Documents are the history of a company, the basis for research, keep its secrets and speak of its strengths. That’s why millions of companies worldwide are looking for ways to preserve and preserve this valuable information. But, as you well know, paper is finite and deteriorates over time.

The preservation of digital documents is an excellent tool for the preservation of sensitive and important information that could be required later by the company. A simple technological solution, but which, if not left in the right hands, can become a major headache.

You should not forget that digital information is easier to alter than physical information and, although this is a great advantage, it requires even more care.

The digitization of paper documents, contrary to what you might think, has not simplified the process of filing and storing them. In fact, today, almost all information comes in digital media.

This factor has led to the production of an immense amount of information that is very complex to organize by relevance, age and subject matter. Therefore, companies specialized in this area follow certain steps. By complying with a series of rules, they guarantee the correct organization and preservation of this data.

Magnetic Media Guard is the solution for storing information in a safe place off your main site. If your company is affected by any loss or requires access to historical data, the media will be safely stored in our vault and available for immediate shipment, whenever you require it.

Here are some of the possible risks that we can mitigate with the Magnetic Media Vault service:

Main benefits:

Although we have already shared what the purpose of magnetic media storage is, an essential question arises, «what should you store?» Although more systems appear every day, knowing how to organize information is a source of competitive advantages.

Among the steps to be followed when preserving digital documents on magnetic media, these are the most important:

1. Establish a protocol on how to organize digital information: They are basically the “rules of the game” with which it is determined how to name folders, under which categories they should be organized (date, subject or name), if subfolders will be used, etc.

2. Backups: This step is vital within the archiving process. Today, we are not exempt from computer accidents or attacks (viruses, ransomware, etc.), so we must carry them out periodically.

3. Safe space: Within the entire document custody process, it is important to highlight that we must do it in security vaults away from magnetism that could erase the information. We are facing a very serious issue, so it must be treated as such.

4. Use: After knowing that our documents are properly organized and guarded, it is important that they retain these attributes over time. These must be authentic, reliable and available to us.

5. Conservation: Not all documents should be available immediately. As time goes by, some information becomes obsolete, although remember that it must also be saved. This step certifies that, through various procedures, the information will be properly classified and organized until you need it.

As you have seen, the surveillance of digital documents on magnetic media is of vital importance for your company, since the history, the fruit of knowledge and the cultural heritage of the company depend on it.

According to Unesco: «The enormous treasure of digital information produced today in practically all areas of human activities and designed to be consulted with computers could be lost if specific techniques and policies for its conservation are not developed.»

So, don’t forget that optimal access to information will improve decision-making and save a lot of time.

Source: https://atsgestion.net/se-realiza-custodia-medios-magneticos/

The digital environment in which companies operate today has made many managers have to rethink the tools to use in their daily work.

As a general rule, company leaders tend to pay more attention to financial and human resources assets, for which they hire specialized management software. But what about the large volumes of information that companies handle?

The information related to customers, suppliers, and even all the legal and financial documentation that is generated daily can end up collapsing the staff and therefore, the company.

This fact has demonstrated the need for a document management software in the business environment, which helps to organize the huge accumulated data and allows, therefore, an adequate management of all clients.

But beyond improving the effectiveness of the actions to be carried out with clients, having accessible and well classified information will favor decision-making and the daily work of company personnel. Still, document management software is just a tool.

Companies must adapt to a series of changes and face a set of challenges that allows them to adapt one hundred percent to the digital age in which they operate.

Correctly manage risk information assets: they are all those documents that contain information that is either confidential, or on the contrary that have some type of legal or fiscal link. Knowing how to correctly manage and organize this type of information is vital for the survival of a company. And it is that the fines that can cause the loss of important legal information can become so high that they could even lead to the ruin of any organization. A document management software incorporates the option of digitizing files, which, together with good supervision of appropriate personnel, facilitates this type of exercise.

Integration of ISO standards into document management: ISO standards for quality management and services in companies are not only related to production and organization processes. Document management must also be integrated within those quality standards proposed by international standards. Document management programs facilitate this integration, by standardizing many of the processes in an easy and automatic way.

Consideration of the importance of documentation in the company: As a general rule, assets related to information have been considered secondary. Priorities have always been those that generate the most results in the short term, such as those related to capital or human resources. This trend is changing, and many managers have realized the need to introduce tools such as document management software to enhance the efficiency of the company’s production processes. The company’s strategy also benefits from this type of document manager, as it improves decision-making for the future.

