Administrative Flexibility The Policy & Procedure Manager hands complete control over to the Document Control Administrator to help you achieve total quality management. The administrator can choose who has what authority, what fields will be included in a document, the look of the document, the departments to choose from, grouping of departments or categories, how often reminders will go out, passwords, and much, much more. But, the best part is that once those features are determined; there is little that the administrator has to monitor. The system will force end-users to fill out documents correctly and will walk them through the review and approval process with ease. This leaves the Document Control Administrator with the time to try and help departments reduce and improve their policies and procedures.
Archival Database
All documents will be saved and archived for your document storage. When a document is submitted for review the creator is given the option to replace previous versions, or other documents. When the document is approved, the other documents chosen, as well as the previous version of the document, will be automatically archived and stored in a searchable archive database.
Attach Documents or Files
You may attach an unlimited amount of any type of file to a document (pdf, jpg, word doc, etc..) When the policy is viewed, a list of included files will be displayed as attachments and can be downloaded and viewed with their own individual viewers. Their viewers would need to be installed on the machine being used by the viewer. For example: To view "adobe.pdf" files you will need to have Acrobat Reader installed on the viewing machine.
Automatic Annual or Custom Review Notification If policies require continuous review & renewal, authors can be notified through automatic email reminders. The frequency & timing of reminders may also be controlled. See Flexible Reminder System for Review Periods.
Change History The Policy & Procedure Manager will keep track of the changes from one version to the next. You can show any auditor what changes have taken place over the years. See how the Versioning feature works.
Customizable Categories for multiple compliance standards Because you can create your own templates, you can also decide what standards you wish to appear (i.e. CMS, OSHA standards, HCFA Regulations, JCAHO, ISO 9000, CC Regulations, etc.). For example: if you must comply with HIPAA Guidelines, you can list those guidelines in a category that can be listed as a required field for the document creator to choose from. If there are several guidelines to comply with, just create more categories and lists. It's simple. And the administrator can decide whether authors can choose multiple or single items in that category list.
Customizable Templates This allows you to build and edit policy templates that reflect the documents already used in your organization. The administrator may even build multiple templates that can be chosen by the end-user. For example: There may be one template for work instructions and another for job descriptions or forms. The number of available templates is unlimited.
Department Grouping The Quality Manager or Document Control Administrator can create groups of departments to reduce time and error. If you wish for a document to be reviewed by all departments that fall under Finances, create a group that includes the Accounts Receivable department, Controlling department, Billing department, Insurance department, etc. In the future, you will only have to select the Finance Group instead of clicking on each individual department.
Comments by Readers Anyone can comment on a policy to assist in future policy revisions so that the appropriate changes can be made, thus increasing the chance of training compliance.
Document Import/Export If you already have a procedure manual or forms built with Microsoft Word or other file types, they can easily be uploaded into the PPM. See Word Compatible Formats.
Document Log To assist with compliance issues in your quality manual, the PPM has a detailed, advanced tracking system. Each policy created can have unlimited version changes and is tracked by each author who makes the changes. In fact, each version of a policy stores the Process Owner, the Author, who reviewed and who approved the document. It also maintains a list of all archived documents so you can research previous documents for instant retrieval.
File Formats Although Microsoft Word documents are the only file types that can be edited in the system, all file formats can be uploaded into the system. When an employee clicks on that file name, it will just open up that file outside of the web in the software that runs that file format – assuming that the software needed is installed on the viewer’s machine.
Filter & Sort View Find any document in seconds. Sort by any category, process owner, or reference number to find the document that you’re looking for. Look through documents in draft, review, or the approval process to see what is being created. See Search Database by Title & Full-text Search.
Flexible Reminder System for Review Periods Set a default review period for your documents or you can change the number of months for any specific document. If a standard operating procedure needs to be reviewed quarterly or annually just set the number of months for that document and the software will automatically send a reminder to review the document at that time. Never forget to review or update a document again. See Automatic Annual or Custom Review Notification.
Hyperlinks You can link to any website, internal or external documents from inside the software. Send your employees and staff to an applicable web site for additional information or to another document to read more.
Quiz Capability This feature is a lifesaver when an audit occurs. Often users are responsible for having read your quality manuals. When they click "Mark as Read" a verification box appears that allows the reader to take responsibility for their understanding of the document. A quiz can even be required to test their comprehension of the document’s content.
Master Reviewers/Approvers of Policies Each department has a policy reviewer, but "Master Reviewers" may also be assigned to review all documents with or without a request from the author. Just another way to stay on top of your process control.
Messages Every user has their own Message center that will tell them any new documents they are required to read. If they do not have an email address, they can also access all of the emails generated inside the Policy & Procedure Manager.
PDF Conversion Use our Adobe® PDF converter to change your Word documents to be viewed by those who don’t have Microsoft Word on their computer.
Reference & HyperLink Documents Reference any approved document in the software to the one that you are creating. The readers will see any related documents so they will get all the relevant information for your complete policy solution.
Rename & Merge You can rename or merge departments if your company reorganizes. This will automatically update the fields in your Word documents (and the associated properties of all uploaded documents) so you don’t have to go spend hours or days going through each one individually.
Reports Run pre-built reports that will tell you when authors have documents that are overdue for review or which employees have not read their documents.
Required or Restrict Readers Restrict or require any user to read any document. If they are required to read a document they will get email reminders until they have marked it as read. Restrict readers and they won’t even know the document exists. This allows for security on sensitive documents.
Review & Approval Processing Policy and Procedure Manager uses the Internet to facilitate an efficient review & approval process. Managers are notified of documents they need to review, and they can respond, reject, or agree with the document. Once the document has cleared the review process, the document may be sent for approval. Upon approval by the designated approvers, the new document will be posted on the approved list, and emails will be notified and the document(s) being replaced will automatically archive.
Search Database by Title & Full- text Search Use the built-in search tools that make finding documents take seconds instead of minutes. Search by title, text, or keyword.
Security Our databases have been encrypted and designed to maintain the highest levels of security. And various security login features are accessible to allow you the ability to increase or decrease your login security according to your business needs.
Text Formatting Tools Since our software uses Microsoft Word inside its framework, you have all the formatting tools that you are used to using in Word.
Track Changes The software allows your reviewers and approvers to make changes to the document in the “track changes” mode. They can also include notes so they can justify the changes. The author can then accept or reject any of these changes.
User Authorizations Decide what permissions you want to give to each employee. You can set a number of different settings for your own checks and balances in your company.
User Imports Import users from other databases (such as Human Resources) or sync them with your Active Directory to keep your system updated with the latest employees. The Document Control Administrator will also receive notifications if an author leaves the company so that documents may be reassigned to a new document owner.
Versioning When you have to create a new version with any updates, the new document will automatically be given the subsequent version number.
Viewing Documents View all your policies, procedures, forms, and other documents quickly and simply. This makes an excellent tool for maintaining and auditing your employee manual.
Walk-thru Document Creation Procedure Writing is made simple since the administrator can set required fields that force authors to enter in all necessary information. This information is then entered into the template(s) created by the administrator to ensure a consistent and complete finished document.
Web-Based Access the software through the web so that everyone has access. Install the software on an IIS or Apache web server with access to a Microsoft® SQL Server™ or a MYSQL® database server and give online access to your employees wherever they are in the world.
|
