For regulated industries across the globe, government laws and guidance documents have been designed to regulate specified industry documentation and quality processes. These regulations have the goal of public safety and information transparency in mind but regulations often prove to be financial and administrative burdens for many companies.
Automation
Automated systems both for documentation and quality management (QMS systems) processes have allowed many companies to jump ahead in terms of profits even though stricter regulatory measures were burdensome. In essence automated systems have allowed many industries to use regulations as company advantages instead of company “slow-downs.” With automation and careful process planning, companies can actually make products faster when they adhere to governmental regulations. However, there are still companies who suffer even with document management systems and quality management systems. These companies may need to consider “process overhauls” or the integration of their systems.
Integrated Automation: The Power of Document Management Systems and Quality Management Systems Combined
Many companies would benefit from document management systems that were integrated with quality management systems. This integration would allow the document management system to more efficiently be what it has always been—the lifeblood of the quality management system.
Document Management Systems Integrated with Quality Management Systems: How Would it Work?
If a document management system could trigger results in a quality management system companies could save plenty of man hours and the revenue associated with those man hours. For example, when a revised work instructions document or an SOP was revised the DMS could automatically trigger the delivery of training tasks or if the same SOP was related to a customer complaint, a deviation, a change request or a CAPA investigation, that SOP could automatically be linked to the forms associated with the quality process of choice. This would save significant time in preparation for audits and would make it far easier to help conduct internal or external audits. An integrated system would also make audit trails even more valuable since forms would be linked to related documents and vice verse. These automated actions could also be performed on a multiple levels and from multiple repositories. Say for example that a training course needed to be triggered when a document from one repository was revised and/or when a document from another document was revised. The possibilities that the integration of document management systems and quality management systems present are virtually infinite.
Other Integrations to Consider
It’s important for regulated companies to consider the integration of document management systems with other company systems such as ERP or PDM systems. These types of connections allow for easier transistions between work orders in ERP systems and batch records in document management systems and for the automatic updates of PDF copies (within document management systems) as they are manipulated and revised as CAD files within a PDM system.
Conclusion
The future doesn’t lie in many systems but in one system only. Your company could certainly benefit from an integration of systems.