8 replies to this topic

[dwells]

Hello All,

I am currently working to help my company attain SQF level 2 certification, we currently hold a SF/SF certification but, of course, SF/SF is no longer.

My question concerns document revision.

Currently, all of our documents, procedures, policies, etc. are logged in an excel spreadsheet. Included in this spreadsheet is the following information:

Document name, Date created, Revision Date, Document Creator, Change to the document, Who made the change.

 

I feel this format is lacking however, if I make a change to document 'X', I then change the revision date on the document itself, then I change revision date on the spreadsheet and document the reason for the change. This works if only one change is ever made to said document. Should every change made to this document be readily available?

 

Attached is a sample of our current tracking log.

(1) Is there a better way to track changes, maybe a format to put at the end of each document, policy, etc..?

(2) Does revision date need changed on each document every time.

(3) Also, does every document need revised annually even if there is nothing to change?

(4) Would SQF frown on a document that was last revised in 2011?

 

Thank You in advance for your help as I try to put things in place up to SQF standards.

Attached Files

•  mastercontrol.PNG   17.91KB   1 downloads

Edited by Charles.C, 15 June 2016 - 06:35 PM.
re-formatted for clarity / get .png to work

[dwells]

Trying this attachment again, not sure it's opening in the original...

Attached Files

•  mastercontrol.PNG   17.91KB   0 downloads

[gfdoucette07]

Good day dwells

 

I have been in both sqf & brc and use a list of changes at the bottom of each and found that works better, at least for me.  You do have to change revision number at each review or change to doc and add the new dates.  I also add the version number in the title. Here is an example

 

G

 

 

Attached Files

•  LFPAP016 Allergen Policy v05.doc   32.5KB   255 downloads

[QAGB]

Trying this attachment again, not sure it's opening in the original...

 

 

Good day dwells

 

I have been in both sqf & brc and use a list of changes at the bottom of each and found that works better, at least for me.  You do have to change revision number at each review or change to doc and add the new dates.  I also add the version number in the title. Here is an example

 

G

 

Hi DWells,

 

We use an excel spreadsheet to maintain our revision control. Yours looks like it could basically do the same thing.

 

1. Your spreadsheet (if you maintain the spreadsheet and not a history of amendments on the document itself) should be more of an archiving system; meaning that you should track the document each time it is changed; not just once. - Your headings should be something like this: Document Name, Amendment, Reason for Amendment, New Issue Date, Old Issue Date

 

2. In place of the spreadsheet, you could keep all of the issue information and history of amendments on the document itself. For example, you could have your documents all list "Document name, Date created, Revision Date, Document Creator, Change to the document, Who made the change." as you stated, then you could add your history of amendments to the bottom of the document. This will make some of your documents fairly lengthy if you make frequent changes.

 

3. You should have an archival system - The old issued (obsolete) documents should not be deleted, but they should go into an archive folder, so that you can keep track of those documents even though they aren't in use. Those documents should not be able to be accessed by anyone outside of QA so that document control is maintained and older versions aren't being distributed for some reason. We've found that our archive has been useful to us at times.

 

Our SOPs are in a somewhat similar format as GFDoucette's. We have the version, issue date, person completing, etc. Our history of amendments are located at the bottom of the documents. We use our spreadsheet mostly for production related documents, since a history of amendments isn't practical when you've gone through 5-6 versions and you need that space for record keeping.

 

QAGB

[QAGB]

Hi DWells,

 

We use an excel spreadsheet to maintain our revision control. Yours looks like it could basically do the same thing.

 

1. Your spreadsheet (if you maintain the spreadsheet and not a history of amendments on the document itself) should be more of an archiving system; meaning that you should track the document each time it is changed; not just once. - Your headings should be something like this: Document Name, Amendment, Reason for Amendment, New Issue Date, Old Issue Date

 

2. In place of the spreadsheet, you could keep all of the issue information and history of amendments on the document itself. For example, you could have your documents all list "Document name, Date created, Revision Date, Document Creator, Change to the document, Who made the change." as you stated, then you could add your history of amendments to the bottom of the document. This will make some of your documents fairly lengthy if you make frequent changes.

 

3. You should have an archival system - The old issued (obsolete) documents should not be deleted, but they should go into an archive folder, so that you can keep track of those documents even though they aren't in use. Those documents should not be able to be accessed by anyone outside of QA so that document control is maintained and older versions aren't being distributed for some reason. We've found that our archive has been useful to us at times.

 

Our SOPs are in a somewhat similar format as GFDoucette's. We have the version, issue date, person completing, etc. Our history of amendments are located at the bottom of the documents. We use our spreadsheet mostly for production related documents, since a history of amendments isn't practical when you've gone through 5-6 versions and you need that space for record keeping.

 

QAGB

 

I should also add to the following point that if you choose to use this method, your document should still have all of the version information; you just would have a separate document for the history of amendments.

 

1. Your spreadsheet (if you maintain the spreadsheet and not a history of amendments on the document itself) should be more of an archiving system; meaning that you should track the document each time it is changed; not just once. - Your headings should be something like this: Document Name, Amendment, Reason for Amendment, New Issue Date, Old Issue Date.

 

 

 

QAGB

[ganderson64]

dwells - 

I have worked with a number of archiving systems and there are many ways to achieve the goal. In seeking certification it is important to remember that the effort and intent of the system is the biggest concern. A qualified auditor will provide an opinion of anything they may be lacking.

1) Revision history is critical. A summary of the revisions at the bottom of the page is effective.

2) Access to copies of old documents is helpful, if not required, by auditors. I have been in the habit of highlighting changes to a document in yellow. I then would store them electronically so they provide a history of changes.

3) I put the revision date on the document. The log shows the origination date, but remember an auditor is concerned more with what is occurring now, not so much what has occurred in the past.

4) SQF code requires they system be reviewed annually which would include your documents. This is a recorded confirmation the documents that make up the system are current, applicable, and relevant to what is going on. Review the document and log that a review has been performed. A developed quality system will generate few document revisions as a result of annual document review.

 

Finally - there are a number of cloud-based QMS software systems available that perform all of this automatically. I have been BLESSED in that senior management embraces quality and provided me with such a tool. Investigate these and it is easy to justify the costs.

Good luck.

[bbekbekk]

Hello all, I have a question on this topic of requirements. We have implemented the use of google drive/docs/spreadsheets for all of our food safety documents. Google drive automatically tracks ALL changes, the date, time, and author name (multiple authors can be working in the same document and it will track full names with their changes). It's very easy to pull up online to show someone, e.g. an auditor, and it will display on the side of the document online and then can be printed from there. 

 

I feel this sufficiently satisfies requirements for tracking... but I wanted opinion of others more experienced. Also, do I need to continually print this out or is having it saved online ok? 

[sarah2014]

so do we have to review each sop, each policy every year ??/

[John Egano Gomentong II]

so do we have to review each sop, each policy every year ??/

If there's any amendments, practices, methods, or any changes in the FS System..yes, we do need to review each sops, policies..any related to the FSMS. Correct me if I'm wrong.