It centralizes your organizational data and information, as well as a reliable method for documenting procedures. What are the benefits?
Better control of processes
Having your data in one centralized system offers you greater control over all of your processes, no matter in which area of operations are they included. Sometimes you can have different types of documents and this can cause a some handling problem. For example, you have different workflow for a job description and for supplier specifications. The document control system keeps everything easily accessible and in one place.
The customizing of the information surrounding a document, such as the department, priority level or ISO elements is also helpful. This way, you can keep all the information in one central place, but you can search, filter and change keywords as needed to easily find documents.
A document control system is also useful with your training system. This offers you a full control over employee training upon document creation or update. When integrated with a training system, document control easily defines who needs training and automatically updates records.
Faster and more efficient cooperation
Having everything in one location is a chance for better communication, internal and external. Linking all of your documents to a central system that features automatic notifications and reminders helps you achieve better collaboration. An important factor in achieving quick and efficient collaboration is ensuring that everyone has access to the most accurate, up-to-date versions of documents.
Another concern regarding collaboration, especially when communicate with suppliers or customers, is being able to share necessary information without compromising security. Using a direct communication system eliminates the risk of information being lost or intercepted through channels like email. This type of system can filter or lock certain information based on established rules, so certain parties or users only have access to what they need and can see and no other sensitive documents or information.
Increased visibility and platforms for improvement
When information is presented in a significant way, it can be used to make decisions and start improvements. Running a variety of reports gives insight into different strengths and weaknesses throughout the organization, highlighting opportunities that need to be taken advantage of and areas that could use improvement. The results are important to make decisions. When basing decisions on exact data, you can be confident that the resulting actions will improve your operations.
When you change your processes to support these improvement measures, there is necessary to prepare new documents or update the old ones. A centralized document control system supports change requests and revision control. There is a way for revision, review and approval process of the new version of a document, which allows it to automatically take the place of the old document.
The features help drive improvement by allowing changes to happen quickly. If the workflow is automatic, you can be sure your employees are accessing the most up-to-date versions of documents. This significantly reduces the amount of time needed to implement a change. In case of any additional training needed on the new versions, the system will automatically alert anyone who needs it.
Author: Jana Loskotova
