What is Document Control and When is it Needed?

In industrial operations, efficient information management is essential for compliance and safety.

Document control is the backbone of information systems in sectors like mining, construction, and manufacturing. It ensures that documentation—from safety manuals to operational procedures—is accurate, up-to-date, and accessible only to the right people.

What is Document Control?

Document control is the systematic management of documents within an organisation. This process encompasses the creation, storage, organisation, tracking, and distribution of documents.

It ensures that accurate and current versions of documents are readily accessible to authorised personnel when needed. The primary goal of document control is to enhance efficiency and compliance by managing flow and security of information, preventing misplacement and unauthorised access to critical documents.

‍What are the Key Elements of Document Control?

An effective document control system incorporates several crucial components that ensure documents are managed efficiently and securely. These elements include:

Processes, Technology, and Oversight

The foundation of document control is the development of guidelines for the lifecycle stages of the document: who controls what and using which methods.

Document Templates

Drawing up templates for the formatting and content scope, organisation, and style make it easier to get past a blank page when creating documents. More importantly, it also makes it easier to work through large numbers of documents as a reader, without having to reset yourself to a new style whenever you open a different document. Finally, it helps ensure that the desired content is always included and document creators know what is expected of them.

Labelling System

Content is only useful if it can be found on demand. Consistent labelling with descriptive titles and metadata such as tag keywords go a long way towards being able to track down what you need, fast.

Document Distribution & Storage

Once documents are approved, they need to be distributed to the appropriate personnel and stored securely. Proper storage means documents are easily retrievable for future use and protected from unauthorised access or accidental loss. Important documents should not live on individual staff computers.

Version Control

Version control is critical in document management. It involves keeping track of different versions of a document as it is revised and updated. This ensures that everyone involved has access to the most recent version, reducing the risk of errors stemming from outdated information. This requires the previous two points having been properly implemented: labelling guides and centralised storage.

Review Workflows

Decide on workflows for the deployment of documents. Who drafts them, who reviews them, and who approves them? This may be different for different types of documents, so ensure that your system is capable of the required flexibility to accommodate this.

Access Control

Access control ensures that only authorised individuals can view or edit documents. This protects sensitive information and helps maintain document integrity by preventing unauthorised modification.

Decommissioning and Disposal

Most information eventually falls out of date, ceases to be needed, or perhaps even becomes a liability. Ensure that you are prepared with a protocol for revisiting old documentation and for disposing of it in a manner that complies with legal requirements.

Audit Trails

Audit trails record the history of a document, including who accessed it, what changes were made, and when. This is essential for compliance, especially in regulated industries, as it provides a transparent trail that can be audited at any time.

Training

Finally, make sure everyone on the team is on the same page. A system is only as good as its proper utilisation. If people don’t know how to use it, they will likely default to storing documents, with vague titles, in email threads or in their downloads folder.

When is Document Control Necessary?

Management vs. Control

To understand when document control is needed, we need to be clear on how it is different to just good document management. Control includes good management, i.e. handling, organisation, security, searchability, etc. In addition, though, it becomes applicable in situations where documents are considered critical, where they affect processes, compliance, and quality. 

The key elements that come into play with ‘control’ is versioning, change management, and adherence to regulations and laws.

Factors that Demand Document Control

Here are some specific situations where effective document control becomes essential:

• Regulatory Compliance: Industries such as pharmaceuticals, construction, and manufacturing face stringent regulatory requirements, including standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. Document control systems ensure that all necessary documents, such as compliance certificates, safety protocols, and quality management records, are up-to-date and accessible during audits. Meticulous organisation helps businesses avoid legal or regulatory penalties and maintain high standards of quality and safety. Document control is a big focus of audits in several high-risk industries, including where the risk is to the end-user, e.g. medical device manufacturing.

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• Internal Audits: Regular internal audits help maintain operational integrity. Document control assists in these audits by ensuring that all documentation is orderly and current, which simplifies the audit process and helps identify areas for improvement.

