What is the best Electronic Document Control Management System?

S

szohar

#11
My employer is implementing a new EDCMS. What we did was to create an abstract list of our bottom-line requirements, our really-nice-to-haves, and our gee-we'd-like-these-features.

Once we had that list, we were able to match solutions to requirements and figure out what was best for us, and not just what was "best" in a generic sense.

You need to do a proper requirements definition document, and many posters in this thread have listed a number of requirements that you should consider. I don't really have a lot to add to that list (and I'm grateful to the people in this thread who have posted those requirements).

What I would like to add is that it is crucial to distinguish the true requirements from the nice-to-haves to manage the scope/expense/schedule involved in implementing a system, and I strongly recommend involving more than one person in the requirements definition process if at all possible, so that you don't get too attached to your personal take on what your requirements are.

I'm part of a team who did the requirements definition, and thank goodness for that, because the others on the team were able to recategorize some things I had considered necessary as nice-to-haves. I would have missed that, and we would have added expense, functionality, and delay to the implementation. Since we're a non-profit, we really manage our bottom line as tightly as possible.

Since EDCMSs can be expensive and complicated, managing the requirements effectively before you commit to a solution is crucial. Make sure not to miss any requirements, but make sure to avoid categorizing desired features as requirements when you can avoid it.

Oh, and if you choose a system that requires customization from the out-of-the-box version, get agreement on the requirements of the customization clearly documented and agreed-upon by both your company and the company performing the customization. And don't just do it at the start of the project, but keep refining the customization specifications in writing as the project progresses. Get sign-offs whenever possible.

And if you can work with the customizing team to develop and adapt acceptance test criteria as early as possible in the process, you'll have a smoother development process.

I am in constant communication with the vendor who is customizing our system and I am testing preliminary versions of the system already, and we are capturing a lot of the potential problems early in the process. We are unquestionably reducing the effect the problems could have had in terms of scope and price and schedule, and we're over a month away from implementation. It is 100% worth the time to focus on that communication if you're customizing.
 
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bobdoering

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#12
I favor MQ1. It is a complete business system, but then that provides the best benefit of a controlled document system. You can link controlled copies of the documents to corrective actions, APQP, and other areas of the system. Quite handy. I have used other similar software, but their linking was not as impressive.:cool:
 
D

docatmicrus

#13
I am working for a big company in the Oil & Gas industry and was hired to do Document Control. We are looking at purchasing a Document Mangement System, which will allow us to file drawings and documents electronically, and retrieve them with ease, create transmittals and such...

What is THE BEST system out there for this?? I am huge on organization and consistency, but also need something that is user friendly for those that will not be working with the system on a day to day basis....


also... needs to be a good system as we are going for ISO....
Are you using SolidWorks and/or other CAD platforms? SolidWorks PDMWorks Enterprise is worth looking into. check out their website.
 
D

docatmicrus

#14
My company looked into SolidWorks Enterprise and was impressed. We use Solidworks heavily and have companies outside of our state that share documentation control procedures. Unfortunately, we missed including this to our budget this year. We look to installing the system next fiscal year. we currently use CatsWeb.
 
M

Murphys Law

#15
Take a look as MS sharepoint.

IMO, It is one of the best IT tools to come our way in the years that I've work in Quality.

I am a sharepoint adminstrator in my group and I see a lot of potential in it.
 
S

szohar

#16
Out-of-the-box SharePoint isn't that intuitively designed, and it definitely has its limits. It also has a serious learning curve. Plus, you need to determine how you're going to implement SharePoint. You can just use Windows SharePoint Server and work with the basic structure; you can custom-code your own modifications to Windows SharePoint Server and then manage that as an on-going application; or you can acquire additional tools like Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer and manage the application through the tools. There are a variety of approaches you can take if you go the SharePoint route, and they each have advantages and drawbacks that you can only assess in the context of your specific setting.

A lot of the companies offering Electronic Document Control Systems are aggressively marketing themselves out there. It's easy to be swayed by the smoke and mirrors. If it's possible, talk to people in your industry and in other industries that have similar regulatory profiles and similar document management transaction volume to find out what they are doing.
 
E

easttn

#17
As stated above there is no one answer. Another thing to consider, make sure IT is involved in your Define phase or you'll be fighting a losing battle for ever.

Your first steps should be forming a leadership team to map current state. Build VOC and VOB via SIPOC, then map current state including current "pain" the leadership team experiences. Boil down the pain to vital few based on either multivoting or affinity. Pareto pain points and ask 5 whys for root cause analysis. These root cause analysis solutions should lead you to the answer you are looking for in the measure phase.

Define, Measure, Analize, Improve, Control---you can't jump to improve and control first step or you will create more chaos.
 

Marc

Hunkered Down for the Duration with a Mask on...
Staff member
Admin
#18
Out-of-the-box SharePoint isn't that intuitively designed, and it definitely has its limits. It also has a serious learning curve. Plus, you need to determine how you're going to implement SharePoint.
Sounds like CompliantPro.
 
J

JasonZ

#19
I was the document control coordinator for 10 years at a manufacturing company. Seeing as the company I work for didn't really want to spend money on a software system for document control I created an MS Access database that keeps track of all our documents. It works very well, is user friendly, allows for any customization that I want and it is always a positive when our customers ask about it.

If anyone is interested in more detail I would be happy to supply that information.
 
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