Document control is the cornerstone of quality, compliance, environmental health and safety (EHS) and process excellence. Quality process information, work instructions, job descriptions, and specifications must all be created, revised, distributed, tracked and “retired” with consistency and efficiency. While other elements of the corporation are working on various stages of automation and digital transformation, the quality department and the documents that fuel the organization remain mired in manual (or email-aided) processes.
This situation can be remedied with automation, too, but first it’s important to consider the backdrop of what makes effective document control and how it can drive operational excellence. Let’s look at ten elements to keep top of mind when considering deploying an automated document control system.