Common problems include outdated supplier certificates, incomplete traceability, inconsistent volume reconciliation, undocumented changes and claims that exceed the actual certification scope.
1. An outdated or unsuitable supplier certificate
The company holds a supplier document, but the certificate has expired, concerns another site or does not cover the purchased material.
2. A break in traceability
The material can be linked to its supplier at receipt, but that information is lost when it is transferred into a silo, assigned a different warehouse code or combined with other batches.
3. An inconsistent volume reconciliation
Purchases, stocks, production and sales do not form a coherent whole. Common causes include omitted losses, internal regrind, transfers or different units of measurement.
4. Recycled content claims are not supported by data
The value stated in a specification or marketing communication cannot be reproduced from the recipe, actual dosing or production data.
5. A lack of change control
The supplier, recipe, line, site or material has changed, but the organisation has not assessed the effect on the certification scope and earlier claims.
6. Inconsistency between storage and documentation
Material identification at the site does not match the codes used in the system or documents. The auditor cannot establish the batch status unambiguously.
7. Quality control exists only on paper
The procedure requires testing, but results are missing, the frequency differs from that declared, or there is no clearly defined response to an out-of-specification result.
8. The certificate scope is interpreted too broadly
The company presents products, sites or characteristics as certified even though the actual certificate does not cover them.
How should a non-conformity be addressed?
Go beyond correcting a single document. First resolve the immediate problem, then establish its cause and implement action that reduces the risk of recurrence. Evidence of effectiveness should be proportionate to the type of problem.
Key takeaway
A mature system enables the organisation to detect inconsistencies, identify their causes and correct them effectively, rather than relying on the assumption that mistakes never happen.