Document control used to be as modern as this.
Here’s a description of what document control looked like several decades ago:
Prior to 1980, document control was a bit of an oxymoron, for without electronic technology, it could only be a haphazard, poorly managed system of document inspection. Scanning documents or copying them for distribution represented a time-consuming, inefficient approach without any guarantee of accuracy. Before a description of a new procedure or process could reach the folks in San Antonio, the process might have changed. Electronic document management systems that managed proprietary file types emerged in the 1980s, and that was the beginning of accurate systems of document management and control. Today, as with so many technologies, we now take efficient distribution and control of documents for granted with software products that are on the market.
This quote comes courtesy of Quality Magazine in the article simply titled Documents Controlled that discusses the history of document control and how it began as a haphazard, manual process that utilized little-to-no technology since none existed at the time. It discusses how ISO processes required document control to be more formalized and professional and further, how technology can help accomplish this.
The article also touches on how to use technology to better perform document control functions and how modern applications such as DocBoss can also take care of the important considerations related to revision control, user control and security among others.
You can see how document control used to be done to see if you’re in need for an upgrade. If so, contact us and we’ll be ready to help.