1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.
Dismiss Notice
You must be a registered member in order to post messages and view/download attached files in this forum.
Click here to register.

Advice on Commercial CAPA databases?

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2008 - Quality Management Systems' started by Sara Nova, Sep 15, 2015.

  1. Sara Nova

    Sara Nova Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Hello,

    I am doing some research for my company on CAPA databases. We are working on implementing a QMS and want to avoid tracking Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA) through an excel spreadsheet. Can anyone suggest some good products to look at? So far Intelex and MasterControl have come up through Google U. Has anyone used Microsoft Access? Other suggestions?
     
  2. Jennifer Kirley

    Jennifer Kirley Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2015
    Messages:
    1,071
    Likes Received:
    722
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    USA
    I have clients who use Action Tracker. I'm not sure if this is is the product. Then there is Mantis, which I think is still free - it started out as a bug tracker for software engineers but might suit your needs.
     
    Sara Nova and Pancho like this.
  3. Pancho

    Pancho Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2015
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    17
    Location:
    Cypress, Texas, USA
    We use Bugzilla. It's also bug tracking software. Free and open source.
     
    Sara Nova likes this.
  4. Gert Sørensen

    Gert Sørensen Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2015
    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Location:
    Denmark, Copenhagen area
    I am not in any way affiliated but take a look at ETQ, they have a SaaS solution that is affordable and very, very nice.
     
    Sara Nova likes this.
  5. PaulJSmith

    PaulJSmith Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2015
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    113
    Trophy Points:
    42
    Location:
    Midwestern USA (STL area)
    Sara Nova likes this.
  6. Jim Hagenbaugh

    Jim Hagenbaugh Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2015
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Location:
    VA
    I have used The Lean Machine as a low cost option . No affiliation other than user
     
    Sara Nova likes this.
  7. Sara Nova

    Sara Nova Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Thanks everyone!!
     
  8. Sara Nova

    Sara Nova Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Jennifer - is Action Tracker made by Sirota? http://www.sirota.com/action-tracker™-tool
     
  9. Jennifer Kirley

    Jennifer Kirley Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2015
    Messages:
    1,071
    Likes Received:
    722
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    USA
    Yes that's the one I was looking at. I'm not sure if that's the one my client was using though.

    I have no affiliation with Sirota.
     
  10. MCW8888

    MCW8888 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2015
    Messages:
    642
    Likes Received:
    198
    Trophy Points:
    42
    We have our own internal CAPA database that's managed by Corporate internally. All internal and external nonconformance are entered in this database. I hope you will find these other software beneficial to use.
     
    Sara Nova likes this.
  11. Sara Nova

    Sara Nova Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Jennifer I am checking out Mantis. Could be a good option if the default fields can be configured. For example, change "reproducibility" to "department" or something like that. Do you know if this is possible?
     
  12. Jennifer Kirley

    Jennifer Kirley Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2015
    Messages:
    1,071
    Likes Received:
    722
    Trophy Points:
    112
    Location:
    USA
    I would certainly check out Mantis. I do not know what it would take to change category/function titles. Pancho uses Bugzilla, another open source bug tracking software. Maybe Pancho can describe how much was needed to repurpose that software for CA/PA?
     
    DavidD likes this.
  13. Pancho

    Pancho Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2015
    Messages:
    76
    Likes Received:
    84
    Trophy Points:
    17
    Location:
    Cypress, Texas, USA
    Bugzilla can be configured without too much trouble. We re-purposed some fields and added others: we use the "Product" field for "Process", and we added fields for "root cause" and "corrective action". Lists of field values can be customized. This lets you define the different processes (and other variables), and then users pick out the one from a pop-up menu rather than typing the name. You can also add lists of users who get automatic emails whenever there are updates to any CAR that meets certain criteria. Automatic notifications and custom reports of all kinds can be easily set. The documentation is quite decent for free software.

    All of the above we did without programming. You do need to be comfortable installing software on your server and fiddling with the server OS a bit to get the whole thing going the first time and every few months when enough changes have accumulated that you want to upgrade your site.
     
    Sara Nova and Atul Khandekar like this.
  14. Sara Nova

    Sara Nova Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2015
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    2
    Just to follow up on this: my client ultimately went with a little-known software called Cube DMS. You can check it out at http://www.cubedatamanagement.com. It's easy to set up and configure, and at $8/user/month, very affordable. I have 3 clients on this software now, and all are happy with it. I have also seen a lot of companies create a database in Sharepoint to log CAPAs.
     
  15. Nick1

    Nick1 Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2016
    Messages:
    49
    Likes Received:
    20
    Trophy Points:
    7
    After years of struggling with this issue, we developed an online Q(HSE) management system to amongst others, track and log CAPA's including root cause, analytics on CAPAs and reminders on the actions. The integrated solution allows you to directly link CAPA's to other parts of your Q(HSE) management system. This setup prevent it from being a stand alone activity. You can find more information on www.qooling.com

    Feel free to contact me.

    nick@qooling.com

    (Full disclosure) I am one of the co-founders
     
    Sara Nova likes this.