Quality Manual Pagination and Printing

[toto2010]

Hi Everyone,

I have developed an ISO 9001 Quality Manual using MS Word which contains 126 pages.

The footer consists of page number, i.e. Page X of XXX
E.g. Page 2 of 126.

If I add something in the middle of the quality manual, let say on page 53, the rest of the content shift to further pages. So after I add something, the total pages increase from 126 to 128. Therefore I have to reprint all starting from page 53 to 128 to get the correct page number.

I think it is a waste of paper. Has anyone experience this and let me know if there is a better way of controlling the document?

Thank you,
Toto2010

 

[Jay A]

First question I would ask is: Why so long? Our quality manual is 30 pages long and even I feel that is too long, but management won't let me cut anything from it. Who do you think is going to actually read a 126 page quality manual? As far as ISO 9001:2008 is concerned, the only few things you need in your manual is: The scope of the QMS, Your procedures or reference to them (can be kept separate), and a description of the interaction between processes. granted there's probably a few other things you would want to include like your quality policy, revision history, and approval log to name a few.

Second question: Can't you just keep it electronic? I'm not a huge fan of paper copies, you can better prevent use of obsolete versions when it is electronic only.

If shortening your QM or keeping it electronic is not an option, the only other thing I would say is to just not put a page number. But how often are you really changing your QM? I don't think we have changed ours in years.

 

[TPMB4]

Is it possible to go paperless with this and have it readable from workstations instead? Obviously with write restrictions and suitable document control. Makes it easier if there is one electronic version and it is centrally controlled I reckon.

Just one idea, another might be whether pagination is strictly needed or if another way to locate relevant sections is possible.

 

[Jim Wynne]

As has been suggested, 126 pages seems extreme. I don't know why you don't just have page numbers instead of also showing the total number. If you got rid of that, and you wanted to insert a page between pages 58 and 59, you could number the new page 58a (or something similar) so as to not interrupt the flow.

 

[AndyN]

I'd add a little more in that if you're adding enough to change the pagination, maybe it's time to split some of the text out into another document. As others have said 126 pages is extreme and you may have content which should really be in procedures or something else.

 

[qpled]

I need to bring my company's QM up-to-date, fix typos, etc... and have the same questions/issues as Toto2010 so thanks for all this input! I need to do it all: shorten the length, get rid of page numbers (or use Jim's idea), and decrease the amount of printed copies.

 

[harry]

1. I believe the OP's 126 pages consist of a combination of the manual and procedures.

2. Paperless or electronic should be the way forward

3. In the hard copy system, this is very easily taken care of. If page 100 overflows, just cut the overflowed part and paste it on an empty page and name it '100a' and then update in your amendment log. You may want to check your document control procedure to see what it says and if you adopt any methods to do this, you may want to update it in your procedures so that people who take over from you in the future knows what you are doing.

 

[Golfman25]

If you want to keep it that long, then I would break it into shorter sections. Each section would deal with its own topic. Sec. A could be 10 pages, Sec. B - 5 pages, Sec. C 15 pages. That way when you make a change, you only need to reprint the affected section.

 

[toto2010]

Yes this is exactly what I am doing now. Thank you very much.