compliance and risk management system software

Compliance and Risk Management System Software

Users’ Guide

Qudos 3 User’s Guide - Rev 16 of 62

Qudos3 Users’ Guide Revision 16. This Users’ Guide is based on software version 3.31 – It is for use by Full licenced users. Those with Lite user accounts or sharing the Guest account should refer to the ‘Lite Users and Guests’ Guide’. I.T. Administrators and System Managers should refer to the ‘Admin Guide’ for configuration and technical information. Copyright © 2016 Qudos Management Pty. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Qudos Management Pty. Ltd. Quality | Health & Safety | Environmental management 320 Adelaide Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000 Tel: +61 (07) 3010 9257 | Fax: +61 (07) 3010 9001 3 Spring Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Tel: +61 (02) 8249 4670 | Fax: +61 (02) 8249 4001 Email: [email protected] Web: www.qudos-software.com


Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Modular concept diagram .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Technical ........................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Navigation and Data entry ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Sharing information ......................................................................................................................................................... 16 Objective Planning .......................................................................................................................................................... 18 Managing documents ...................................................................................................................................................... 22 Internal Audits ................................................................................................................................................................. 28 Issues and Actions .......................................................................................................................................................... 33 Managing meetings ......................................................................................................................................................... 41 Setting up your training records ...................................................................................................................................... 44 People ............................................................................................................................................................................. 47 Risk Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................. 50 Benchmark: Score-based performance assessment ...................................................................................................... 54 Help and Support ............................................................................................................................................................ 60


Introduction The effective management of compliance and risk is critical to business survival and success. Qudos 3 is the all-inclusive software solution to help you address many national and international standards such as:

ISO 9001 Quality

AS/NZS 4801 / OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health & Safety

ISO 14001 Environment

ISO 28001 Supply Chain Security Qudos 3 offers such an absolutely unrivalled combination of functionality, technology, and system development tools – helping you integrate your compliance activities, your management systems and your sites!

For online articles on using Qudos 3 to meet various compliance standards visit the online Resource Centre – available from the Help menu.

This User Guide This User Guide is intended to provide a general introduction to Qudos 3 and guidance on some of most widely-used functions. It derived from just a small sub-set of the program‘s extensive Help – available from the Qudos 3 Help menu or in a context-sensitive manner by pressing the F1 Function key while in any major form. For more information, refer to the ‘Help and Support’ section later in this guide.

Functionality Qudos 3 has a well-proven, modular design to help you effectively and efficiently perform those critical tasks necessary for all compliance management systems:

Planning Objectives

Document Management

Reporting Issues (e.g. Ideas / Complaints / Incidents / Nonconformances)

Corrective action

Internal Audits

Meetings / Management Review

Training / Employee Development

Risk Assessment & Management

Benchmarking / Performance Measurement With task-based modules and the flexibility to address a whole range of compliance topics, Qudos 3 can be used in a way that best suits your organisations’ particular needs.

Configuration Qudos 3 has a wide range of configuration options. Default options are provided with the original software, and may be changed by members of the System Managers security group. Configuration is described in the Administrator’s Guide. Your organisation should establish arrangements for people to request changes to configuration options.


Modular concept diagram Qudos 3 is a modular design. Its modules are based around key activities for management system standards. To a great extent, the modules may be used independently. However, there are some areas where components in certain modules support and interact with other modules. These are illustrated below.

Objectives

Documents

Audits

Actions

Meetings

People

Training

Risk

Benchmark

A set of names used throughout the application is stored in the People List. Individual Development planning may include acquiring skills related to various modules. Recorded in IDP forms.

