# Continuous Improvements & Standalone CAPAs (QMS)

QMS supports both proactive and event-driven process improvements. Using the _Continuous Improvement_ object:

* You can create a proactive _Continuous Improvement_ to identify opportunities for broad, systemic process improvements.
* You can create a standalone CAPA _Continuous Improvement_ when dependent CAPAs created from a quality event record do not sufficiently address the specific issue. A standalone CAPA is particularly useful when the original quality event record is closed, but you still must carry out an investigation or [root cause analysis](/en/lr/54469205/). Instead of reopening the original quality event record, you can create a standalone CAPA.

The following table outlines the conceptual process differences between proactive continuous improvements and standalone CAPAs.

<table>
  <tr>
   <th>
   </th>
   <th><strong>Continuous Improvement</strong>
   </th>
   <th><strong>Standalone CAPA</strong>
   </th>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><strong>Trigger</strong>
   </td>
   <td>A proactive improvement to an existing process, even if it's working well, to increase efficiency, improve quality, or drive cost reduction.
   </td>
   <td>When event-dependent CAPAs do not sufficiently address a specific problem that poses a threat to product quality, patient safety, or regulatory compliance, and the quality event that identified the need for the CAPA is <em>Closed</em>.
   </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><strong>Objective</strong>
   </td>
   <td>Enhance and optimize processes for long-term excellence, often with a focus on efficiency and productivity.
   </td>
   <td>Perform additional investigations to find the root cause of a specific problem and fix it to ensure it never happens again.
   </td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
   <td><strong>Scope</strong>
   </td>
   <td>Broadly targets an entire process or system to find opportunities for improvement that may not be immediately obvious.
   </td>
   <td>Narrow in scope and focused on a specific issue and its direct and immediate impact.
   </td>
  </tr>
</table>

## Use of Proactive Continuous Improvements & Standalone CAPAs

You can use the _Source_ field on _Continuous Improvement_ records to distinguish between proactive continuous improvements and standalone CAPAs. This field describes how the need for a standalone CAPA was first identified, and determines if an _Investigation_ or [_Root Cause Analysis_](/en/lr/54469205/) should be executed as part of a given _Continuous Improvement_ record. If configured by your Admin, depending on the value you provide for the _Source_ field, Vault might encourage you to reference appropriate related records and provide other information that is specific to either a proactive continuous improvement or a standalone CAPA.

Depending on your organization's process, you can create _Investigations_ from a standalone CAPA and initiate a _Root Cause Analysis_ from the related _Investigation_ record, or directly from the standalone CAPA. When you initiate a _Root Cause Analysis_ from a standalone CAPA or related _Investigation_ record, the resulting _Root Causes_ identified are associated with the standalone CAPA record.

## Recommended Configuration for Standalone CAPAs

To use standalone CAPAs, you must activate the _Standalone CAPA_ field on the _Investigation_, _Root Cause Analysis_, and _Root Cause_ objects and [add](/en/lr/26387/#how-to-add-object-fields) the field to the layout for these objects.

We recommend configuring [related object sections](/en/lr/26387/#how-to-add-sections) on the _Continuous Improvement_ object layout for the _Investigation_ and _Root Cause Analysis_ objects. Alternatively, you can add a _Root Cause Analysis_ related object section to the _Investigation_ object layout. With either configuration, Vault automatically relates any _Root Cause Analyses_ and associated _Root Causes_ to the originating standalone CAPA record.

You can [add](/en/lr/1269/#edit) values to the _Source_ picklist for use on the _Continuous Improvement_ object for users to describe the purpose of a _Continuous Improvement_. Use the _Source_ field to account for any differences in validation, required fields, layout presentations, or lifecycle operations between proactive continuous improvements and standalone CAPAs. For instance, you may wish to configure the _Continuous Improvement_ object layout to display the _Investigation_ and _Root Cause Assessment_ related record sections for standalone CAPAs, and hide these sections for proactive continuous improvements.

To configure root cause analysis for a _Continuous Improvement_ or an _Investigation_ related to a _Continuous Improvement_, you must follow the configuration steps outlined in [Configuring Root Cause Analysis](/en/lr/54469204/).