Document control has become a vital practice within organizations to ensure that information is accurate, up-to-date, accessible, and aligned with the nature of the business. In a world where information has become the lifeblood of organizations, the best document control software ensures the proper flow of information and transparency of business activities to help companies function efficiently.
Document control is the process of managing documents throughout their lifecycle, from creation to disposal, in a systematic and organized manner. It ensures the accuracy, completeness, accessibility, and security of documents to meet regulatory compliance, quality standards, and operational needs.
It involves setting up policies and procedures ensuring access to files, information, and resources, managing changes to various documents and files, improving due to technology solutions, and supporting efficient control of documents.
What are the Benefits of Document Control?
Effective control of documents is essential for organizations seeking to streamline their operations and enhance their information management processes. By implementing robust control procedures and adhering to best practices, businesses can realize a wide range of benefits.
The main benefits are:
1- Increased Productivity
According to a recent survey, knowledge workers spend nearly half of their time looking for information. By ensuring easy access to the right documents, reducing the time spent searching for information, and enhancing collaboration through efficient version control, it enables employees to work more effectively.
Furthermore, an effectively implemented procedure ensures that employees are always working on the most recent version of a document which eliminate the chance of taking decisions based on outdate information.
2- Improved Quality
Document version control is at the heart of all document management best practices. It is critical to managing access, track revisions, and control access by preventing documents from falling into the hands of the wrong people.
This, coupled with direct approval workflows, will help maintain document integrity and compliance with different rules and regulations related to your industry. Taking good care of your documents will minimize the likelihood of errors and allows you to continuously improve the use of accurate and reliable data.
3- Enhanced Compliance
Retaining information beyond its mandated duration or deleting records while still needed for the business operation will inevitably expose the company to potential fines, sanctions, or legal repercussions. By implementing audit trails and access restrictions, organizations will demonstrate their commitment to compliance, mitigating the risk of fines and legal consequences.
It is very important to have in-depth information about records retention.
For example, regulatory agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require strict documentation and reporting for drug development and manufacturing. By implementing DC procedures, pharmaceutical companies can ensure that all research, testing, and production documents are properly organized and easily accessible. This streamlines the review and approval process, accelerates product development timelines, and minimizes errors.
4- Improved Security
By imposing strict access control and limiting access to documents to authorized personnel only, your organization will reduce the likelihood of having internal data breaches. In addition, there should be a transparent log of changes happened on documents to identify at any point of time what are the operations happened to any document.
In the event of a security breach, it also helps in quickly identifying the source of the problem and implementing corrective actions.
Key Steps in a Document Control Process
These fundamental steps are necessary to have an efficient implementation:
1. Identify document types
By classifying documents based on their type and purpose, organizations can establish clear guidelines for handling, storing, and managing each category. This, in turn, simplifies document retrieval, reduces the risk of mismanagement, and ensures that the right people have access to the right information.
2. Establish quality standards
By defining quality benchmarks and expectations for documents, organizations can maintain consistency in content, formatting, and information accuracy. This not only enhances document reliability but also contributes to overall quality assurance, as standardized documents reduce the risk of errors and inconsistencies.
3. Create document naming convention
A standardized naming convention makes it easy to locate and identify documents quickly, reducing the chances of misfiled or lost information. It also aids in version control by clearly indicating the document’s revision status.
So, a document related to the “Project X” might be named “PX-v2.0-UserGuide-2023-10-15.” This convention allows team members to quickly identify the project, its version, and the document’s content just by looking at the file name
4. Establish revisions procedures
Revision procedures ensure that each modification to a document is carefully reviewed, approved, and documented, which is essential for maintaining accuracy and compliance. The use of control numbering, such as version or revision numbers, enables easy identification of the most current version of a document, reducing the risk of working with outdated information.
5. Control document access
By specifying who can view, edit, or delete documents, organizations protect against unauthorized access and alterations. This control not only safeguards against data breaches and compliance violations but also promotes accountability and traceability in document management.
Effective document access control guarantees that the right individuals have access to the right documents and maintains the reliability of crucial data.
6. Leverage Metadata
Metadata, which includes information such as document titles, authors, creation dates, and keywords, enhances document organization, searchability, and overall management. By systematically applying tags to documents, organizations can establish a structured framework that simplifies document retrieval and ensures the accuracy and relevance of information.
Make sure to read my previous article covering the importance of metadata.
7. Automate document centric workflows
Part of the document lifecycle is the approval and review process. You should identify the types of documents that should be approved or reviewed before being published. This process can be automated to help drive the business faster.
