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7.5 documented information

Discussion in 'ISO 9001:2015 - Quality Management Systems' started by Katrijn, Apr 8, 2019.

  1. Katrijn

    Katrijn Member

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    hello,

    the norm states that my documents need to be controlled and identified.
    Up till now I have a bunch of word and excel documents in a folder tree on our server. Each document has a unique code and is listed in the excel 'document overview' masterlist, where version number, date and owner are indicated.
    Compliant.. yes, but actually not because nobody really uses it. (7.5.3.2.a)
    And I HATE this monster. It feels like the official Discordian numbering system... HR (my predecessor and our quality consultant (now that's a dilemma... useful, but also very constricting...) are very fond of it (they designed it). So, any changes are not enthusiastically received.

    I'm considering putting everything (process descriptions, procedures, instructions, documents, ...) in a Zendesk Knowledge Base. Very searchable, restricted access, presenting all information in a user-friendly way, sorted per subject or process.

    Can I get rid of the identification codes and just use titles as reference? Is the date when the document is posted sufficient as version control?
    Do I need to keep previous versions available ?

    Thanks for the feed-back
     
  2. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Yes! This is all that's needed. People who code documents don't realize just how difficult they make it for users.
    It's useful to archive a copy of the previous version(s) for review of changes.
     
    Jennifer Kirley and johnnymo77 like this.
  3. tony s

    tony s Well-Known Member

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    There might be documents that are already in existence or being used before the "master list" was established.
     
  4. Andy Nichols

    Andy Nichols Moderator Staff Member

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    Good point. Establishing a "clean point" is always good, if there's a degree of complexity or a large quantity of people accessing documents. If I had inherited such a mess, I'd send a bulk email out and base line existing documents "as of" a certain date.
     
  5. Richard Billings

    Richard Billings Active Member

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    Issue and/or revision numbering is the best way to control documents of any type all traceable to a Master listing.
     
  6. Katrijn

    Katrijn Member

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    Richard: yes, but I want to get rid of this system. It's a dinosaur ...
    I feel like working in the Mundaneum instead of a modern company with an extensive IT department...

    I a previous company I used a wiki. Easy, accessible, no master lists or codes ...
    (But not 9001 certified)
     
  7. Atul Khandekar

    Atul Khandekar Administrator Staff Member

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