Complaints Management: Steps for performing common tasks

  1. there are two types of users being Standard Users, who can all log a complaint, and Complaint Admins, who can assign a complaint, manage it and close it.
  2. when Complaint Admin is being referred to it also applies to Super Admins of which there can be a maximum of two (2). Super Admins have Admin rights to the entire system and to all modules. In addition, they can add users which no one else can
  3. there are two main set-up functions being Admin, which is available only to Super Admins, and Set-Up, available to Complaints Admins, who have Set-Up activated on their Permissions page
  4. the module has been populated with content so that a complaint can be logged immediately. The set-up content can of course be changed as well as added to
  5. all notifications are sent by email as well as listed on the Complaints tab of the Dashboard
  6. the full user manual can be downloaded by logging into your isoTracker demo account and selecting Help from the drop down below Super Admin (or your name) at the top right

To add a user:

  1. click Admin at the top right and choose Manage Users
  2. click Add New User
  3. enter a username with at least six alphanumeric characters and a password with at least eight alphanumeric and special characters. The password is case sensitive
  4. enter the user’s details, including first name, last name and email address (each user’s email address MUST be unique and also must differ from that of the Super Admins)
  5. Click on Submit

Now the Permissions page automatically opens. To make that user a Complaints Admin which means that they can assign, manage and close complaints:

  1. click on Complaints to open the Complaints permissions and then select Admin
  2. If you don’t want the user to have access to the Set-Up function then do not select Set-Up
  3. click Submit at the bottom of the page
  4. repeat to add additional users

To speed up complaint registration, you can load a pre-existing list of customers, either individually or in bulk.

To add a new customer:

  1. click on Admin on the top toolbar and then on Customers on the left hand panel
  2. choose Add Customers
  3. enter the customer’s details, including entries in all mandatory fields
  4. click Submit.

You can customize the default fields for entering customer details using the Settings section. You can also reorder and deactivate certain fields by using the Add Fields section. Note that you can delete customers only if they haven’t registered complaints. This list can be easily searched when logging a complaint.

The process for adding a supplier or an employee is similar.

The products section has already been set-up with three (3) extra fields being Format (drop-down list), Screen Size (drop-down list) and Serial No. (Blank Field). Note that a Blank Field can only be entered on the New NC page. You can change those fields and if you find that you cannot change them then please email us with what you want and we will make the changes. To add a new product:

  1. click on Admin on the top toolbar and then on Products on the left hand panel
  2. choose Add Products
  3. enter the product’s details in the relevant fields
  4. click Submit.

The process for adding a process is similar.

If you wish to change the name of the module from Complaints to another name, then do the following:

  1. select the Module Order option under Super Admin (or your name) at the top right
  2. click on the pen icon on the right of the word Complaints in the relevant tile
  3. enter in the text box that opens a new name for the module
  4. click on Save.

Log out of your isoTracker account and then log back in and see that all references to Complaints have been changed

As previously mentioned the module has been populated with content. Below will explain the purpose of a selection of features in the Set-Up section.

To access Set-Up, click on Complaints on the top toolbar and then choose Set-Up at the top. The key selected features are:

  • Fields > Fixed Fields: you can change the listed field names
  • Fields > New Fields: there are currently two additional fields, being Type and Format Received, and additional fields can be added to this list up to a total of 25
  • Number: additional numbering systems can be created
  • Responsibility > Assigned Users: determine who can have the right to be assigned complaints and to manage them if they are not Complaint Admins
  • Responsibility > Final Review Users: determine who can have the right to close complaints if 2-step closure of complaints has been activated
  • Severity: create default tasks and a “close by date” for each Severity
  • Status: change the name of the statuses to terms familiar to you
  • Action Required: determine which fields you want displayed on the Action Required page which is the list of active complaints and is also the module’s default opening page
  • Object Activate/Deactivate > Objects: re-order the objects, also known as sections, using drag and drop. Deactivate objects by clicking on the word Active under the Status column. Edit the name of some of the objects by clicking on the Edit icon under the Action column and then make the change. Finally, add up to 2 new objects using the Add New Object feature

To log a complaint:

  • click on Complaints on the top toolbar and then click New Complaints
  • select the default Number on the right
  • in the From field select Customer from the From drop-down list, enter the search term “ISO” in the box on the right
  • George Brown, ISO Products Inc appears as a search result and select it
  • on the About drop-down list select Product, enter the search term “Micro” in the box on the right
  • select the appropriate result by clicking on it
  • in the Severity drop down list select “1 – Important”
  • then in the Type drop down list select “Late Delivery”
  • enter the details of the complaint in the Details text box
  • in the Documents object click on the Upload button and attach 5 external documents
  • then in the Assign To object select Assigned from the Status drop-down list and select Super Admin in the Assign To drop-down list (note that the Assign To object is only available when a Complaint Admin is recording a complaint and is not available when a Standard User is recording one)
  • then click on Submit at the bottom of the page.

