Part II. Document Management vs Document Control

Part I is available here.

Document management and document control are two distinct but intricately connected aspects of dealing with documents.?But what are the differences?

Document management indicates the systems and procedures that the?company will put in place to maintain and manage documentation. It assists in regulating all aspects of document flow from start to end for maximum productivity, high-quality data, and getting the most out of your documents.

This means the “how’s and why’s” of storage, tracking, updating, and sharing of such documents. It simply includes all of the ways that teams collaborate with their files.?

The document management system usage will help to have the following in place: ?

• Centralized storage
• Control and regulation
• Security and privacy
• Compliance

Document control is the practices in place to ensure the creation, review, distribution, and disposal of documents of the lifecycle of a product methodically. It is the administration and management of documents, including security, version control, approval, and submission. Document control is a vital practice 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, it is critical to ensure the proper flow of information and transparency business activities to help companies function efficiently.

Key to document control is knowing which document is the most recent (version control) and also knowing and controlling who can make changes to documents (change control) while also ensuring that obsolete documents are no longer used but are accessible if required. Document control also involves the approval of documents as well as regulating document submission processes.

As a rule, document control system enhances the QMS with ?

• Introducing strong access control
• Ensuring transparency of information?
• Providing improved compliance with regulatory requirements of document management
• Enableing global collaboration

To be continued :)

#compliance #documentmanagement #documentcontrol #QMS #document