Editorial by: Massimo Leone
Finance & Control Director Openwork
In my work as Finance & Control Director , the companies I serve sometimes entrust me with managing ISO certifications, a field in which I have gained considerable experience over the years. In particular, I am often entrusted with closely monitoring audits ; I know that this often causes a certain sense of unease among the companies: the people involved become agitated, they waste entire days researching and preparing documents, and ultimately the entire audit day is taken up with this, resulting in a significant loss of productivity .
I had always considered this situation normal, until I encountered a different experience, which I had for the first time three years ago.
The CEO of a company entrusted me with closely monitoring the ISO 9001 renewal audit . I remember asking several managers to provide me with the necessary documents, required by a complex procedure involving multiple areas of the organization. Based on previous experience, I had resigned myself to a sort of ordeal. The first surprise was receiving the documents in just a few minutes , all consistent; but the most surprising thing was the very precise information I received about the process and all the steps required by the procedure. That time, however, it was clear to me that they were not the result of a post-construction reconstruction, but of something that had occurred along the way, that is, while the work was being carried out in a completely transparent and automatic manner. A true blessing for the audit activity, and in fact, the auditors' work went smoothly, completed in a short time and even receiving compliments. This was a repeat of every subsequent audit.
Naturally, after my first experience, I called the managers and asked, " Excuse me, but how did you do it ?" The answer was, "We've been using a Business Process Management to support all our business processes for years!"
I'd heard about it, but for me it had always been pure theory. Seeing the results, I began to rethink and study: a whole new world had opened up to me, one that had a lot to do with my profession!"
While it's true that current competitive landscapes require companies to pursue efficiency goals while maintaining compliance with international quality standards (for example, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001), it's also true that even in the most well-structured companies, audits often become a nightmare, potentially paralyzing operations for several days.
I had just discovered that a Business Process Management (BPM) is an essential tool for simplifying, organizing, and optimizing audit activities, significantly reducing the effort required by the entire organization to produce information and documents.
What is a Business Process Management platform?
Business Process Management (BPM) platform is a software system that allows you to design, execute, monitor, and optimize business processes. BPM platforms not only digitize workflows but also offer tools for managing data, documents, and communications, all within a single interface. Thanks to these capabilities, BPM platforms can support companies in many operational areas, including, of course, quality management and auditing.
Audit management for quality certification
Auditing for quality certifications, such as ISO 9001, is a rigorous process that requires continuous monitoring, data collection, and detailed reporting.
It is therefore necessary to organize and govern:
- Documentation Management: Each audit requires access to a large amount of documentation, including quality manuals, operating procedures, records, and evidence of compliance.
- Process Monitoring: It is necessary to track processes in real time to ensure they comply with required standards.
- Detection of Nonconformities: Identifying, reporting, and correcting nonconformities in a timely manner is essential to maintaining certification.
- Team Coordination: Audits involve multiple departments and teams, making coordination difficult without the right tools.
How a BPM platform facilitates auditing
Workflow Automation
A BPM platform allows you to automate audit processes and related workflows. Thanks to the ability to model processes, you can create predefined workflows for each stage of the audit, from data collection to reporting non-conformities and generating final reports. This reduces the possibility of human error and increases the speed and efficiency of the process.
Document centralization:
One of the key features of BPM platforms is document management. All documents required for audits (manuals, logs, certificates, reports) can be centralized within the system, making them easily accessible to all team members involved in the process. This centralization facilitates information review and updating, as well as ensuring that all documents are versioned and updated in real time.
Real-time process monitoring
BPM platforms offer advanced real-time monitoring and reporting capabilities. This means managers and quality assurance officers can gain clear and immediate visibility into the status of business processes and their compliance with standards. Integrated reporting tools allow you to generate accurate and up-to-date audit reports in just a few clicks, significantly reducing the time required to prepare documentation.
Non-Conformity Management:
Quickly identifying and resolving non-conformities is crucial to maintaining quality certification. With a BPM platform, you can set up automatic alerts and notifications when a non-conformity is detected. Furthermore, the platform can guide teams through a predefined process for managing corrective actions, ensuring each step is completed on time and as expected.
Audit trail and traceability
A key feature of BPM platforms is the ability to maintain a detailed audit trail, which tracks all changes, actions, and decisions made during the audit process. This traceability ensures there is always documented evidence of each step, facilitating review by external auditors and reducing the risk of non-compliance.
Integration and Collaboration Between Teams
BPM platforms foster collaboration between the various departments involved in the audit. Thanks to integrated communication features and shared dashboards, team members can collaborate more effectively, ensuring all activities are carried out in a coordinated manner. Furthermore, the platform allows for clear assignment of roles and responsibilities, improving transparency and coordination of activities.
Conclusion
Using a Business Process Management quality certification auditing activities offers numerous benefits, including data centralization, activity traceability, process automation, and improved non-compliance management. Implementing a BPM therefore allows companies to streamline audit processes, reduce associated time and costs, and ensure ongoing compliance with quality standards , thus helping maintain competitiveness and a strong market reputation.
Jamio OpenWorks 4.8: Video Tutorial on the New Organization Manager
With the recent Jamio openwork 4.8 release, managing the organizational structure of a Jamio solution is now completely web-based.
Jamio workspace via the Admin Console . To facilitate quick and effective use of the web-based tool, we have created a tutorial that explains how to model and manage an organizational structure using the Admin Console tools.
This is the first of many video contributions that will guide you, step by step, in the modeling of Jamio solutions , which will soon be available through the new Jamio openwork Academy .
"Laboratory and Chemical Industry Safety"
Openwork's contribution to the Secure Safe Apulia project
An informative webinar was held on Thursday 26 September “Secure Safe Apulia” in the Chemical Defense .
The online event, "Laboratory and Chemical Industry Safety," offered an opportunity to explore digital threats and related solutions for the sector, as well as present a prevention prototype for cyber, chemical, and physical risks.
“Secure Safe Apulia” is a flagship project of the Apulian IT Production District (funded by the Apulia Region) that aims to disseminate knowledge, methods, and tools for effective Cyber-Physical risk management ; a project that saw a partnership of companies such as MACNIL, OPENWORK, SYSMAN and EUSOFT with the participation of three Apulian universities, the University of Bari, the Polytechnic of Bari, and the University of Salento.
The digital event, in particular, focused attention on Chemical defense , an area of interest of the partner Eusoft , with whom Openwork collaborated to define the organizational model to support response and prevention plans with a no-code .
