Feedback on Approach to Flowcharts ISO 9001

Andrew.Gisinger

Registered
I have been a visitor to this site for about 5 years and it has provided me with wonderful guidance and advice just by reading threads and utilsing examples. We have developed numerous quality management systems and safety and environmental management systems for clients for many years and we have been redeveloping our products and our approach to utilising Flowcharts as the Procedural base and then delivering detail in reference (how-to) documents and centralising elements such as legal references and standards, abbreviations etc into a single area so that the overheads and those things that change regulary such as objectives and targets are not spread throughout numeorus documents and therfore minimising the document management/review overheads.

I would really appreciate any feedback relating to the attached flowchart and our approach.

Warm regards - Andrew Gisinger
 

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  • QSE01-PFC-01-PDF Document Control and Records Management.pdf
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Jen Kirley

Quality and Auditing Expert
Leader
Admin
Hi Andrew, nice to see you! :bigwave:

I love flow charts, and I love this one. I don't have my standard in front of me right now, but this one looks like it has the needed basics in responsibilities and structure. Given my experience with document control systems I would appreciate an additional, possibly even uncontrolled tutorial on how the Administrator is to do the tasks, how approvals get recorded and so on.
 

AndyN

Moved On
I'll go the other way. As much as I like process maps - NOT flowcharts - the control of documents doesn't fit the format for me. The need for documentation etc doesn't flow like this in my experience.

I'd select anything but the 6 procedures, really.
Do you have one for a core business process?
 

insect warfare

QA=Question Authority
Trusted Information Resource
Andrew,

I'm more in the middle between Jennifer and Andy. While I personally would not choose one of the required six procedures as a candidate for a process map, I can still appreciate the fact that people do it, in the interests of keeping things simplified. I think the swimlane format is a good way to describe who does what. Even better, I like to map out a core process with color-coded legends that effectively defeat the purpose of a swimlane.

And I abhor using conventional diamonds as decision blocks - I think that it is a wasted symbol and I haven't put one on a process flow in years. In fact, I make the process blocks serve double duty as decision blocks. And I have been successful at that because I map mainly core processes, while I tend to describe lower-level activities through detailed instructions based on text and visuals.

Regarding the flowchart, I see that you've addressed how you maintain records of archived documents, but to call it "Document Control and Records Management" sounded a bit misleading. Honestly I was expecting to see how you control all types of system records (like in 4.2.4). Also I don't see here how you classify, issue and control other types of documents (external, etc.). If you asked me right now to put an appropriate title on this document, I would call it "Implementation of Internal Documents" because that is what it describes - nothing more.

I hope you have other procedures that cover the rest of 4.2.3. Remember that the controls listed in 4.2.3 must be documented - all of them. Good luck...

Brian :rolleyes:
 
S

StevenJaeger

That's an excellent Procedural Flowchart, what software did you use to make it?
 
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