Suggestion for QMS platform solution + Business process automation

[ProblemChild]

When searching on the internet, there is so many QMS platform solution existed in the market.
I am currently searching for an electronic system that can help my company to build a QMS system, as well as automating some of our critical business processes. (creating new forms, setting up business rules, self-process routing etc., )

(we are not in Medical field, and not concern about ISO cert. at the moment.)

I have few vendors on the list, like Veeva, ETQ, AssureX, Amature, but would like to see if there are more recommendations from this forum?



Thanks

 

[Pancho]

For the past ten years we’ve run our business with a wiki. The QMS is a big part of the wiki, but we also run there our projects, proposals, knowledge base, safety management, RBT, etc. We use bugzilla for NC handling and corrective actions. This system has made our company very successful.

The wiki platform is that we use is no longer available, but I’d recommend either Mediawiki (FOS) or Confluence (commercial).

 

[Marc]

<snip> ...as well as automating some of our critical business processes. (creating new forms, setting up business rules, self-process routing etc., )

(we are not in Medical field, and not concern about ISO cert. at the moment.)

I have few vendors on the list, like Veeva, ETQ, AssureX, Amature, but would like to see if there are more recommendations from this forum?

Have you sent out requests for quotes in which your needs are very well defined? the "......as well as automating some of our critical business processes. (creating new forms, setting up business rules, self-process routing etc., )..." part within the same software application is doubtful. But it has been a few years since I have investigated software solutions so I don't have any idea how far software solutions have come. E.g.: SAP used to be a real bear and employees I knew who had SAP thrust upon them had quite a lot of complaints.

The problem with "do it all" software is that it necessarily has to be designed for many, many potential possible needs/wants much like "template sets" ("canned" documentation) companies sell. Think of it this way - You need training and go to a public course - An example of "do it all", as opposed to on-site training which has been tailored to the company and its processes. In which environment is a person going to get the "best" training?

I could really go on about this because I have been involved either tangentially or directly with quite a few software "solutions" over the years, but I'm not inclined to write a book which is what it would take because they are all so different. My best advice is make sure you have a very tight contract both for responsibilities and your "expectations".

In addition, be sure your company can support it. One example I will give is from the mid-1990's. A company I was working with bought a very nice software package. Problem was, the sole guy they had to implement and maintain the system quit and there simply was no one there who knew how to maintain the system. And believe me, it's not easy or cheap when something like that happens. It's rarely a "hire someone off the street and put them to work" type of thing.

Another "fun" time was working with a client (circa 1996) that got the software company to do an in-house demo. All went well until it was paid for and installed. They did some legacy document imports easily during the demo, but, when they tried to do the mass migration things went to heaven and they ended up with contract typists inputing procedures, work instructions, etc., etc. And many document types had to be referenced/linked to a file (such as prints) as the software "wasn't written to accommodate prints". So - They got THAT part done and moved on. When they were ready to actually go live, it turned out that planning had been really bad as only about 15% to 20% of the computers could run it - RAM issues, processor issues, etc.

The more you expect the software to do (e.g. SAP or EPIC) the more likely you'll have problems making it "fit" your company and its needs.

I have worked with some companies that had software specifically coded for them. The results I saw were mixed. A few were very good, and a few were total disasters.

Just a few thoughts. Be careful, go slow, and don't expect miracles.

 

[TCHQA]

I was brought in to my current company to implement and work with a new piece of software called Vivaldi QMS that is designed as a holistic QMS software.


Whilst we're not upgrading, the company is in the process of rolling out the most recent update: Version 6 with a lot of new features.


It has modules for managing the organisation chart that ties into training and a skills/competence matrix. It has a robust document control module that manages access and version controlled updates. And (by the sound of your request, most importantly) has a module for business processes.


The Process software is customisable and allows the creation of forms and reports to assist with information transfer, and getting the right people to do the right things.


I'd recommend at least having a look to see if it meets your needs. As a new user I can't post a link, but a quick search for "Vivaldi QMS" will yeild the appropriate results!