From a failed item to a closed action

How a Fail answer becomes a deviation, then an automatic corrective action or work order, and how it is closed and resolved.

Staff nurseHousekeeping / facility staffPharmacistQuality manager (NABH / NABL)Head of departmentAdministrator

This is CareList's quality loop. Someone finds a problem during a checklist, the right person fixes it, and the record shows the evidence, from the finding to the fix.

The flow at a glance

1. A staff member answers Fail on a Pass/Fail question.
2. The follow-up questions Describe the issue and Photo evidence appear.
3. On Submit inspection, each Fail becomes a deviation.
4. Automation rules create a corrective action and/or a work order, and notify someone.
5. The assignee completes the action with a note and a photo.
6. The deviation is resolved automatically. Managers review it under Deviations.

1. The Fail answer and its follow-ups

Pass/Fail questions show Pass, Fail and N/A. In every checklist from the library, choosing Fail reveals two extra questions just below it (conditional logic):

• Describe the issue: what's wrong, where, and what was done on the spot.
• Photo evidence: take a picture, then Annotate photo (draw on it) to circle the problem in red.

The follow-ups are optional, so the checklist can still be submitted without them. Ask your teams to always fill them in, because the description and photo are what the person fixing it will work from. A few items, such as document checks, are set up without follow-ups. In your own checklists, you add follow-ups in the builder (Conditional questions).

Note: Only Pass/Fail questions create deviations. A low number or a "No" in a drop-down does not, unless an automation rule reacts to the overall score.

2. Deviations

When the checklist is submitted, CareList creates one deviation per failed question that is still visible. Each deviation records the question, the answer, the checklist, the location and who answered it. If scoring is on, the failed item also lowers the score and may make the result fail.

Managers see them under More → Deviations (Open, Resolved, All). Each one has View, Resolve (with a required "How was this resolved?" note) and Create action.

3. Automation rules

A manager sets up rules once, under More → Automation (Automation rules). Rules run when a checklist is submitted.

What a rule creates:

• Corrective action: one per failed item, titled "Fix: ". It's assigned to the chosen person, or to whoever assigned the task if no one is chosen. It's due in the set number of days (3 by default) and linked to its deviation.
• Work order: only when the checklist was run on a piece of equipment (for example Start inspection on an asset page). It lists all the failed items and appears in the assignee's Orders. See wf-equipment-breakdown.
• Notification: an in-app notice and a push notification to the chosen person.

Without a rule, a manager raises the action by hand with Create action on the deviation. The form is filled in with the deviation, and they choose the assignee, priority, due date and location.

4. Completing the action

The assignee is notified and finds it under More → Corrective Actions. Staff see only actions assigned to them or created by them.

1. Open the action and read the description. View source inspection → opens the original report with the photo.
2. Use Comments to ask questions or post progress. Set Status to In progress.
3. When it's fixed, set Status to Completed, write the Completion note (required to complete), attach Photo evidence of the fix, and tap Save.

You can't save Completed without a note. The creator of the action is notified when it's completed.

5. The deviation is resolved

Completing the action resolves its linked deviation automatically. It uses the completion note as the resolution and stamps who resolved it and when. If the action is reopened later, the deviation goes back to Open.

Manager oversight

Only managers can delete actions or resolve deviations directly. See role-quality-manager and wf-nabh-audit-cycle.

Related: Corrective actions, Deviations and overrides.