Nonconformity Category Definitions

Nonconformity categories classify records so they can be grouped, routed and reported on. The list is hierarchical, so a broad category can contain more specific ones.

Categories do more than label a record. Changing a record's category reassigns its tasks, so the category list is effectively part of your routing configuration.

Purpose

• Classification — records are grouped into meaningful families rather than sitting in one undifferentiated list.
• Routing — categories can be scoped to organization units, which is what makes a record reach the right team.
• Reporting — trends are only visible if similar problems land in the same category.
• Consistency — a fixed list prevents twelve people inventing twelve names for the same problem.

Fields

• Code
  Auto-generated and unique. Becomes read-only once the record exists.

• Name
  The category title. Example: Product Quality, Supplier Nonconformity, Process Deviation, Documentation Error.

• Description
  Optional detail about what belongs in this category and what does not.

• Parent category
  Optional. Makes this a sub-category. The system prevents circular references.

• Organization units
  The organization units this category is associated with. This is what scopes a category to the part of the business it applies to.

• Active
  Inactive categories are no longer offered when classifying a new record. Existing records keep their category.

Hierarchy

Categories are self-referencing, so you can build a structure such as:

Product Quality
  ├─ Dimensional
  ├─ Surface Finish
  └─ Material
Supplier Nonconformity
  ├─ Late Delivery
  └─ Incoming Quality

Keep the tree shallow. Two levels is usually enough; three is the point at which people start guessing.

Excel import and export

The category list supports bulk import from Excel and export to Excel. This is the practical way to load an existing category structure during implementation rather than typing it in.

Authorization and Access Control

Creating and editing categories is restricted by role-based permissions and is normally reserved for quality administrators.

caution

Recategorizing an in-flight nonconformity cancels its current stage tasks and creates new ones for the team leader and team members. Do it deliberately, not as a tidy-up.