Any suggestions on a document control numbering system?
Any suggestions on a numbering system? We are considering two levels for our Food Safety manual:
02.01 - Management Commitment
02.01.01 - Management Policy
Add a level for the procedure 02.01.01.01 - Maintaining Management Policy
Add a level for Work instruction 02.01.01.01.01 - How to modify Management Policy
We did this to line up better with the standard but it seem complicated. Any suggestions on a numbering system?
Hi,
I use a numbering system where the type of document and department are identified, then documents are numbered sequentially as they are created. If I want the SQF element number, I add it to either the header or footer.
For example:
SOP.QA.001 - would be an SOP belonging to Quality
FORM.OP.001 - would be a form belonging to operations
WI.SH.001 - a work instruction belonging to shipping
.......and so on.
Lmarsh16
Hi John,
I use a numbering system like this:
Policy = POL 1.1.000
SOP related to that policy = SOP 1.1.001, SOP 1.1.002 and so on.
Form related to that SOP = FORM 1.1.001, FORM 1.1.002 and so on.
Work instruction related to that SOP = WI 1.1.001, WI 1.1.002 and so on.
Numbers are assigned based on code organization; e.g. management items start with 1, document/records with 2, product development, specifications start with 3 and so on.
Revision numbers start with R 0.0 for originals, R 0.1, R 0.2 and so on for internal revisions and R 1.0 for code revisions.
It seems rather complex to me and I know I'd be missing zeros and ones all over the place trying to maintain this system. If you insist on keeping everything associated with management commitment under #2 why not:
Section 2 - Management Commitment
2.1 – Management Policy
2.1.1 - Maintaining Management Policy
2.1.1.1 - How to modify Management Policy
This is how I do Mine document numbering system
I hope this helps. :spoton:
Attached Files
Ours are set up in a way that reminds me of college courses...
For example, using your document names:
- Management Commitment would be M100
- Management Policy would be M100-A
- Maintaining Management Policy would be M100-B
- How to modify Management Policy would be M100-C
"M" is the function code for Management. Health & Safety is HS; Quality is Q; Training is T....et cetera.
We don't have ours numbered to reflect the system, but we do have a master table document that lists each clause of the SQF code and our policies/procedures/work instructions that apply to it.
I think however you organize your system is fine, as long as you're able to explain the reasoning behind it, especially when a new policy/procedure/work instruction is created (or if an auditor asks).
-Christina
I used a hopefully simplest system requiring zero imagination.
I used 3 digit number for top level Policies / Procedures since never going to be more than 999 and 2, 2 letter prefixes.
For other Procedures, Work Instructions, Forms, etc,etc i used a 5 digit number/1 letter prefix starting from 00001 then just carried on as events demanded. Never likely to be (numerically) exceeded IMO. :smile:
Right or wrong, I have always numbered documents according to the Standard being used.
Let's assume BRC and section 3.2 Documentation Control
3.2.1 requires a "procedure" to manage documents. So,
3.2.1 is the document (procedure) that spells out all the requirements of that clause and how they are addressed.
3.2.1.1 is the Master Document List (specific requirement in the clause)
3.2.1.2 is the Document Change Request Form (local form to document change request, completion of request, and revision update.)
Advantages:
Easy to find relevant documents at audit time (especially if stored electronically in logical folders)
Disadvantages:
If the Standard changes clause numbers, documents have to be re-numbered and moved to different logical folders.
Marshall
We have a Quality framework and each elements falls under its key standard. For example Personal Hygiene is under People Standard. Therefore if we have handling bread procedure, then the document number would look like this:
GFPPS-Baking-QA-Procedure-001
Explanation:
GF: company name.
PPS: abbreviation for People Standard
Baking: to specify which business division this document relates to. We have several divisions (dairy, baking, grocery). For general procedure that applies to all, e.g., hand washing then we would use 'Group'.
QA: Quality Assurance
Procedure: document type. Other options: Policy, Standard, Template, Training, Reference.
001: sequential number.
Hope this is helpful. It is important to consider the future and outside of QA related documents when generating the document number. With our format, any other department could easily adopt our document number, by simply changing QA to R&D.
