February 11, 2004—A new, Web-based product designed to help organizations comply and document their compliance with a growing array of internal and externally imposed regulations has just been introduced by IBS America, a global supplier of Internet-based software and services for quality management. QSI Websystem for Compliance Management greatly simplifies and accelerates the task of ensuring and proving compliance, says IBS. The first QSI Websystem module, now available, is document control—the cornerstone of any compliance management initiative.
Standards and regulations that many organizations must satisfy today include:
- ISO standards (9001 or 14000)—globally accepted quality and environmental standards
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)—protects medical records and health information
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act – Public Company Reform and Investor Protection Act—requires documentation about corporate governance, financial disclosure and public accounting
- Graham-Leach-Bliley (Financial Modernization Act)—regulates sharing of personal financial information
- Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act—requires “cradle-to-grave” documentation of sources and distribution of food items
- Safety regulations (OSHA), environmental regulations (EPA), and many industry-specific regulations
A recent AMR Research study estimates businesses will spend $5.5 billion in 2004 to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley alone; of that nearly $3 billion will be in hard expenditures that could affect bottom-line performance. A recent survey by Quality Systems Update found that the average total cost to achieve ISO registration is $155,865.
A major concern of compliance management is the inefficiency and costs of managing print documentation. Critical documents like policy or quality manuals, procedures, work instructions and process descriptions are created to meet initial standardization compliance, and after certification, become the blueprint for tracking, managing, and optimizing processes. Documents must be continually updated to reflect current procedures so employees have access to information quickly and easily. QSI Websystem for Compliance Management provides document control features that handle this online, quickly and cost-effectively.
The new product includes a Web-based, platform independent document control system that enables documents to be created, edited, routed, and deleted via the Internet. With Websystem, the entire documentation lifecycle is automated and optimized for peak efficiency. Important benefits include: scalability and extensibility, optimized usability, streamlined workflow, and mobility.
For more information, visit IBS.
