Advantages of EtQ (Excellence Through Quality) vs. MS Word .doc and Excel .xls

Does anyone have any experience with EtQ software used for Document Control? I currently use MS Word & Excel, and am investigating the pros and cons of transitioning to using EtQ.

Excuse me for my ignorance, but I have never used the software.

-Have you purchased it yet?
-Does it include electronic routing through an intranet?
-Is it just a holding place for documents that are generated through other software packages?
-Can it control external documents?
-What is the cost?
-What is the status of your internal network?
-Do you have a dedicated document control person? (usually MR)
-Does it have read only or touch screen capabilities.

I ask these things because a smaller company can use simple MS programs (or PDF) to document their quality systems where larger companies might need a more robust "personal" type of database or program developed.

ASD...

We have already purchased the software, and some of our plants are using it. We are aware of some of the pros/cons, but we don't have much experience with it. I'm trying to supplement these learnings with learnings from others outside our Company.
I'm unsure of the actual cost, but I can tell you that it wasn't cheap.
EtQ is a Lotus Notes Based software, and can route documents through our intranet. Similar to attaching a document to an e-mail.
We can create documents within EtQ, or import documents previously created in Word or Excel.
We do have a dedicated document control person, me. But my responsibilities are not limited to just document control. Therefore, managing our document control system needs to be quick and easy.
It does have read only capabilities, but not touch screen.
We have approx 450 controlled documents, excluding externals. We employ approx 120 associates.
I guess what would be helpful, would be to understand the risks of using MS word and Excel for document control, and what have people done to reduce those risks. I can then compare this against the risks of using EtQ.

Let me start with a specific concern that I need to address. I need to show how my operation approves a document. This can be done with a signature ofthe approving party. I understand that electronic signatures are acceptable. My question is how do I obtain and record electronic signatures? Are there any other accetable options to show that I have approval?

[E Wall]

We use 'electronic' approval for Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and Deviations. We however have no special program, just route the approval form with the associated documents and use 'approve / reject' buttons on e-mail options (we use Microsoft Outlook). One person is responsible to collect the responses (others have access if needed) then distribute 'approved documents or document rejection' notifications.

As long as you have a verified back-up system to your electronic files, you should be safe.

Best Regards, Eileen

My company uses EtQ for many applications, such as doc control, engineering changes, product deviations, meeting scheduling, APQP, FMEA, and purchasing requisitions. For doc control, approval is handled by requiring an electronic "accept/reject" by each person in the required approval list, which is linked through Lotus Notes. So far, EtQ has been a great time-saver for us, and our documentation is much more consistent than it was with a paper system.

[paultyler]

I have used EtQ in the past. Pretty good program with various modules. Cons- developing checklist for internal audits in the system was time-consuming, however a one time development process. Also the training module was not very user friendly. Once again a lot of set up time.

[CliffK]

I'm not a fan of EtQ, for document control or anything else.

Too much configuration work to get it right and not user friendly. If Amazon.com gave a user experience like EtQ, they would be out of business.