Plan Objectives for organisation or unit

List all important documents

Schedule and plan audits

Issues and Actions raised directly

Schedule Meetings

Schedule Training

Plan Risk Assessment

Plan Assessment

Quick link to documented procedures relating to each module

Training Schedule used to record training to perform tasks relating to various modules

Record progress

Revision control

Record audits

Record any injuries

Default or custom agendas

Training records

Record Risk Assessment

Record Assessment

Actions to achieve Objectives

Display in Pie / Bar charts

Record Meetings

Refresher reports

Supersede with new assessments Dynamic risk register

Compare in Summary

Query training

Display in Pie / Bar charts

Revision history and access to archived versions

Actions raised by an audit

Query skills

Distribution Actions raised at Meetings

Document review

Actions raised in Risk Assessment

Actions raised in Benchmark Assessment

Status report of tasks outstanding – Generate periodic reminders


Technical Qudos 3 utilises industry-standard technology - Microsoft Dotnet 3.5 for the main application, and Microsoft SQL Server for the database - to deliver a complete browser based experience. Qudos 3 is available as a traditional software application for installation on your own server, or it may be hosted for you, or even hosted and leased – otherwise known as the Cloud or SaaS (Software as a Service) option. A summary of system requirements is as follows: Client side: Suitable browser (including recent versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Google Chrome, or Apple Safari, a monitor with minimum resolution of 1024x768, and broadband connection to server (minimum speed 1Mbs/higher recommended). Toolkits require a word processor capable of reading Microsoft Word files. Other Microsoft Office applications (or equivalent) are optional. Server side: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 or Small Business Server 2008 or later, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or later, IIS 7 or later, Microsoft Dotnet framework (version 3.5), 250MB min. free space for application files and original database - additional space as required for customers' own documents and data, Virtual SMTP email server. Some of the above are minimum requirements. Higher specs are recommended. Further details are available on request. With cloud hosted options, the server side requirements do not apply.


Navigation and Data entry

General Notes Access to Qudos 3 is via your web browser. The software is designed to run on many popular browsers. Please note that 3rd party toolbars, security management or content management software may affect functionality. They should be suitably configured or switched off if not required. Your pop-up blocker should be set to allow pop-ups from the Qudos 3 ‘site’. Your browser security may be set to consider the Qudos software as a ‘trusted site’.

Logging in and getting around Your IT Administrator or System Manager will provide you with:

1. The URL or address for Qudos 3, which may be included in the ‘Favourites’ menu of your browser and/or via a desktop or intranet shortcut

2. A unique User ID 3. A password – please note that this is case-sensitive. Subject to your own business rules, your password

may be changed at a later date from menu item Edit Password. Any new password must meet the criteria of including at least 6 characters with a mixture of letters and numbers.

When you go to the URL or address, the first thing you will see is a Welcome screen.

Illustration: Details may vary in individual copies The screen has a message area – please read it as it may include important information. Click on the Start button. The Login screen will be opened in a new instance of the browser. Most people prefer to maximise it to full screen size, but that is not compulsory. To login:

1. Enter your User ID 2. Enter your Password (this is case-sensitive) 3. Click the Login button or press Enter key, and you will be logged in


The Main Screen is displayed:

One the left, a navigation console provides quick access to the Qudos 3 modules and toolkits. Modules There are 9 modules based on activities typically required for compliance standards. Clicking on a button will open the most widely used component in that module e.g. clicking the Documents icon will open the Master Document List. Some modules also have additional components which may be accessed from the Modules menu. Toolkits Qudos 3 includes 3 toolkits based on the requirements of the current ISO 9001 Quality, AS/NZS 4801 and OHSAS 18001 Health & Safety, and ISO 14001 Environmental management standards respectively. These help you understand the topics and requirements of the relevant standard, plan and document your system. Clicking on a toolkit icon will open that toolkit in a separate instance of your browser. Dashboard They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. The Qudos 3 Dashboard offers graphical display of data from actions, injuries and benchmark assessments. Extensive filter tools enable you to drill down into areas of interest with an unlimited combination of selection options. The navigation console also contains extra 3 buttons: Exit – Logout of the application My Status - Displays a status report for tasks assigned to the person that is logged in – these include Objectives, Document Reviews, Actions, Audits (where listed as the auditor or contact person), Meetings to attend, Training to attend, Risk Assessments, and Benchmark Assessments. New Action - Opens a blank Action Form ready for data entry

Menus

The following is a list of common menu items and a brief summary of their function.

