8. The audit architecture: corrective & preventative action

Audits are not administrative exercises designed to catch operators making mistakes. They are a critical engineering diagnostic tool for assessing process control. Physical principles apply to manufacturing: a process left unchecked will drift over time due to equipment wear and human variables.

This chapter defines the structure of how we handle non-conformances, internal Material Review Boards, Root Cause Analysis, and our Containment Playbook. By establishing a consistent cadence for physical verification and corrective action, we ensure that our Standard Operating Procedures remain an actively practiced reality on the factory floor, not just static documents on a server.