W
I'm still green on some very basic aspects of ISO 9000, so please don't laugh too hard at my question..
I’ve read quality manuals from other companies that say two completely different things:
1. The Quality Manual is controlled in electronic format only. Printed copies are uncontrolled.
2. Copies of the Quality Manual are controlled.
My impression is that if you use option 1, you can issue copies of your manual to anyone you want (I'm thinking outside the company here) without having to make note of it and not be concerned about notifying anyone when revisions are made. Using option 2 requires you to document who has received a copy of the manual and if revisions are made the manual needs to be retrieved or notification of the revision needs to be made. If this is accurate – why would anyone want to issue a controlled copy of anything when you can just called it uncontrolled and not need to ever worry about it again? Please set me straight if I’ve got this wrong.
I have stated in red on the cover of all the quality manuals issued within my compnay that “Quality Documents are UNCONTROLLED IN HARD COPY. The contents of this manual are for REFERENCE ONLY”. I do have it documented on my Controlled Documents Master List who has a copy, and whenever I make a revision or addition I retrieve the manuals and update them. However, everyone is clear that if they need a copy of a form, or any part of the manual, they must retrieve it from its secured location on our company server.
If I am interpreting all this correctly, when would I ever need to stamp a document “CONTROLLED” (now that I’ve purchased the stamp!).
I’ve read quality manuals from other companies that say two completely different things:
1. The Quality Manual is controlled in electronic format only. Printed copies are uncontrolled.
2. Copies of the Quality Manual are controlled.
My impression is that if you use option 1, you can issue copies of your manual to anyone you want (I'm thinking outside the company here) without having to make note of it and not be concerned about notifying anyone when revisions are made. Using option 2 requires you to document who has received a copy of the manual and if revisions are made the manual needs to be retrieved or notification of the revision needs to be made. If this is accurate – why would anyone want to issue a controlled copy of anything when you can just called it uncontrolled and not need to ever worry about it again? Please set me straight if I’ve got this wrong.
I have stated in red on the cover of all the quality manuals issued within my compnay that “Quality Documents are UNCONTROLLED IN HARD COPY. The contents of this manual are for REFERENCE ONLY”. I do have it documented on my Controlled Documents Master List who has a copy, and whenever I make a revision or addition I retrieve the manuals and update them. However, everyone is clear that if they need a copy of a form, or any part of the manual, they must retrieve it from its secured location on our company server.
If I am interpreting all this correctly, when would I ever need to stamp a document “CONTROLLED” (now that I’ve purchased the stamp!).