Approval Cycles
Compare "budget" EQMS products and you will notice something alarming:
Most systems advertise ISO 9001 capability, and nothing more, for a reason. They are missing electronic signatures and approval cycles.
No one wants to go to an electronic system just to print records, physically sign and upload them to complete approvals.
A real electronic quality management system needs 21 CFR Part 11-compliant electronic signatures, a validation to back them up, and a signature cycle to put them to work.
Electronic Supplier Approval
FreeQMS allows users to electronically approve Suppliers through a collaborative approval cycle.
Figure 1 on the right shows the electronic signature screen prompting for a user’s password.
Users are required to enter a password for each electronic signing for compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11.
Figure 1. FreeQMS Supplier User Approval Fill Form
Multiple Supplier Approval Cycles
FreeQMS is built to replicate the common revolving Supplier approval cycles found in most paper systems.
Suppliers that are approved may transition back to pending for the following reasons:
The Supplier’s evaluation period automatically moving the Supplier back to “Pending” status
A Supplier is manually set to Pending by a user with appropriate permissions due to expired certificates, lacking documentation, or other typical ISO compliance rationales.
Figure 2 on the righ shows a Test supplier with multiple approval cycles.
Suppliers may be go through unlimited approval cycles during the lifetime of an organization.
Figure 2. Supplier with multiple approval cycles
Electronic Approval History
FreeQMS records history of all approval cycle interactions in a permanent History trail specific to each record.
Figure 3 at the right shows the History trail for a Supplier that has been through an electronic approval cycle.
FreeQMS incorporates industry-unique functionality to display only interactions since the last Approval Cycle for ease of review by quality professionals.
Electronic History trails make audits a snap with easy to produce records.
Figure 3. Electronic Approval History
Electronic Audit Closure
FreeQMS allows users to close Audit records in an electronic collaborative process.
Figure 4 shows an Audit record with a completed electronic approval cycle with a single approving user.
Figure 4. Electronic Audit Closure
FreeQMS...you get the point. Start approving electronically today. End prints. End scans.