Good luck :)
We use this system -
Document numbers are to be set up with the following format - 001-QA-01-PRO.01
Doc Number 001 – QA Manual Section 01 – Procedure . Version 01
The current manual sections are as follows
- QA – Quality Assurance
- OP – Operations Manual
- WS – Workplace Health & Safety
- HR – Human Resources
- CP – Corporate / Strategy
The following are the current allowable document types
- POL – Policy
- PRO – Procedure
- WIN – Work Instruction
- FRM – Form
- REG – Register
- REC – Record (these are forms that need to be completed by hand)
- SCH – Schedule
- TMP – Template
- CoA – Certificate of Analysis
Currently we have 10 sections under QA, 8 under operations, etc.
A system that I have found to be rather simple and easy to use is as follows:
SOP XXX.Y where:
- SOP is any predesignated prefix for a type of document (e.g. SOP for Standard Operating Procedures, PM for Preventive Maintenance Records, SI/SR for Sanitation Instructions and Sanitation Records/, PR for Packaging Records, etc). These could be anything that makes sense for your company
- XXX is a three or four digit number assigned to a specific record. These can be assigned in groups to manage related documents as well as the same NUMBER can be issued, for example, for an SOP and a PR.
- Y is simply a revision number that identifies how many times the document has been changed (e.g. 0 is the original document, .3 shows that the document has been changed 3 times already.
This tends to work well and really makes document use easy IMO.
Hope this helps!
Our system is very basic but effective. We use R for Register, M for Manual, P for Procedure, WI for Work Instruction the codes are preceded by a numerical system. Example R0001, R0002 for a Register F0001, F0002 for forms. Since we have forms outside of quality system we put a Q after any quality document. Such as F0001Q
Attached Files
I just started a different thread to ask a similar question but I found some helpful ideas here. Thanks all!
Any suggestions on a numbering system? We are considering two levels for our Food Safety manual:
02.01 - Management Commitment
02.01.01 - Management Policy
Add a level for the procedure 02.01.01.01 - Maintaining Management Policy
Add a level for Work instruction 02.01.01.01.01 - How to modify Management Policy
We did this to line up better with the standard but it seem complicated. Any suggestions on a numbering system?
This is similar to what my company is doing now. A scheme like this can be complicated and confusing, especially at a company with high turn over in roles responsible for document control. I am looking for a different numbering scheme that is sustainable in the event that I ever leave the company.
Following on this, what are your thoughts on changing a numbering system once you've already started? the system we currently use I inherited from my predecessor, and it's very long and convoluted and doesn't make much sense to me. it also makes it annoying to store documents because the titles are too long on some and has to be changed. I would ideally like to start from scratch with a simple numbering system that suit us better. I'm pretty new to this particular project and I want it to be set up properly.
I'd like to add that I noticed our numbering system has been changed a few times in the past, due to lack of a good doc control process in place, and while it is a bit annoying, it doesn't seem to have caused that many issues.
Pros/cons to doing this?
Hi All,
My 2 cents worth.
As per Post 8, FS auditors tend to appreciate a system which makes life easier for them. If you agree this logic, no further decisions required.
If otherwise, IMO the choice should particularly depend on who's going to do the "legwork". If you have a team spreading the load feel free to be as creative as you like. If you are a 1-man documentation system which has been my experience, go for a a procedure which minimises the effort. IMO/EX this is usually the least creative.
i first studied all the wonderful documentation systems which have been uploaded elsewhere for iso9001, eg NASA etc. Then i tried to implement something similar. Then i (rapidly) discounted all of them and went for a relatively straightforward numbering-only system. May not be elegant but requires minimal calculative ability.
I made a point of numbering all my documents by order of their place in the quality manual. For example, Section 8 is Vehicle Management and the first document in this chapter is the Company Vehicle Policy. Thus Doc 8.1- Company Vehicle Policy, 8.2- Vehicle Cleaning Procedure etc.... Auditors enjoy this way of doing things as they can say "can I see your policy on cleaning vehicles" and you can find it within seconds. Ultimately this is YOUR numbering system so doing it in a way that enables you to understand it clearly is the most important thing.