A good implementation would allow you to configure dedicated workflows for various document types and personalize the entire document cycle. Furthermore, it will aid in automating the approval process for various activities such as leave requests, purchase orders, and invoices.
Always remember a flexible workflow is a cornerstone of process efficiency.
What is Document Control Process?
The process must ensure that document management policy is applied throughout the departments across an organization. It involves detailing how documents are created, reviewed & approved, distributed as per DDM, traced, revised, published, retrieved, and completed audit log.
These steps take place during the DC process:
1. Creation
During this phase, a document is typically authored, drafted, or compiled by the responsible individuals or teams, often in accordance with established templates, guidelines, or quality standards. This step is crucial in ensuring that the document is accurate, comprehensive, and aligns with the organization’s objectives and regulatory requirements.
Once the document is created, it gets stored in your document repository, where it will undergo reviews, approvals, and be assigned a unique identifier or version number, marking the beginning of its lifecycle.
2. Review & Approval
The DC procedure, which revolves around document review and approval, determines the individual or entity in charge of document review, revisions, and approval. This policy is necessary because quality assurance standards demand that documents should be reviewed for accuracy.
3. Traceability
Documents are exchanged on a regular basis with various parties and partners, whether internally or externally.
Transmittals and correspondence are sent between contractors, customers, and subcontractors in the construction industry, in particular. Part of daily activities is to keep track of who sent the document/transmittal, to whom, when, and why.
Using a document management system or an enterprise content management system will help the assignee to have a full log and configure document access.
4. Document Revisions
Changes in a controlled document are part of its cycle. The controller procedures need to clearly define the document version control policy of a controlled copy.
Essentially, it must identify who has the authority to make changes to the document. It must adhere to the version control numbering best practices.
When changes are made, and for certain documents, an approval process is normally required. The approval hierarchy should have been established in the procedure based on the document type.
Document revision control is considered very essential and you need to keep a close eye on what is being changed and by whom.
5. Document Publishing
Document publishing is where carefully curated and validated information is delivered to the intended audience. This step involves the formal release and distribution of documents, ensuring that authorized individuals have access to the most up-to-date and accurate information.
6. Document Retrieval
Document retrieval involves the systematic and efficient access of information within an organization’s repository. Once documents are properly stored and categorized, retrieval ensures that authorized personnel can quickly and accurately locate the required information.
This step is pivotal in maintaining workflow efficiency, facilitating collaboration, and meeting regulatory compliance.
7. Audit Log
The audit log reigns supreme as the silent guardian of accountability and transparency. Think of it as a detailed diary, meticulously recording every interaction, modification, and revision each document encounters. From the moment a document is created, the audit log captures its journey, noting who created it, who accessed it, what changes were made, and when each action occurred.
It is not merely a record, but a powerful instrument for ensuring document integrity, fostering accountability, and driving continuous improvement in the process.
8. Document Obsolete or Destruction
When a controlled document needs to remove or made unavailable, it should be obsoleted or retired.
This is a critical step to prevent obsolete documents from being unintended used. A record control procedure and a record retention policy should be used to identify this process.
The Future of Document Control
The future of document control is bright with exciting possibilities. Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to elevate automation to new heights, enabling smart machines to handle repetitive tasks like document classification, data extraction, and even compliance checks.
Imagine a future where AI scans millions of documents within seconds, identifying inconsistencies and flagging potential risks. Blockchain technology, with its inherent security and immutability, could revolutionize record-keeping by creating a tamper-proof chain of custody for critical documents. Automation itself will continue to evolve, streamlining workflows and freeing up human resources for more strategic tasks like knowledge management and process improvement.
These advancements, alongside the ever-growing integration with other business systems, paint a picture of a future where access to information is seamless, collaboration is effortless, and compliance is assured.
Conclusion
In conclusion, effective document control is the linchpin of organizational efficiency and compliance. As technology continues to evolve, embracing digital solutions becomes a must to offer not only increased accessibility but also robust security measures. From version control to access permissions, the complete management of documents forms the backbone of successful operations.
Thanks!
Very well written and summarizes everything!
Thank you. Glad you found it useful
Good article. I was a document control manager for quite a number of years. I appreciate the insight.
Excellent. Thank you
Very insightful article. I handle records management in a leading government agency and I find your articles quite informative. From Meta data to the difference between digitization and digitalization…..very insightful articles.
Thank you. Glad you are finding my articles informative.
I totally agree when you said that proper document control would ensure that the information in your company is secure and would prevent any unauthorized access as well. I can imagine how important that would be for the medical field as well since they would have patient-doctor confidentiality regulations as well. They would probably need to invest in medical document management services to ensure the safety of the details regarding their patients to give them peace of mind as well.