Today You Need Document Control
Many recent government regulations clearly require that certain industries exercise control over their documents. These industries include (but are not limited to,) accounting, (example: Sarbanes–Oxley Act), food safety (e.g., Food Safety Modernization Act), medical-device manufacturing (FDA), healthcare (JCAHO), and information technology (ITIL). Some industries are often held to a higher level of document control, for privacy, warranty and insurance purposes. An example would be the construction industry. It’s not uncommon to hold project documentation for warranty periods that might range on average 5 to 10 years.
All of these examples show evidence of documents under control. Failing to comply with these regulations can cause real problems for your business.
These are some important aspects of document control:
- ensuring that documents you file can be easily found and retrieved when needed
- ensuring that documents remain legible and identifiable throughout their life span
- ensuring that relevant versions of applicable documents are available at their intended “points of use”
- ensuring that external documents (such as customer-supplied documents or supplier manuals) are controlled
- preventing “unintended” use of these documents (make sure they are secure.)
Fortunately, it’s a simple matter achieving document control. For more information on a simple to use product that can fit any business workflow