Menu Item Function

File Close Closes currently active form

Exit Closes application

Edit Password Opens the Change Password form

Security Opens the Security User form for editing user's security permissions

Management Console Opens the Management console for configuring the application


Modules Objectives, Documents, Audits, Actions, Meetings, People, Training, Risk and Benchmark

Go to the selected module - where applicable, a sub-menu directly links to major components in that module

Functions Note: The Functions menu varies according to the form that is currently open. Therefore, not all of the menu items listed here are available from every form. The items listed here are typical examples only.

New Add a new record

Edit Edit the selected record

Delete Delete the selected record

View procedure View your organisation's procedure for this module

Quicklinks Create New Action Opens a blank Action Form ready for data entry

My Status Report Displays a status report for the person logged on

Dashboard Displays charts and tables

Set initial date period Select the date period for display of records. The selection will take effect until the end of your current session, or until you change the settings

Help Help contents Opens Help file at the Contents page. (You may also use the F1 function key to open the Help file at a context-sensitive location)

Resource Centre (online) Link to online resource centre to access Guide books, video presentations, articles, and sample documents

Guided Tour (online) Introduction to the software

Quality Manager Toolkit For help in developing a QMS – based on the requirements of ISO 9001

Safety Manager Toolkit For help in developing an OHSMS – based on requirements of OHSAS 18001 and AS/NZS 4801

Enviro Manager Toolkit For help in developing an EMS – based on the requirements of ISO 149001

Tech support (online) Link to the technical support area of Qudos web site

About Opens form containing product details - version number etc.

Print Print options

Logout Close the session and log out of the database

Forms The forms in Qudos 3 are divided into two types – Lists and Data entry forms. Lists are used to find records, and to display summary information about them. Most lists have several filter options displayed at the top of the page. By selecting one or more options and clicking on the Search button, you may refine the list of records displayed. Clicking on the Reset button will restore the default filter options. Although lists have a default sort order, you may vary the sort at any time by clicking on the title of any column in the grid. By clicking again, the sort order will alternate between ascending (A>Z) and descending (Z>A) order based on the selected column. There are also Page controls at the bottom of each list. You may click on the left or right arrows to view the previous or next batch of records. Alternatively, you may type a page number in the Page box and click on the ‘Go to page’ button to go directly to that page (particularly useful in large lists). Data entry forms perform two functions: they display more detailed information about one record – and as their name suggests – enable users to enter the data in the first place. There are various methods of doing that. In most cases, the data entry field that is active (ready to receive input) will be highlighted in pale orange. Some forms have many fields in them, and this feature is just intended to help you find where you put that pesky cursor. In common with most database applications, using the Tab key will move the cursor from the active field to the next. As Qudos 3 is a web application, using the Enter key will create a line break (this is a change from the previous version where the Enter key acted like Tab).


The following describe various methods of data entry used in the application:

Automatic

In some cases, Qudos 3 will enter data for you – there is no need to do anything. Examples include reference numbers, and some date fields.

Text

Most forms have one or more text fields. Just type away. Of course, you may Paste text from the clipboard. Some text fields have scroll bars to extend the entry space available. If you want to enter a line break within a text field, simply use the Enter key. A spell checker is available in text fields. Functionality will depend on your browser.

Combo box

Make a selection from a drop-down list. The contents of these may be configured in the Lookup Tables section of the Management Console. This Administrative task is restricted to users with appropriate security permissions only, and is described in the Admin Guide.

Buttons

The following list describes the most common buttons and their function:

Search - Run a search based on selected filter criteria

Reset - Restore filter criteria to their default settings, and run a search

Action - Create a new Action Form linked to the record or selected line item

Delete - Delete selected record or line item

People - Open People List to select a person (See ‘Picking People’ below)

Document - Open Master Document List to select a document

View – Open the selected file. The View and Document icons are often seen next to each other.

