CAPA log health check
Choose your CAPA log in Excel. The check reads the first sheet and lists rows worth a check against 12 fixed rules. Rule-based, no AI. It is a quick housekeeping pass, not an audit finding.
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Rules used
- R01 Owner missing. The Owner cell is empty or holds a placeholder (N, No, n/a, na, -, tbd, pending, ?). Checked on every row. Without a named person nobody is clearly responsible for follow-up. Free help
- R02 Due date missing. The row is open and the Due date cell is empty. If the cell holds date text we cannot read, you see 'date not readable, not checked' instead. Without a date nobody can tell if the action is late. Free help
- R03 Open and past due. The row is open and its due date is before today's date. Dates we cannot read are not checked. Late actions are easy to spot in an audit sample and may hide a problem that is still active. Free help
- R04 Closed without closed date. Status says closed, but the Closed date cell is empty or holds a placeholder (N, No, n/a, na, -, tbd, pending, ?). If the cell holds date text we cannot read, or a Yes/No entry, you see 'date not readable, not checked' instead. A closed date shows when the loop was finished and lets you show the order of events. Free help
- R05 Closed without effectiveness check. The row is closed and the Effectiveness cell is empty or holds a placeholder (N, No, n/a, na, -, tbd, pending, ?). Closing an action shows it was done, not that it worked. The effectiveness entry is where you show it worked. Free help
- R06 Closed before the effectiveness data. The Closed date and the Effectiveness date are both dates, and the row was closed before the effectiveness date. If the item was closed before the data came in, the closure did not rest on that data. Free help
- R07 Same due date on several open rows. 3 or more open rows have exactly the same due date. You see one line per date, for example '3 open rows share 2026-11-06', not a flag on each row. 3 is our own default; you can change it above. Identical dates can be real, or can be a placeholder that nobody planned. Free help
- R08 Cause contains a keyword. A cause column contains one of the cause keywords listed below (anywhere in the text, any case), or every cause column is empty on a closed row. An empty 'why not detected' column on its own is not flagged. A match inside a longer phrase, such as 'training' in 'training matrix outdated', is also shown as worth a check. A keyword match is a prompt to look again, not a judgement: a cause can be fine with these words or weak without them. Free help
- R09 Action is training only. Every word is a training word or a filler word (listed below), at least one is a training word, and there are no numbers. Any other word or any number means the row is not flagged. A training-only action does not by itself change the process or the check that missed the problem; a second step shows a lasting change. Free help
- R10 Closed without linked evidence. The row is closed and the Evidence cell is empty or holds a placeholder (N, No, n/a, na, -, tbd, pending, ?). When the record points to its evidence, you can show it in minutes during an audit. Free help
- R11 Open longer than your limit. The row is open, its opened date is readable, and it has been open for more days than the limit you set above. Off until you set a limit. Your own limit, compared with your own data. We do not suggest a figure. Free help
- R12 Duplicate ID. The same ID appears on more than one row (ignoring spaces at the ends and upper or lower case). The second and later rows are flagged. Two rows with one ID make it unclear which record is the real one. Free help
Cause keywords: operator error, human error, operator mistake, worker error, carelessness, not followed, retrain, re-train, retraining, re-training, training, unknown, tbd. Training words: train, trained, retrain, retrained, retraining, training, instruct, instructed, reinstruct, awareness, briefing, briefed, coaching, reminded. Filler words: operator, operators, staff, team, shift, all, new, the, and, of, on, session, refresher. Placeholders read as empty: N, No, n/a, na, -, tbd, pending, ?. A row counts as closed when Status says closed, done, complete, completed, verified; if there is no Status column, a row with a closed date counts as closed.
Limits
Columns are matched by header name; every result lists how each column was read, so a wrong match is visible. Dates are read as Excel dates, 2026-10-23, 23.10.2026 or 23. 10. 2026. Slash dates such as 10/23/2026 are never guessed and are shown as "date not readable, not checked". Results are rows worth a check, not audit findings. A flagged row may be fine in context; a clean result does not show that the actions worked.
8D Gate CAPA Log Health Check rules v1.0 · 2026-10-25