International Organization for Standardization (ISO) a non-governmental organization through its member experts comes up with standards for goods, services and systems internationally. ISO ensures that quality is met under the laid down criteria. Its members now number 160 countries.
However, ISO doesn’t give an ISO certification. Instead, you need to reach out to an external body that can certify the organization.
For any organization, applying these standards is crucial for compliance success. There are tools whose use in the execution of ISO standards is advisable to use. One such tool is ISO document control. It is a very important instrument in enabling compliance. It does this by ensuring that documentation, the processes of training and mitigation of risk is standardized.
Document control makes use of document control procedure ISO. To get and maintain compliance, document control supports ISO standards’ goals.
ISO Standards’ Basics and Goals
- To ensure quality management, risk has always been taken. This type of thinking and especially newer ways to take risks has made it to stand out. Risk-based thinking has been needed for such standards as ISO 13485:2016 as a place where important company activities like decision making and operations stem from.
- ISO document control standards also need businesses to come up with a methodical way to their operations, especially in two sectors.
- The first sector is process documentation where companies are required to have documents that detail precisely their procedural process. This is also translated to recording QMS software and explaining roles for those that deal with QMS.
- The second sector is training employees in a successful program. This is a foolproof way that standards are familiar to all of them. That way, accountability is achieved for all employees since the required standards are known to them.
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ISO Standards and Document Control
ISO standards are supported by document control by eliminating risk and ensuring processes are documented making the important functions central and automatic.
Risk Mitigation: ISO compliance stems from the central and automatic control system for documents that help you in risk mitigation.
ISO document control puts you in the pivotal area of staff training which is a very important initial step in risk mitigation. Notification of policy changes, new training needs as well as other appropriate changes is relayed to relevant people automatically.
Staff should be enabled to complete essential training and it should remain accessible to them as it keeps them constantly familiar with the initiatives whose purpose is to mitigate risk.
Standardizing and Documentation: For an organization to be able to trace it crucial operations and products, it simply needs proper documentation of them through simple organization and accessibility.
This is possible through an automatic document control system that goes even further to notify the staff of new relevant information.
Not only does the company gain from an ISO standards point of view but it also enables transparency as good business practice.
Features to consider in a document control software
- Document Storage – It stores your files in a single storage making it easy to store it, access it and sharing it to be used the future. It is a centralized process where relevant data is readily available when needed.
- Document Input – The ideal document control software enables the inputs of files from many sources such as scanners, emails and mobile applications, unlike other businesses that mix their digital and paper files.
- Security and Access – Document control software will only allow authorized access by only allowing file entry to role-based permissions. Only the right persons can, therefore, access and modify secured files.
- Indexing of Files – This feature is a process where files are associated with unique ‘search’ terms. The process of indexing means the creation of a path to the documents that are customized for your business process and employees.
- Versions – Documents are in constant change and with document control software it is possible to control the versions of documents. It is possible to view all the versions made and the most recent versions are alerted to everyone.
- Processing of document – This is a process that enables handwritten or typed text to be converted into digital data.
- Uploading in bulk – Time is saved by software that allows all the data to be uploaded at a go.
Conclusion
There are many things an organization must do to be compliant with ISO standards, however, for you to understand the concept of compliance at the basics, the process of document control is a good place to start.