• Safety Procedures: In high-risk industries like mining and construction, safety cannot be compromised. Document control systems manage safety manuals, accident reports, and emergency response plans to ensure they are readily accessible and updated, which is crucial for worker safety and procedural adherence.

• Quality Control: For manufacturing and production sectors, maintaining quality standards is essential. Document control helps in preserving critical documents like quality certifications and inspection reports, which support consistent production quality.

• Project Management: In industries like engineering and construction, where multiple stakeholders are involved, document control is vital to manage plans, blueprints, and revisions efficiently, ensuring all parties have the most current information.

Industry-specific examples

• Healthcare: Ensures accurate documentation by securely storing patient records, such as X-rays and lab results, to safeguard patient confidentiality.
• Manufacturing: Maintains consistency by tracking production processes, ensuring traceability of parts like engine components, and meeting industry standards.
• Engineering and Construction: Streamlines collaboration by enabling teams to access and update the latest project blueprints and plans, ensuring that all contractors are using the most recent designs.
• Pharmaceuticals: Manages and tracks documentation by recording each step of drug development, from initial research trials to final production batches.
• Aerospace and Defence: Ensures compliance and safety standards by meticulously documenting design changes in critical components, such as turbine blades, and maintaining detailed maintenance records.
• Finance and Banking: Facilitates secure management of financial records, such as loan agreements and transaction histories.
• Information Technology: Manages hardware compatibility documentation by verifying and recording compatibility tests between new software updates and existing hardware infrastructure.
• Energy and Utilities: Documenting maintenance schedules for power plants and meeting regulatory compliance with detailed environmental precaution measures.
• Legal and Professional Services: Organises and manages vast arrays of legal documents by cataloguing client records, contracts, and case files systematically.
• Government and Public Sector: Ensures transparency and accountability by keeping extensive documentation of policies, procedures, and legal requirements, such as public expenditure reports and legislative documents.

The Rewards of Good Document Control

Implementing a robust document control system brings a myriad of benefits impacting the efficiency, safety, and compliance of an organisation. Here are the key advantages:

• Improved Efficiency: Automated workflows and streamlined document access boost productivity and reduce time wasted searching for information.
• Reduced Errors: Maintaining current document versions and accurate revisions minimises the risk of errors from outdated information.
• Confident Compliance: Easy access to compliance documents during audits helps meet regulatory standards, avoiding penalties.
• Improved Safety: Quick access to updated safety procedures minimises accident risks.
• Reliable Quality: Consistent adherence to documented procedures and specifications supports high-quality outputs.

Tips on Implementing Document Control in Your Business

Implementing a robust document control system can seem like a big task. Here’s how you can start:

• Assess Your Current System: Begin by evaluating your existing document management processes to identify areas of improvement. Understanding where documents are stored, how they are accessed, and who manages them will help pinpoint what changes are needed. It’s also a good idea to talk to people on your team and see what they like to complain about when it comes to accessing or handling documents.
• Define Safety Standards: Develop and document standard operating procedures for creating, reviewing, updating, and archiving documents. Ensure these procedures include clear guidelines on document version control and access rights.
• Choose the Right Tools: Optimise your document management system with myosh. The Document Control module provides secure storage, easy retrieval, and complete version control. Configure your own workflow and access rules, and let myosh take care of storage and availability with its ISO 27001 compliant AWS servers.
• Train Your Staff: Educate your team on the importance of document control and train them in using the chosen document management system effectively. Ensure they understand the new procedures and the role they play in maintaining document integrity.
• Monitor and Review: Regularly review the document control process to ensure it meets your business needs. Continuously seek feedback from users and make adjustments as necessary to improve the system’s effectiveness and user compliance.

Take Control with Effective Document Management

Effective document control is pivotal for maintaining safety, compliance, and efficiency in any organisation. To streamline this essential process, investing in reliable document control software can be a game changer.

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Start your free trial today with myosh and experience firsthand how our tailored solutions can enhance your document management system.