Standards and Compliance

Compliance is an increasing issue for many of our Document Center customers.  And for us Standards and Compliance are the focus of many of our products and services.  Why?  We’re here to promote and assist our customers’ quality programs, contract and compliance requirements, and the use of best practices through the use of standards.

Of course, for many people the first question is “How do standards fit into a compliance program?”  Many times standards are used in product definition and contract fulfillment.  Or they may be an essential part of meeting regulatory and legal requirements.  And as part of many certification programs, there needs to be a way to manage these publications.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be reviewing how to set up a program to identify and control the standards you use in your business.  And I’ll be providing you with information on the services Document Center provides to make this program as easy as possible for your organization.

Here’s the steps that need to be taken in order to set up a document control system for the standards you use (and should use) in your business:

1. Identify those standards that need to be controlled (managed) and who needs to use those documents as part of their job function.
2. Assess the status of the documents you currently have.
3. Procure the correct editions for your controlled set.
4. Make the current editions of your controlled set available to the appropriate personnel.
5. Monitor and update your standards as necessary.
6. Notify users when “their” documents change.
7. Provide a methodology for gap analysis when new revisions are issued.
8. Have a system for spotting newly released standards not on your controlled list that may affect your business.

Document Center has a wide range of services that make achieving compliant document control possible.  We have auditing and notification services, multi-user site licensing for standards,  online access to standards, and current-awareness programs available.  You’ll use our suite of products to set up a system that is appropriate to your business.

Document Center’s customers rely on us as a critical component of their solution for standards and compliance.  With over 30 years experience in this field, we have the expertise to solve the problems that come with any standards collection.  Check us out at our website, www.document-center.com.  Or contact our staff for more information.  You can reach us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com).  We’re your Standards Experts!