The page refreshes, the status changes to Assigned and at the bottom the following tabs appear:

  • Non-Conformance: use this tab to connect to the Non-Conformance module and record one or more NCRs related to this complaint
  • Root Cause: create one or more Root Causes and associate them to this Complaint
  • Correction: Use this tab to correct this Non-Conformance
  • CAPA: there is no CAPA tab and therefore there is no connection to the CAPA module in the set up of this trial account and a CAPA can only be recorded from the NCR related to this complaint in Non-Conformance module (ask your isoTracker rep to change your set-up so that CAPAs can be recorded directly from Complaints and to explain how it works)

The following objects will also appear:

  • Emails: click on the maroon view icon to see the email that was just sent out to the complainant. Use this object to send further emails to the complainant by either selecting from pre-created templates or creating a new email from scratch
  • Investigation: use to record the details of your investigation and also to send Investigation notifications to internal users that require a reply
  • Payment: record any payments associated with this complaint
  • Close: to close the complaint

Note that these tabs and objects can be used in any order or not used at all and the complaint can be closed immediately after being recorded and assigned without adding any more information in it.

Use the Non-Conformance tab to open the Non-Conformance module to record an NCR:

  1. click on Record New NC on the Non-Conformance tab
  2. a new browser tab opens and key information from the Non-Conformance is copied over
  3. the key information is the About section and the details
  4. select Major in the Importance drop-down list and then at the bottom of the page assign the Non-Conformance to the Super Admin, who is you, and then click on Submit
  5. the browser tab with the Non-Conformance closes and you will see the key logged NCR information on the Non-Conformance tab in the Complaint
  6. use the document titled “Non-Conformance Management – Steps for performing common tasks” to help you with the Non-Conformance module

As an alternative if the Complaint only requires a Correction rather than being escalated to the Non Conformance and CAPA modules you can record one or more Root Causes here and use the Correction features to resolve your complaint. To record a Root Cause:

  1. click on the Root Cause tab
  2. Select an option from the Analysis Method header
  3. enter the details of the Root Cause, and click on Submit button. See that it is listed and assigned a unique number

You can add multiple Root Causes

Use the correction tab to correct the Complaint instead of recording a Non-Conformance and then a CAPA:

  1. click on the Correction tab
  2. the tab opens at the Action Required page
  3. enter a target date, responsibility and enter the details of the action required
  4. click on the Choose Root Cause link, below the Action Required section and above the Submit button, select a Root Cause in the pop-up and click on Submit
  5. click Submit.

The Correction is recorded, assigned a unique number and will have the related Root Cause listed below

To record the action taken for a correction:

  1. click on the green + sign on the right of Action Taken
  2. select a Completion Date and enter a name in the Completed By text box
  3. enter the details of the action taken
  4. click Submit.

You can then record the effectiveness of the action taken by opening the Effectiveness tab entering the relevant text and clicking on Submit. Then to close the correction remember to click on the red Click to Close button which is below the Effectiveness tab

To close a complaint:

  1. scroll down to the Close object and click the + sign
  2. If you did not close the Correction then you will get a pop-up box telling you that the correction was not closed. Click on the Cancel button to close the Correction
  3. open the correction tab and click the red Click to Close button and in the pop-up click on Submit (it now changes to a big green Click to Open button)
  4. return to the Close object, if you wish enter a comment but this is not mandatory, and click Submit.

The closed Complaint is removed from the Action Required list but is still accessible from the All Complaints page which is available to all Complaint Admins and Super Admins.

IMPORTANT: There is a feature for having a 2-step closure of a complaint called Final Review. If you need it please ask your isoTracker rep to activate it for you and explain how it works.

Complaint Admins and Super Admins can choose to reactivate a closed complaint, and view all tabs and objects associated with it. To do this:

  1. click the All Complaints button at the top and then in the Action column of the relevant complaint click on the Reactivate icon
  2. in the pop-up select a person or group from the Administrator drop down list
  3. enter a comment if you wish and click Submit.

The assigned admin(s) will receive a Reactivated Complaints notification on the Complaints tab of their Dashboard. The complaint is now reopened and can be operated as before by the assigned admin, the Super Admins and other Complaint Admins.

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