Audit on call: documents always up to date

Dhe treatment of adults, children and adolescents in psychiatric clinics or clinics for forensic psychiatry is the core task of the Vitos GmbH Group. With 3363 inpatient and day-care beds and places, Vitos is Hesse's largest provider of outpatient, day-care and full inpatient treatment for the mentally ill. 9400 employees treat and care for 33000 in-patients/partial in-patients and 170000 out-patients annually. Part of the Vitos group is the Vitos Haina gemeinnützige GmbH. It comprises two psychiatric clinics, residential homes for people with mental illness and/or mental handicap as well as a forensic outpatient clinic. A total of around 1200 staff are employed. The clinics have a quality management system according to ISO 9001. "Currently, four ISO 9001 certificates are current and one according to KTQ," explains quality management coordinator Jörg Imbeck. Preparations are currently underway to adapt to the latest standards, which will involve merging all existing certificates into one ISO certificate.

Software-supported document management

The MS QDS software system from Management Software Quality Development Systems AG (see box) should provide valuable services in this process. Vitos Haina uses the MS LDS module for document management. All manuals and other documents relevant for quality management as well as for certifications are accessible by means of this software via a Windows-based user interface. MS LDS pursues the goal of keeping all documents up-to-date at all times - always coordinated with the process map of the respective customer and with the respective quality standard, be it ISO 9001:2008, OHSAS or ISO/TS 16949, depending on the industry, as the organizing principle. All documents can be retrieved, read and, if necessary, adapted via menu trees. And here lies a special feature of MS LDS: The software "remembers" which other documents also have to be adapted in the event of a change. This means that nothing is forgotten if, for example, a new standard is required. Furthermore, the entire change history can be tracked for each document. This makes the process comprehensible for auditors at first glance.

Easy to understand operation

These are just some of the arguments that led to the decision in favour of MS LDS. The simple and intuitive operation is also convincing, as Jörg Imbeck emphasizes. Another great benefit is the possibility of running different structures in parallel (for example, according to old and new standardization). Each document physically exists only once and can be assigned to different folder structures via the database application. The administrator can track exactly which documents are accessed how often and by whom. This allows conclusions to be drawn about any training requirements.

How were the tasks that MS LDS now takes over handled in the past? "Before MS LDS, we used MS Doku from Martin Stumpe AG. From that point of view, it was actually an upgrade. Even before MS Doku, we worked more or less hand and foot, i.e. with Word and Excel documents. In addition, I programmed an HTML solution myself, so that there was at least a kind of web-based interface for reading. But one day that was no longer enough," he explains.

Integration with Microsoft Office

Therefore, a professional solution was needed. In the team, requirements were formulated, which a software has to fulfill, and a complete requirements specification was created. The team members began by searching individually for solutions that matched the requirements profile. "We invited several manufacturers to present their solutions to us," recalls Jörg Imbeck. "We certainly looked at ten software solutions. In the end, two remained, including MS Doku." Among the key requirements was a clear separation between the read-only page and the page for editors. The read-only page consists of a web-only page that can be published to the intranet via a web server. This ensures quick access to the QM manual for every employee without having to enter further login data. In addition, the software had to integrate well with the Office world with Excel, Word and PowerPoint. "And it must also allow us to program, i.e. customize, parts of the reading page ourselves," Imbeck continues. This avoids having to rely on the vendor for every change, for better or worse. And last but not least: The whole thing couldn't cost too much either. And so the decision was ultimately made in favor of the Martin Stumpe AG product and MS LDS from Management Software Quality Development Systems AG as the successor solution.

Clearly linked documents

The implementation, including training of the employees, took place in the shortest possible time. "It went smoothly," says Jörg Imbeck, "especially the switch from MS Doku to MS LDS. Those people who work directly with the software appreciate its stability and ease of use. "The users have quickly noticed that the program makes their work easier," answers Imbeck when asked about acceptance among employees. And he is already thinking about the next steps: "We are currently testing the modules MS MDS for the management of key figures as well as MS ADS for the better control of audits." Jörg Imbeck attaches particular importance to the endeavour to be able to automate as many standards as possible. Database-based software such as MS QDS, in which documents can be linked not by name but by unique ID, forms a good basis for this. He can only recommend that other companies take this into account when selecting a product. It is also necessary to define in advance exactly which control features should be recorded in the software for one's own documents. Another recommendation based on his own experience: "A software manufacturer must offer fast service and be able to react quickly to customer requests." A point that Jörg Imbeck sees fulfilled by MS QDS