Product Recall Prevention Checklist

Based on the 10 Steps to an Effective Compliance Program provided in the Product Safety Planning, Reporting, and Recall Handbook from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), this checklist can help manufacturers effectively prevent product recalls from ever occurring. Improve the quality and safety standards of your organization using this recall prevention checklist.

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Product Recall Prevention Checklist

Develop a culture of safety and quality.
Create a system for employee reporting.
Ensure that employees are trained to recognize safety-related issues so they are prepared to elevate these issues to management as soon as they see them.
Make employees comfortable in reporting safety issues.
Create a confidential path for reporting sensitive issues.
Ensure that information from employee reporting gets to the right people in your organization, based on its structure, roles, and responsibilities.
Maintain a culture that emphasizes and values product safety and compliance with CPSC requirements and voluntary standards.
Establish a mechanism for elevating product safety reports to senior management.
Prioritize senior management responsibility for compliance.
Promptly disclose deficiencies in compliance to senior management.
Perform regular product inspections.
Make safety a priority at the design stage.
Conduct adequate and relevant premarket and production testing.
Ensure that products meet or exceed safety requirements of relevant mandatory and voluntary safety standards.
Maintain a comprehensive quality assurance program and review its effectiveness regularly.
Conduct regular audits to confirm compliance within the organization and among suppliers.
Strictly enforce standard operating procedures at all sites and facilities.
Ensure that following standard operating procedures is easy and convenient for employees.
Establish systematic procedures for collecting the information to be reviewed and evaluated for potential safety issues.
Set up a system to capture all incidents and route potential safety-related incidents to the compliance team.
Establish a central database to track information.
Investigate incidents and areas of non-compliance thoroughly.
Accomplish the necessary corrective actions and implement preventive measures.
Uphold the highest possible standards for quality and safety across the organization.
Conduct regular risk assessments and reduce risk to the lowest level possible.