E
A rock and a hard place
Personally, important data such as test results, shouldn't be trusted to electronics, working properly or not. Does everybody have access to a computer? If so, enter it, print it and store it. If you are confident/comfortable with your back up systems, trash the paper the next day. Who uses the info? Have them print it and maintain a hardcopy folder as records for a pre-determined time. This electronic paperless system is not a cure-all for all situations. Acquire an old file cabinet and use it. There's plenty of room, especially for records of results. Electronics for records? Scary, but not impossible. You have to know your system and the back-ups available. Off site, damage proof storage and so on. JMHO

Allie said:
I love the idea of all this being stored electronically. Many moons ago I worked for a company in a QA tech position. All the results were entered on the computer. The only problem we had was when the server went down. The plant ran 24/7 with or without the server and we had to do testing every 20 minutes. That is alot of data to just kick around until the server was up. How can you still have access to forms/documents you need if you experience technical problems? I would be sooo happy if someone could give me a solution to this because I want to move to an electronic system. I am sure an auditor would want to know too.
I love the idea of all this being stored electronically. Many moons ago I worked for a company in a QA tech position. All the results were entered on the computer. The only problem we had was when the server went down. The plant ran 24/7 with or without the server and we had to do testing every 20 minutes. That is alot of data to just kick around until the server was up. How can you still have access to forms/documents you need if you experience technical problems? I would be sooo happy if someone could give me a solution to this because I want to move to an electronic system. I am sure an auditor would want to know too.

, but I have a Master Log Book with all documents/procedures (originals) with authorizing signatures in my office. You can distinguish them from copies because the originals are in color, particularly our header logo. When we went paperless, I never trusted the idea of a completely paperless system for documents. Too many horror stories about servers crashing and losing good stuff. I do not trust that the IT person will remember to keep the backups as prescribed. He's only human. Print them. Store them. If you really want to get Anal about it, fire proof protect them.JMHO
Try starting a new thread where the electonic geniuses can apply their mettle. Believe me, they're here. Graeme?