Document Numbering (Identification) Scheme

J

jmp4429

#1
So, a brief introduction, I recently took over our TS 16949 system. Long story very short, it just (two minutes ago) came to my attention that our numbering scheme for 3rd level documents is crap. Now I need to create a new one.

My thought is along the lines of:

DOCUMENT TYPE-DEPARTMENT-THREE DIGIT NUMBER

So

QA-ASY-001

Would be the first quality alert for assembly.

The thing is, I now have to determine what all the potential types of documents there could be. So far I've come up with:

Operator Job Instruction (for assembly operations)
Machine Settings Instruction
Quality Alert
Work Instruction (ie, how to write a document, how to look something up in the MRP system, etc...)

Can someone give me a hand here? Maybe suggest a numbering scheme that they use or tell me what I'm overlooking? My boss wants this by tomorrow. :bonk:
 
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CarolX

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#2
Excellent scheme....I like it.

FWIW - I use Dept - Year Created - Sequential number

QP-05-29

Quality Process created in 05, 29th docuemnt in this series.

A billion ways to skin the cat!

Scroll down to the bottom of this page for links to similar threads.
 

Randy

Super Moderator
#3
Do whatever you want...

I like alphabetical by title/number of pages/and Julian date myself....or maybe weight times length divided by temperature as the doc number.
 

Al Rosen

Staff member
Super Moderator
#4
You don't need to number them. You can control them by title. I like Randy's method myself, but you must use the Kelvin scale for temperature!
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#5
Al Rosen said:
You don't need to number them. You can control them by title. I like Randy's method myself, but you must use the Kelvin scale for temperature!
The point my colleagues are making is that ANY scheme is OK so long as it is consistent and helps the users locate and retrieve documents.

You can use titles if you are using a computer-based system for document storage, since a google-type search will let you search on any aspect of the document. If you are using hard copies in standard file cabinets, chronological numbering with a good cross-index system makes sense so you don't have to shuffle all the documents when you fill up the first file cabinet, you merely add another file cabinet and continue the numbering scheme. The cross-index is imperative in a hard copy system!

:topic: The time table for doing this seems unusually short, but some managers expect the difficult to be done now and the impossible to be done by tomorrow.
 

Cari Spears

Super Moderator
Staff member
Super Moderator
#6
jmp4429 said:
... our numbering scheme for 3rd level documents is crap.
What's crappy about the current scheme? I think your new numbering scheme sounds fine.

FWIW - When I started working here, they already had their documents numbered by the ISO9002:1994 element numbers. When we upgraded to ISO9001:2000, I did not change the numbering scheme because, frankly, I didn't care. :D Thread-Craft Procedure for Control of Internal Documents = TCP.05.01; the procedure for Control of Engineering Drawings is TCP.05.02 - the .05 is just arbitrary now.
 
J

jmp4429

#7
Cari Spears said:
What's crappy about the current scheme? I think your new numbering scheme sounds fine.
The trouble with the current scheme is that our 3rd level documents are controlled departmentally rather than centrally. We have a pretty good scheme for Operator Job Instructions and Machine Setting Instructions, but for 3rd level documents that support a 2nd level document, we were just referencing the 2nd level document and adding a letter in sequence.

I had a :mg: moment when I went to assign a number to my new 3rd Level Template and thought "Yikes, how do I know that three other departments in the plant don't already have a TS-4.2.3-A ?"
 

Wes Bucey

Quite Involved in Discussions
#8
jmp4429 said:
The trouble with the current scheme is that our 3rd level documents are controlled departmentally rather than centrally. We have a pretty good scheme for Operator Job Instructions and Machine Setting Instructions, but for 3rd level documents that support a 2nd level document, we were just referencing the 2nd level document and adding a letter in sequence.

I had a :mg: moment when I went to assign a number to my new 3rd Level Template and thought "Yikes, how do I know that three other departments in the plant don't already have a TS-4.2.3-A ?"
Why not simply ask each department to provide a current list of existing document numbers together with the title and description? If there are no conflicts, the centralization can simply consist of periodic updating of department lists to a central point.

For this specific case, do the departments maintain the master documents as computer files or hard copies? If computer files, the situation is relatively easy to coordinate. If hard copies, the centralization requires creation of an additional cross-index for the central file keeper which aggregates the cross-indexes (indices?) of each department.

For hard copy files, the problem is more complicated when the number of files and frequency of creation, change, or modification is great. In computer systems, the number or frequency is immaterial.

Use the search tool here in the Cove and google generally for "electronic document management" to get a better picture of off-the-shelf systems for electronically coordinating documents.

Overall, I think you are putting too much emphasis on the numbering scheme and not enough on management of the documents.
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#9
Your idea sounds like it would work fine. Just do whatever makes the most sense for your plant, it doesn't matter what anyone else does. If it makes sense to you, to your workers, and to management, then it will be used. It is when things don't make some sort of "connection" in the minds of the people using it that a system does not get used.

Our esteemed colleagues are all very correct in their answers. Do what works best for you.

as an aside, we have the following types of docs in our system:
Quality Manual
Quality Procedures
Work Instructions
Forms
Reference Sheets

Originally, management wanted our document control to be handled in the individual departments also. But, they soon learned about the types of problems you describe. Documents with same names, inability to easily share information between departments, too many variances in controls, etc.

Good luck. Make your system work for you, don't work for it.
 
G

Greg B

#10
Randy said:
Do whatever you want...

I like alphabetical by title/number of pages/and Julian date myself....or maybe weight times length divided by temperature as the doc number.
Well done Randy. You could also have colour/originators birthdate/day of the week :lmao:

On a more serious note I agree more with Carol's line of thought.

We use department name plus a sequential number WI DB-01 = Work Instruction, Deadburn, Document #1. Very simple. Documents that effect ALL departments are usually a Quality specific document (such as Auditing) and it's title is WI QA-02. Like I said, very simple and everyone can find their documents in the system. A form is similar just the prefix is different QF DB-01 would be Quality Form, Deadburn, Form number 1. Our old system was based on the standard's numbering system and Non QA types could never find the document they wanted we had great doc numbers like WI 5.08.1A or QF 5.04.2B. I could not find anything on the system I had to refer to the standard to work out what I was looking for.

Whatever you do, keep it simple and user friendly. We came up with our system after CONSULTATION with the users. I asked THEM what THEY wanted as they had to use it. Don't adopt a system that you think the Registrar will like or want....It is not their system.
 
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