Non-Conformance Reporting

A non-conformance is any deviation from the approved design, specification, method statement, or quality standard.
Non-conformance reporting is a formal process that documents the deviation, investigates the cause, and defines the correction.
Common construction non-conformances include incorrect concrete strength, misaligned steelwork, poor compaction, and wrong materials.
Every non-conformance must be reported promptly — hiding or covering defective work always costs more to fix later.
The non-conformance report documents what went wrong, where, when, who was involved, and what corrective action is needed.
Dispositions for non-conformances include rework, repair, accept as-is with concession, or reject and replace.
The root cause must be investigated to prevent the same non-conformance recurring on this or future work.
Corrective actions must be implemented, verified as effective, and closed out before the non-conformance is resolved.
Non-conformance data should be analysed for trends — repeated issues indicate systemic problems in the supply chain or process.
A well-managed NCR system improves quality over time by capturing lessons and driving continuous improvement.

Cost of hiding defects	Covering up non-conforming work that fails later costs ten times more to fix than catching and correcting it immediately.
Root cause learning	Investigating why a non-conformance occurred prevents it happening again — the NCR system drives continuous quality improvement.
Contractual obligation	Delivering non-conforming work without disclosure breaches the contract and exposes the organisation to legal liability.

Do

Don't

Report non-conformances promptly using the project NCR system as soon as discovered.
Document what deviated, where, when, and the extent of the non-conforming work.
Stop the affected activity until the non-conformance is assessed and a disposition agreed.
Investigate the root cause to understand why the deviation occurred.
Implement corrective action as agreed and verify it resolves the non-conformance.
Obtain formal acceptance from the designer or client for any concession dispositions.
Analyse NCR data for recurring issues that indicate systemic quality problems.
Share lessons learned with the team to prevent the same non-conformance recurring.
Close out NCRs only when corrective action is confirmed implemented and effective.
Maintain NCR records as part of the project quality documentation for handover.

DON'T hide or cover non-conforming work — it will fail later at much greater cost.
DON'T delay reporting — early identification limits the extent of non-conforming work.
DON'T continue the affected activity until the non-conformance is assessed and agreed.
DON'T accept a superficial cause — investigate the root cause to prevent recurrence.
DON'T leave corrective actions unverified — confirm they actually fix the problem.
DON'T accept non-conforming work without formal concession from the designer or client.
DON'T ignore patterns in NCR data — repeated issues need systemic solutions.
DON'T keep NCR lessons within your team — share them to prevent repeat across the project.
DON'T close NCRs without evidence that corrective actions have been completed.
DON'T lose NCR records — they are essential quality documentation for project handover.

See also: Quality Hold and Witness Points | Inspection & Test Plan (ITP) Awareness

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