Digitization of physical assets: Many companies with a traditional structure still maintain shelves full of documentation organized in a chaotic way. To be able to use the capabilities of a document management software effectively, it is necessary that all these documents are digitized. But this process should not be done without established criteria, since the technology used to transform that information and the way in which it will later be managed must be taken into account.

Integration with other management software present in the company: today, many companies, even small and medium-sized companies, have business solutions such as ERP or CRM. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out integration processes of all the systems so that they operate in harmony and the effectiveness of all the tools multiplies the final productivity of the corporation.

In short, document management software automates many of the processes related to the management and administration of documents in companies. Even so, they must face a series of challenges that facilitate the development of these management programs and allow the total integration of the company in the digital age in which we live.

Source: https://www.quonext.com/blog/5-retos-gestion-documental-empresas/

ISO 9001 standard

A Quality Management System based on ISO 9001 needs to somehow control the documented procedures, even if you try to reduce their number to a minimum, you will still have to provide some documented procedures. Although the new requirements of ISO 9001 2015 do not require the creation of documented procedures to control these documents, there is still a need to control the documented information of the organization.

What the ISO 9001 standard states and how it can be met

The new requirements of the ISO 9001 2015 standard are not very different from those that already existed when it comes to controlling documents. It is necessary to demonstrate that the documents were approved for suitability before use, reviewed and updated periodically, and the legible and identifiable versions, which are relevant from the point of view of their use and the obsolete documents that are no longer used.

If you already have a procedure for document control, which complies with the ISO 9001 standard, this procedure will continue to be useful for the new version of the standard. As we have already mentioned, there is no need to change the terms you are already using, if you want to continue using the term documents and records instead of documented information, and then continue with your Quality Management System.

The importance of document approval and withdrawal

The documented information requirements of ISO 9001 2015 supersede the prerequisites for both documented procedures and records, and the proper approval and withdrawal of each of the organization’s important documents. The most important thing to remember will be that the right people have to approve a document and it has to be removed when its use is finished.

As there is no need to document all the procedures of your organization, you must ensure that the procedures that are approved must be forwarded to the appropriate employees. In the same way, if the procedure is updated, the old one must be quickly withdrawn from circulation among its workers, so that the new and improved work instructions can begin to be used.

Regarding the records, they are also necessary, because they are the objective evidence that they have been collected to show that it is properly implemented in its Quality Management System. Therefore, records must be properly approved at the time they are created. In the case of obsolete records, it is intended to define an estimated time in which to destroy them in order to gain space and storage capacity, since keeping evidence indefinitely is limited.

Available formats for documented information

Documented information is in two main formats:

• Paper copies and electronic documents
• Records

This is easy to understand, but how do paper copies and electronic documents differ from documented information? The systems are not very different in their basic concepts, although the details are different.

In the Quality Management System based on the ISO 9001 standard, it tells us that the procedures must have the proper authorization before they are released. Printed records must show the signature or stamp of the person in charge of approval.

If you want to keep this document on paper or saved on a CD-ROM, you will have to have a place where people can access the procedures to be able to use them, and it will have to be stored properly, that is, preventing them from being destroyed. physically, for this normally a copy is made available to the workers and never the original.

There are different software that helps to control the approval closing process, but this does not change the need to approve it before the document is released.

The withdrawal and elimination of obsolete procedures can be done very quickly thanks to a software, since it can be programmed at the moment in which you want a document to be withdrawn or eliminated. Hard copies are more difficult to control, as it would be necessary to locate and replace or destroy the hard copy of the document or record.

Today there are many software that make it easy to control documented ISO 9001 information, but they can be somewhat expensive for small businesses. If you have a small business that has procedures and records in place, then you should investigate a paper process for approving, using, monitoring, and withdrawing information from the organization.

A Quality Management System according to ISO 9001 is not intended to drive implementation through expensive software that does not meet the needs of your organization, but it is intended to help you improve customer satisfaction and save money through continuous improvement. With a simple method of controlling documented information that works for you, you won’t need to spend a lot of time and money.

Source: https://www.nueva-iso-9001-2015.com/2016/04/como-gestionar-documentos-registros-obsoletos-norma-iso-9001/