Checklists: An essential tool for Document Controllers

We can never emphasize enough the need for checklists in the Document Control Profession.

For example, a key document that every Document Control team should share is a Quality Checklist for documents.

Document Controllers are indeed in charge of checking the compliance, quality, consistency of documents in their project / department / company (you can read more about what is Document Control here, and what are the duties and tasks of a Document Controller here).

Although this is the basis of our discipline, you will find that not everybody works in the same way, especially when it comes to Quality Checks. 

For more efficiency, client companies can even share this checklist with their contractors and suppliers so that they perform the same checks prior to issuing documents.

In the battle for quality and consistency, checklists are definitely great tools, if not “weapons”, to reach our goals and maintain our values.

In many cases even if you give the same document to 10 Document Controllers for quality checks, they  will all come back with a different list of errors and discrepancies.

This variation is something we want to avoid in Document Control. Two of the values we must focus on are indeed consistency and quality (read more on the values of Document Control here) 

This means that the end-product must be consistently the same, regardless of the person who processed it. 

Within a same the project / department / company, documents must all be checked with the same method.

A great and efficient way to achieve this is through checklists: for example, by having a common checklist listing out all the checks to be done by Document Controllers on documents: 

• Prior to registering a new revision
• Prior to sending a document outside the company
• Upon receipt of an incoming transmittal package
• Etc. 

Example of a DC checklist

The checklist will ensure that everyone covers the same checks, and this regardless of whoever is in charge of the checks.

It is also a great way to train new comers about the level of quality expected from them.

Consepsys has developped a template of Document Control Checklist, which can be downloaded from here. It's a great starting point if you do not have one already, but it's also great to check that your own checklist is comprehensive.

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Other blog articles that might interest you:

Roles & Tasks in Document Control

Control of Documentation and Safety