The process of document control is becoming a large concern for a growing number of businesses throughout the world, especially those involved with manufacturing. Many manufacturers are subject to strict ISO Quality standards which outline standards by which key technical documents must be shared, stored, or updated in order to ensure that mistakes aren’t made. The underlying reason for these standards is that a simple typo in a manufacturing document can lead to a production error resulting in losses of millions of dollars. When considering that many documents are often collaborative projects that are simultaneously worked on by several employees, often in remote locations, the margin for error grows.
A decade ago, most companies had to rely on labor-intensive processes to ensure quality control for their sensitive documents. Not only would all authorized editors on a document have to review authorize any edits made to the document, protocols also had to be in place to ensure that all applicable users of the revised document had read and understood the edit, and discarded the outdated document. This process was usually done through the use of a myriad of signature forms, convoluted spreadsheets, and other paperwork. The document control system was less than ideal, eating up countless man hours every year.
Today, there are several document control software vendors that provide cost-efficient and time-saving solutions to this issue. Well designed document control systems provide a means for circulating only the most recent version of a document, while allowing authorized users to create new versions that can be automatically sent for approval to other editors. This software will also automatically notify users when updates are made and allow the new document to supersede any existing versions. Even better, document control software allows editors to utilize electronic signatures so that document revision approvals can be made instantly rather than having to travel throughout various office branches when collaborating employees are in separate locations
Document control today ensures that our manufacturing facilities and other companies reliant on technical documents that are subject to ISO Quality standards are in full compliance. More importantly new document control systems require less labor, less training, greater reliability, and a favorable return on investment.
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