Calendar - Most date fields have a calendar tool to help you enter a date. Click on the Calendar button next to the date field - a one-month calendar will be displayed. For new records, the calendar is of the current month with today highlighted. For existing records, the calendar is the month of the any existing entry. You may move to the display to different years and months by clicking on the relevant arrows. Click on the selected day to enter that date into the appropriate field.

Browse - Select a file. A copy of the file is uploaded to a defined location when the entry is saved. The file is then accessible via an associated View button. See guidance on using appropriate document filenames in a web environment in Document Filenames below.

Time – Several forms have a time selector tool. This is in 15 minute increments, and allows you to quickly select a time. You may also manually enter a time


New - Open new instance of form. When used in a list, this will create a new, blank record. When used in a data entry form, this will save the current record and open a new one

Edit - Edit selected record or item

Save - Save changes

Close - Close form (Click Save first to save changes)

Procedure -, It is helpful if users can quickly see your business rules for various tasks and activities. Therefore, throughout Qudos 3, there is a series of Procedure buttons to provide shortcuts to selected procedures in your Master Document List. For example, in the Risk module, the shortcut can link to your procedure for Risk Assessment.

Some forms also have additional buttons. They are described in sections of this help file that are specific to those forms. Most buttons have 'Tool Tips' - a brief text description of its function. These appear when the mouse cursor is placed over the button.

Locking and unlocking records The major data entry forms allow the person completing them to lock their entry - preventing accidental or unauthorised changes by others. This facility is provided by Padlock icons. The icon displayed indicates the current lock status of the record – it is either Locked (unable to be edited), or Unlocked (able to be edited).

The person locking or unlocking the record must be a member of the appropriate security group. If a record is currently Unlocked - To Lock it - click Padlock icon. The name and date fields will be completed with your name and the date. The record or section will be locked. If a record is currently Locked - to Unlock it – click Padlock icon. The name and date fields will be cleared, and the record or section available for editing. Only the User that locked a record may unlock it. It most cases, locking applies to a complete record. The exceptions are: Action Form This form is intended to manage workflow, and each stage of activity may be recorded by a different person. Therefore, each of the main tabbed sections in the Action Form has its own locking mechanism that only applies to that section.

Each of these tab sections in an Action Form is locked separately. Risk Assessment This form has a Status tab that which may be completed when a risk assessment is no longer relevant or has been superseded. This is likely to occur after the original assessment is made, and may be recorded by a different person. Therefore, the Status page is outside the scope of the assessment's main lock on the first (summary) page. It has its own separate lock.

The Status tab section in a Risk Assessment is locked separately – usually at a later date. To protect the integrity of your data, Qudos 3 will prevent any record that has a lock applied from being deleted. The record must be unlocked for the delete function to work.

Picking people One of the most common uses of a compliance and risk management database is for records to be attributed to a person in some way – who is assigned an action to do? Who is the owner of a document? Who is responsible for an objective being achieved, an audit or risk assessment being performed? The names that are made available for selection in various ‘name’ fields throughout the application are from a central store that we call the People List.


There are 3 ways to select a person’s name in Qudos 3. Because of this and the regular need to be selecting names, lets’ look at ways of picking people in a little more depth.

Method 1: Combo box

Make a selection from a drop-down list.

In most cases, this will be the obvious choice. In smaller organisations, all names may be listed. But in larger organisations with hundreds or thousands of people, the list would be too long to be of practical benefit, and its loading would slow the performance of the application. So your system administrator may have chosen to apply a global filter which restricts the names displayed in the drop-down list to just those in the logged-in persons’ own business unit and/or location. The theory being that those are the names you are mostly likely to need. Great! Faster operation and use in most cases. But what if you want to pick a name from outside of your own business unit/location? That’s’ where method 2 is used

Method 2: Pop-up

Next to every drop-down name list is a button icon that opens a pop-up version of the People List. This enables the user to select names from outside of their business unit / location.

Method 3: Typing

Type characters until a unique combination finds the name you are looking for. This may be subject to the filter restrictions mentioned in method 1.

