Controlled documents and training

A controlled document carries its title, version, effective date, attachment and status. Draft revisions move into Review before approval. An approved revision is the released quality reference; an obsolete one remains identifiable as such. The document workflow preserves existing training acknowledgments when a revision is released. An amendment creates a new version rather than replacing the old record in place.

Training acknowledgments link a person to a controlled document and record when that person acknowledged it. Document Coordinator can use those links to see which people have acknowledged a revision. Quality Manager owns the approval decision. Inspectors should use the approved quality reference that applies to their work when recording inspection requirements and observations.

• Prepare. Document Coordinator records title, version, attachment and intended effective date.
• Release. Quality Manager reviews the revision and approves it for use.
• Acknowledge. Each acknowledgment links a named person to the document and its date.

Agree version naming, effective date policy and the people who approve different quality documents. The title should let an inspector locate the right requirement; the version distinguishes the current release from earlier wording. Define how a new amendment is requested and how the team decides that an earlier version has become Obsolete.

Decide which roles need acknowledgment for each document and when it must happen relative to the effective date. The acknowledgment record links to a person, not a job title alone. If a person changes responsibility, the team can still identify what they acknowledged. Keep the attachment and version together so a later audit can inspect the exact text that was released.

Document Coordinator prepares a revised fabric inspection instruction with a new version and effective date. They attach the document and move it to Review. Quality Manager reads the revision, decides that it is ready, and approves its release. The previous acknowledgments stay with their document records; the new version receives its own acknowledgments as the affected people confirm it.

An Inspector using the instruction can identify the approved revision before checking a fabric roll. If another amendment is needed, Document Coordinator creates a further version for review rather than editing the approved record as though its earlier text never existed. This preserves the relationship between inspection practice, document version and training history.

• Pending release — Reviewed document revisions awaiting the release decision.
• Approved revisions — Released quality references with their versions and effective dates.

See document release and acknowledgment and audit to closure.