With the manufacturing trends shifting to the digital, the paper-based document management process is something left behind. Modern-day manufacturers find digital records a more reliable and safer way to store and retrieve information – be it writing the process structures, product specifications, or amount of ingredients.
One of the major reasons could be the preference for digital records by FDA. The interest of the regulatory committee in quality control is an all-time high. They have made it very clear that paperless systems and processes are a key requirement for recording, verification, and validation purpose. The manufacturing industry complies with 21 CFR Part 11, Guidance for Electronic Records, and Electronic Signatures.
The new and advanced document management system has evolved as a perfect solution for the paperless initiative for systematic and efficient management for digital records. The ones with cloud platforms not only eliminate the need for paperwork but also reduce the infrastructure costs to scale with growing business needs.
5 Major Benefits to Expect from Electronic Document Management System
- Lesser errors
It is an undeniable fact that traditional documentation systems in manufacturing are time-consuming, difficult-to-manage, and vulnerable to the errors. Also, manual records are likely to have more inaccuracies and missing information that can lead to real issues in the processes like product shipment and audits.
Digitization of records reduces the data collection errors that further lowers the ratio of data integrity issues throughout the organization. An electronic document management system helps organizations to streamline various processes including the creation of controlled documents, sharing, and retrieval.
Qualityze Document Management System comprises pre-defined standard templates for controlled documents and audit checklists to ensure that the same format is used throughout the organization. This reduces the chances of variances in the data collected from the different business units.
- Faster review, releases, and approvals
As already mentioned above, the manual document keeping systems requires a lot of time and effort for proper management. The processes like reviews, approvals, and document releases could experience unnecessary delays due to the unavailability of authorized parties. Moreover, you will need to undergo the entire process again in case of any significant changes.
On the flip side, digital records are much easier to manage. An electronic document management system does not require the approver or authorized persons to be physically present. They can access the approval requests and changes from anywhere anytime by simply logging into the application or DMS.
From reviewing a document to publishing it for the end-user reference, everything can be scheduled well-in-advance or managed in real-time using a cloud-based document management system that gives you complete flexibility and accessibility.
- Increase visibility and traceability
We cannot deny the fact that paper-based document filing systems lack visibility and traceability. It could take hours to search a single record especially it was something created a few years ago. It will eventually impact the productivity and efficiency of your employees to keep control of core business activities.
An electronic document management system is a totally worthy investment to experience a world of difference. It improves the visibility and traceability of records regardless of their age. It’s not just the searchability of a document that has got convenient; it’s the retrieval and analysis too. Moreover, the number of non-conformances and -compliances also gets reduced.
Qualityze Document Management Software comes with an in-built capability of audit trail that allows the users to look through the details of changes in the record as who, when, what for better control over critical data.
- Better document and version control
Document Control is the activity that helps the organization to reduce errors in documentation. They can access the controlled documents at any required time to ensure all facts are verified and all the tasks are completed within specified timeframes. But this cannot be managed efficiently in the paper-based systems especially due to disparate locations.
An electronic document management system is an effective and efficient way for document and its relevant version control. It ensures that no employee refers to an older version of a controlled document when a new one is already released. This reduces the chances of nonconformances and noncompliance to a large extent.
Therefore, an electronic document management system is a perfect solution you need to ensure that the same document is referenced throughout the organization to maintain product quality standards.
- Improved security
Security is undoubtedly one of the supreme concerns when it comes to managing controlled documents manually since there are no access controls in paper-based document management system.
On the other hand, an electronic document management system enables organizations to ensure complete security for important documents. It also comprises in-built capabilities like role-based access controls so that the crucial information will be accessed by authorized people only.
The cloud-based document management systems also save documents from physical damage such as wear and tear, misplace or loss of records, etc. unlike paper-based systems.
Paperless is the future: there’s no point doubting it.
We all know that artificial intelligence is soon going to intervene in the way the manufacturing processes were managed. Digitizing the records will add more value to the transition of manufacturing companies to industrial revolution 4.0.
You will be using high-tech equipment to keep a track of stock rather than relying on paper documents that are highly prone to damage.
The smartest decision for the manufacturing companies would be to get an electronic document management system on board at earliest to experience faster and better document control
But it could be a big step for the conventional manufacturers who still find traditional ways more reliable than new-age solutions
It’s high time for all the manufacturers to understand reality and carefully strategize their move to a paperless environment, which is a lot smoother and convenient. Credit goes to the user-friendly and configurable software solution like Qualityze Document Management System that made paperless notion easily adaptable to the manufacturers even if they are first-timers.
The best thing you can do is get in touch with the Qualityze team. We will get back to you with a solution to suit your needs.
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