Attachments Various data entry forms - such as Action Form, Audit Record, Risk Assessment etc. - have a tabbed section for adding attachments. This greatly enhances the scope of the form by allowing you to associate virtually any external document to it. Typical examples are: word processed documents, scanned faxes and hard copy correspondence, and photographs. The attachments tab is a list. Each attachment is a separate record in the list. To add an attachment, click in the first empty record to activate that record, click Browse button to navigate to and select the file you wish to attach, and add a free-text description of the attachment e.g. "Letter of complaint from Mr. Brown", or "Photograph of damaged item". To protect the integrity of your data, Qudos 3 will prevent any record that has an attachment from being deleted. Any attachment must be deleted first. To view an existing attachment, select that item and click on the View button.

Document Filenames When you upload a document to your Master Document List or as an Attachment to Various data entry forms, it may subsequently be opened and viewed via a standard web browser. In the web environment, there are a number of characters that are reserved for special HTML purposes, and should NOT be used in document filenames. There are also a number of other special characters that if used in document filenames can be interpreted by browsers in a way that may cause problems. As a precaution, Qudos 3 will block the use of the following characters in filenames:

Greater-than symbol (>)

Less-than symbol (<)

Ampersand or And symbol (&)

Quotation marks (")

Speech mark (')

Colon (:)

Star or Wildcard (*)

Forward slash (/)


Backslash (\)

Divider (|) The Plus (+) sign can also cause problems in some cases, and we recommend it is avoided. We recommend that you only use unreserved characters in document filenames. These are:

Alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers)

Underscore (_)

Hyphen or minus sign (-)

Full-stop or period (.)

Tilde (~)

Opening Documents & Attachments Qudos 3 can be used to link to files of almost any type in the Master Document List and various Attachment fields throughout the application. Qudos 3 places the file in a nominated location on the server. When a user subsequently clicks on a ‘View’ button, it instructs Windows to open the file with whatever application it has associated for files of that type (as determined from the file extension). Please note that Qudos 3 does not control how the files are displayed. The outcome may be affected by various factors:

Options selected by the document author in the original application. For example, Microsoft Office documents may have passwords set to open them. This can be very useful for restricting view access to some documents

The computer or device must have a suitable application to open the file e.g. Acrobat Reader for PDF files

Browser or anti-virus software security settings. These may prevent files of certain types from opening (a typical example being exe or executable files). File types that your security settings will not allow to be opened should generally not be uploaded

IIS (Internet Information Service) on the server recognising the file type. If a file has been uploaded but generates a browser error message “Cannot find the file” when attempting to open, this may be because IIS does not recognise files of that type. The issue can quickly be rectified by your IT Administrator (guidance is provided in the Admin Guide). Hosted customers may contact Qudos Technical Support to add any new or novel file types they may require

Options set in Windows to associate file name extensions with file types, and applications to open with. An example is illustrated below.

Depending on settings in the users’ computer, files may be opened within a browser window or in the applications’ own window. The relevant settings may be found in the relevant program settings.


Illustration: Web browser options in Acrobat Reader Many organisations find it useful to have an SOE or Standard Operating Environment in place with consistent programs and settings to minimise differences in outcomes. As the document or attachment has opened in a new window, it is OK to close that browser window when you have finished with it. The same does NOT apply to the browser window containing the main Qudos 3 application.

Exiting

We recommend that when you have finished a session in Qudos 3, you exit using the Logout menu item or the Exit button on the main screen. If you simply close your browser, you will not be correctly logged out of the database. Generally, this will not be a problem - when you try to log in again Qudos 3 will clear your existing login first. However, if every user has exited incorrectly, all logins will eventually be taken up and you will not be able to log in.


Sharing information

Introduction Qudos 3 is a great tool for recording, storing and retrieving information. So, let’s take a look at how we can share that information with others.

Network The simplest and fastest method of sharing information with other people in your organisation is to provide them with direct access to Qudos 3 over your intranet or the Internet. A suitable infrastructure and licence is required.