This is how I do Mine document numbering system
I hope this helps. :spoton:
That was very helpful. Thanks a lot.
Very helpful!! Thank you!
Any suggestions on a numbering system? We are considering two levels for our Food Safety manual:
02.01 - Management Commitment
02.01.01 - Management Policy
Add a level for the procedure 02.01.01.01 - Maintaining Management Policy
Add a level for Work instruction 02.01.01.01.01 - How to modify Management Policy
We did this to line up better with the standard but it seem complicated. Any suggestions on a numbering system?
Keep it as simple as possible.
In my opinion, max. 6 digits of alfa numeric characters are enough.
eg. F.XX.YYY (Form #YYY of XX department/section)
Do you mind if I ask what kind of system you are going to be using to manage your documents?
The most common practice I have seen (which most document control systems mirror) is using the document type and sequential numbers then an optional Suffix Example below.
Then put the classifying information in the metadata of the document control system so that you can sort that way. They can be linked through association with each other or creating a document map.
SOP-0001-(Your Suffix optional)
SOP-0002-(Your Suffix optional)
External EXT Policy POL Directive DIR Manual MAN Management System Process MSP Document Mapping MAP Procedure SOP Work Instruction WI Operating Manual OM One Point Lesson OPL Test Method TM Master Method MM Master Method Summary MMS Form FRM Batch Record Form BRF List LST Specification SPEC Risk Assessment RA Guide/Training Material TRN Safety Data Sheet SDS
This kind of numbering system seems to be easiest to remember for people who are not always in the document system. I have found that when you start using custom numbering it is hard to maintain especially when the standards change or if you have a document that applies to multiple standards such as a Management Review document can apply to both an ISO and SQF manual.
Do you mind if I ask what kind of system you are going to be using to manage your documents?
The most common practice I have seen (which most document control systems mirror) is using the document type and sequential numbers then an optional Suffix Example below.
Then put the classifying information in the metadata of the document control system so that you can sort that way. They can be linked through association with each other or creating a document map.
SOP-0001-(Your Suffix optional)
SOP-0002-(Your Suffix optional)
External EXT Policy POL Directive DIR Manual MAN Management System Process MSP Document Mapping MAP Procedure SOP Work Instruction WI Operating Manual OM One Point Lesson OPL Test Method TM Master Method MM Master Method Summary MMS Form FRM Batch Record Form BRF List LST Specification SPEC Risk Assessment RA Guide/Training Material TRN Safety Data Sheet SDS
This kind of numbering system seems to be easiest to remember for people who are not always in the document system. I have found that when you start using custom numbering it is hard to maintain especially when the standards change or if you have a document that applies to multiple standards such as a Management Review document can apply to both an ISO and SQF manual.
Hi Peak,
I think yr penultimate paragraph unfortunately got garbled.
I wish I knew what metadata is. My bad.
My apologies that is my IT background sneaking out. Metadata is other categorized information in an electronic file that can be used for sorting or grouping purposes.
Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can make finding and working with particular instances of data easier.
Also my chart that didn't transfer well was just an example of document types
- External EXT (EXT-0001)
- Policy POL ( POL-0001)
- Directive DIR ( DIR-0001)
- Manual MAN ( MAN-0001)
- Management System Process MSP (MSP-0001)
- Document Mapping MAP ( MAP-0001)
- Procedure SOP ( SOP-0001)
- Work Instruction WI ( WI-0001)
- Operating Manual OM ( OM-0001)
- One Point Lesson OPL ( OPL-0001)
- Test Method TM ( TM-0001)
- Master Method MM ( MM-0001)
- Master Method Summary MMS ( MMS-0001)
- Form FRM ( FRM-0001)
- Batch Record Form BRF ( BRF-0001)
- List LST ( LST-0001)
- Specification SPEC ( SPEC-0001)
- Risk Assessment RA ( RA-0001)
- Guide/Training Material TRN ( TRN-0001)
- Safety Data Sheet SDS ( SDS-0001)
Hi Peak,
Thanks for the list/clarification. I am suitably impressed. :smile:
I once tried to implement such elegant methods but I eventually concluded to be difficult without a (documentation) team to do the heavy lifting. Which one should have of course.