, and deploy them horizontally.
Define effectiveness criteria in advance, verify effectiveness with data, write the report and respond to a customer corrective action request.

Course outline

1
Problems, corrections and corrective actions
The vocabulary of corrective action, the four different responses to a problem, when a problem deserves formal root cause analysis, and why 'operator error, retrained' costs more than it saves.
About 30 minutes, then a module quiz
2
Defining the problem
Problem statements, is/is not, 5W2H, data gathering, going to the place of work, building a timeline and preserving evidence before anyone touches it.
About 30 minutes, then a module quiz
3
Finding causes
5 Whys done properly, fishbone diagrams, fault tree basics, verifying cause and effect, the difference between direct, contributing and root causes, the three legs of a cause, and human factors.
About 40 minutes, then a module quiz
4
The 8D method
The eight disciplines from D0 to D8, walked through on one realistic case from an aerospace machining supplier: an undersize hole on a shipped bracket.
About 40 minutes, then a module quiz
5
Choosing and implementing actions
The hierarchy of controls, why training comes last, action plans with owners and dates, horizontal deployment to similar products and processes, and updating risk registers and FMEAs.
About 30 minutes, then a module quiz
6
Verifying effectiveness and closing
Evidence criteria for effectiveness, timing, metrics, when to reopen, writing the report, answering a customer corrective action request, and what an auditor looks for.
About 30 minutes, then a module quiz
Final examination and certificate
20 questions drawn from the course bank. Score 70% or higher to receive your Certificate of Completion.

Who it is for

Quality engineers, quality technicians and inspectors who investigate nonconformities
Manufacturing and process engineers who own corrective actions
Supplier quality engineers who issue and review corrective action requests
Supervisors and team leaders asked to take part in 8D teams
CAPA owners and investigators in medical device organizations

Prerequisites

None.

Questions

Which standards does this course cover?

The method is the same under any management system standard. We anchor it in ISO 9001:2026 clause 10.2, AS9100D clause 10.2.1 with its human factors and supplier flow-down additions, and the corrective and preventive action clauses 8.5.2 and 8.5.3 of ISO 13485:2016.

Does the course teach 8D?

Yes. Module 4 walks through every discipline from D0 to D8 on one realistic case from an aerospace machining supplier, including the containment update, the verified causes, the read-across and the closure.

Do I need any templates or software?

No. The course gives you the structure of a problem statement, a 5 Whys chain, an action plan and an effectiveness review that you can apply in whatever forms your company or customer uses.

What certificate do I receive?

You receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion showing the course title, your name and your exam result. It does not expire. It is evidence of training for your competence record; it is not an accreditation and does not make you a certified investigator or auditor.

How long do I have access?

Lifetime access to the course and your certificate. You can revisit any module, for example before leading an 8D, and download your certificate at any time.

What happens if I fail the exam?

You have 3 attempts. Each attempt draws a different 20-question set from the bank of 30, and module quizzes can be retaken without limit to prepare.

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About this course

What you will be able to do

Course outline

Problems, corrections and corrective actions

Defining the problem

Finding causes

The 8D method

Choosing and implementing actions

Verifying effectiveness and closing

Final examination and certificate

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