How does everyone handle document and procedure changes. If a form/document/procedure is modified, is it necessary to keep the old form/document/procedure attached to the new one with explanations of the changes? I want to archive the old docs and simply refer to the archive file (in a cabinet)for those who need to see how the docs have changed. Does this make sense?

Michael

I don't know of any requirement to keep paper copies at all. Particularly with smaller companies I recommend that they keep the last version on paper and the most recent version on paper so that they meet the requirement for being able to tell the difference in versions - but mostly I recommend that as they're not always real computer savvy. I don't see an explainiartion of the changes as a big thing. Most of my clients just e-mail or memo that the procedure has been changed. Some have real elaborate change histories, while some only keep the last version.

Communication of changes is another matter. The form and extent is up to you. An e-mail saying the document has changed is generally sufficient, but some companies summarize the change. Some use WORD and the Track Changes feature.

I think you have a fair amount of latitude in your document system design.