3-2-1 rule of documentation
Significance of documentation
Documents are indispensable for users of different management systems, but the mere term “documentation” is a red rag to a lot of persons dealing with it.
According to (the German version of) Wikipedia, documentation is “the utilization of information for further use”. In terms related to norms and standards, for example in quality management, reference is made to so-called “documented information”. Following DIN EN ISO 9000:2015 – 3.8.6, this is any information which is helpful to a company and therefore needs to be managed, irrespectively of the medium.
This means that anything, for instance, a piece of paper, an electronic file, a video recording, a component, or a liquid, etc., can be a document in terms of the standard.
Customary classification of documentation
Very often, documentation is divided into documents that actually provide instructions and documents that serve as evidence, in other words, records. Any information that contains any “instructions” for implementing or processing things is – irrespectively of the medium – a document that provides instructions. For quality management, political decision-makers may actually mandate process descriptions right up to procedure or work instructions.
Documents that have been filled out and processed, such as incoming goods control reports that have been filled out, control charts that have been filled out, test reports, or audit reports, are referred to as records.
Those documents need to be managed in terms of the standard.
Best practice approach
Many people will find the obligation to provide documentation bothersome in case the company uses the FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis). As to that, General Manager Dr. Scherb of PeRoBa® Unternehmensberatung GmbH provides the following recommendation, “Do describe solely the things you actually need and implement.” This means, don’t provide any unnecessary descriptions. Focus on your relevant documentation, and you will be perfectly positioned if you implement the following best practice approach, the “3-2-1 rule of documentation”.
As to that, the General Manager of PeRoBa® makes reference to the “3-2-1 rule of documentation”. That means, “Your documentation can be described as excellent if you enable after 3 years a second person to explain things to another person”.
We will be happy to explain how to introduce and implement such an approach through structured changes and the use of suitable methods in a free, no-obligation initial consultation.
By the way, our post QM Song: Plan, Do, Check, Act in a 90s Groove shows how memorably a control loop can be conveyed – the first song to pass the 3-2-1 rule.
About PeRoBa®:
PeRoBa® Unternehmensberatung GmbH has specialised in management systems since 1991. The company has been headquartered in Baldham since 2011 and also maintains an office on Prinzregentenstraße in Munich. PeRoBa® advises, audits and assesses to support clients in introducing and implementing their management systems, and also offers audits, QM training, seminars and workshops. Since January 2016, the in-house, patented software iVision® – Smart Remote Audit Solution has been on the market.
Dr. Roland Scherb is the founder and Managing Director of PeRoBa® Unternehmensberatung GmbH, certified to DIN EN ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 27001 and based in Baldham. He is President of the Bundesverband der Auditoren e. V. (German Federal Association of Auditors), head of the ISO Certification Competence Forum at BVMW e. V. (German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses) and a member of the DIN working committee NQSZ NA 147-00-07 GA on the revision of DIN EN ISO 19011. He is also a book author as well as a trainer and lecturer at renowned educational institutions on management systems and the associated core methods.
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