# CAPA Program Maturity Assessment > Source: https://netray.co/tools/capa-program-maturity-assessment > Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems. > Section: Free Tools ## Short answer Ten questions that score how well your CAPA process finds real causes, closes on evidence and uses data to prevent recurrence. ## Category quality ## Audience - Quality manager - Quality director - Compliance lead ## Tool **Kind:** assessment **Questions:** #### What triggers a CAPA in your plant? **Options:** ##### Whatever the quality manager decides, no criteria **Score:** 0 ##### Customer complaints and audit findings only **Score:** 1 ##### Written criteria including severity and recurrence **Score:** 2 ##### Written criteria plus automatic triggers from trend data **Score:** 3 #### How are root causes determined? **Options:** ##### The first cause suggested is recorded **Score:** 0 ##### 5 Whys is done by one person **Score:** 1 ##### A team uses structured methods and checks with data **Score:** 2 ##### Causes are verified by trial and escape point is analysed **Score:** 3 #### How often is human error the stated root cause? **Help:** Looking at your last 20 closed CAPAs. **Options:** ##### In most of them **Score:** 0 ##### In about half **Score:** 1 ##### Occasionally, always with a system cause behind it **Score:** 2 ##### Rarely, and only after process causes are ruled out **Score:** 3 #### How is containment handled? **Options:** ##### Not formally recorded **Score:** 0 ##### Recorded but not verified **Score:** 1 ##### Recorded with owner and date **Score:** 2 ##### Recorded, verified, and includes shipped and in-transit stock **Score:** 3 #### How are corrective actions selected? **Options:** ##### Retraining or a reminder is the usual action **Score:** 0 ##### Procedure changes are the usual action **Score:** 1 ##### A mix including process and tooling changes **Score:** 2 ##### Preference for error-proofing, with FMEA and control plan updated **Score:** 3 #### When is a CAPA closed? **Options:** ##### When the action is marked done **Score:** 0 ##### When the owner says it works **Score:** 1 ##### After a planned effectiveness check **Score:** 2 ##### After effectiveness data with defined criteria and approval **Score:** 3 #### How long do CAPAs stay open? **Options:** ##### Unknown, we do not measure it **Score:** 0 ##### Many are older than 6 months **Score:** 1 ##### Most close within target with some overdue **Score:** 2 ##### Aging is reviewed weekly and few are overdue **Score:** 3 #### Do suppliers receive and respond to corrective actions? **Options:** ##### No formal process **Score:** 0 ##### Email requests with no tracking **Score:** 1 ##### Tracked requests with due dates **Score:** 2 ##### Tracked, reviewed for quality and linked to supplier scorecards **Score:** 3 #### How is NCR and CAPA data analysed? **Options:** ##### It is not analysed **Score:** 0 ##### Counts reported at management review **Score:** 1 ##### Monthly Pareto by defect, supplier and process **Score:** 2 ##### Trends drive preventive action and resourcing decisions **Score:** 3 #### How are lessons spread to similar products and lines? **Options:** ##### They are not **Score:** 0 ##### Informally by conversation **Score:** 1 ##### A similar-process check is part of closure **Score:** 2 ##### Documented horizontal deployment with FMEA updates **Score:** 3 **Bands:** #### Reactive **Min:** 0 **Max:** 30 **Verdict:** Your CAPA process records problems but rarely prevents them coming back. **Recommendations:** - Write trigger criteria and a simple CAPA form with required fields - Stop closing on action completion, add an effectiveness check date - Challenge every human error cause with a why the system allowed it #### Developing **Min:** 31 **Max:** 60 **Verdict:** The basics exist but rigor varies between investigations. **Recommendations:** - Standardize root cause methods and require evidence for the cause - Track CAPA aging and review it weekly - Add containment verification and supplier response tracking #### Controlled **Min:** 61 **Max:** 85 **Verdict:** Your process is consistent and auditable, with room to use data more. **Recommendations:** - Use trend analysis to open preventive actions before customers complain - Prefer error-proofing over procedure changes - Document horizontal deployment as part of closure #### Preventive **Min:** 86 **Max:** 100 **Verdict:** Your CAPA system closes on evidence and feeds learning into design and planning. **Recommendations:** - Review effectiveness criteria for recurring problems - Feed lessons into FMEA and new product reviews - Automate reporting so quality time goes to investigation ## Content **Intro:** A CAPA program can look healthy on paper while the same problems keep returning. This ten question assessment scores the habits that separate a record-keeping process from one that prevents recurrence. **Sections:** #### How to use the assessment **Body:** Answer based on what actually happens, using your last 20 closed CAPAs as a sample, not what the procedure says. Ideally have two or three people answer separately, such as the quality manager, a production supervisor and an auditor, then compare results. Differences show where the written process and daily practice diverge. Export the result and recommendations to PDF to use in a management review or improvement plan. #### What the questions measure **Body:** The questions cover the life of a CAPA: the trigger, root cause rigor, containment, action quality, closure, aging, supplier involvement, data analysis and horizontal deployment. Each is scored from zero to three. The total is converted to a percentage and mapped to four bands from Reactive to Preventive. The scoring is a self-assessment tool, not an audit result, and is useful mainly for tracking change over time. **Bullets:** - Triggers and containment - Root cause and action quality - Closure and effectiveness - Data analysis and spread of learning #### Common mistakes when improving CAPA **Body:** Teams often respond to a low score by adding forms and approval steps, which slows the process without improving it. Focus on the few habits that matter most: verify causes, prefer actions that change the process, define effectiveness criteria up front and review aging weekly. Also resist opening a CAPA for everything. A trigger criteria that sends only significant or recurring problems into CAPA lets the team do each one properly. **Cta:** If CAPA aging, supplier responses and NCR trends are hard to see because data sits in several systems, we can help build a read-only quality dashboard on your ERP data. **Faq:** #### Is this an official audit score? **Answer:** No. It is a self-assessment for internal improvement. Auditors judge against your quality system and the standard that applies to you, so use this as a preparation aid only. #### How often should I repeat it? **Answer:** Twice a year is common, or after a major change to the process. Compare results over time and note which questions moved, rather than focusing on the total alone. #### What is an effectiveness check? **Answer:** It is a planned review, after actions are in place, that checks with data whether the problem has stopped recurring. It has defined criteria, a date and an owner, and the CAPA is closed only if it passes. #### Should every NCR become a CAPA? **Answer:** No. Simple one-off nonconformances can be corrected and recorded in the NCR. Open a CAPA for significant, recurring or systemic problems, using documented criteria so decisions are consistent. ## Search terms capa maturity assessment, capa program effectiveness, corrective action process self assessment, quality system maturity quiz, capa audit readiness, capa process improvement, corrective action effectiveness check, capa metrics --- Talk to an engineer: https://netray.co/contact?intent=erp_ai | Machine catalog: https://netray.co/agent/catalog.json