Reports Each of the major forms in the application has a matching report. That is a document containing the same information as the on-screen form – but designed to be more suitable for print or export. In the case of list forms (such as the Actions List), the report will automatically reflect any selections made in filter options – thereby providing the means to generate custom reports whenever they are required. There are also other reports available – such as My Status Report or various Dashboard charts and tables available from the Quicklinks menu. To access a report, go to menu item Print. There are one or more print options for every major form. The following paragraphs describe how these reports offer various alternative methods to share information.

Email The following describes how to use the email function provided with Qudos 3. It assumes that the email functions are activated in the Management Console, and the email facility has been set up on your server.

Other email facilities In addition to the standard email option described above, Qudos 3 also has a number of automated or semi-automated email facilities. The availability of these depends on configuration options selected by your I.T. System Administrator.

Email the ‘Assigned to’ person when an Action is assigned or re-assigned, or there is a change to the Event/Subject tab

Email the person who recorded an Action Form when it is finally completed

Email periodic reminders about due or overdue tasks

Escalate actions to Supervisor when an action is overdue by a set number of days

Merge mail all meeting attendees with the Meeting notice + Agenda or Minutes

Email a nominated individual or mail group about new / revised documents

Step Action Result

1 Select menu item Print and choose an option Displays report

2 Select an email format from the listed options available

3 Click Email button

Email form opens with the report listed as an attachment in the selected format

4 Add recipient’s email address

5 Modify email as required

6 Click Send button Email is sent. A notification appears on screen.


Export Every report has the option to be exported in a variety of formats.

Print The following describes how to print reports from Qudos 3.

Step Action Result


2 Click Export button on the report menu bar

A form is displayed with export options

3 Select an export format from the listed options available

4 Enter the page range that you want to export

5 Click OK button The exported report is displayed in the appropriate application

6 Select menu item File Save As… Opens ‘Save a Copy…’ dialog box

7 Choose file name, folder to save in, and click Save button

Saves exported report

Step Action Result


2 Click Print button on the report menu bar

A form is displayed with print options

3 Enter the page range that you want to print

4 Click OK button A print preview page is displayed

5 Click the Printer icon

Opens a Print dialog box

6 Make selections and click OK button Prints report


Objective Planning

Introduction In every successful organisation there is a need to plan objectives, and effectively communicate them. An objective is a statement of a desired outcome. Most of us respond to a challenge, and perform better when we have a target to aim for. Without having objectives to work towards, an organisation - just like a person - will drift aimlessly.

Compliance references

Compliance management standards recognise the need for organisations to set themselves objectives. Examples include: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 6.2 – QUALITY OBJECTIVES & PLANNING TO MEET THEM. HEALTH AND SAFETY AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.3.3 – OBJECTIVES & TARGETS. OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.3.3 – OBJECTIVES & PROGRAMME(S). ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001:2015 clause 6.2 – ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES & PLANNING TO MEET THEM.

Smart objectives

To be really useful, an objective needs to be measurable. That gives us something definite to aim for, and can clearly establish whether we have achieved the objective. In many cases, we may be able to track progress as we work towards the objective. Before setting an objective, we need to know the current situation, and might have to obtain some form of data or statistics to establish that. In the business context, objectives are typically set at formal management review and business planning meetings - Thereby combining the requirements of formal management systems with the real business planning process. They may also be set in the event of:

An existing objective being achieved

Time-expiry of an existing objective

A new opportunity or threat being presented

Some organisations put generic objectives in policy statements or customer charters e.g. 'we will offer the fastest delivery possible' and back those up with specific objectives e.g. 'This year, we will deliver 95% of orders within 48 hours'. A regular term used by business planners is the SMART objective. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timed - although there are a number of variations on this theme.

Specific The objective should be focused on only just one thing

Measurable It should be possible to measure whether or not you achieve the objective

Attainable The objective should be within your capabilities

Relevant The objective should be something of importance

Timed There should be a deadline for achievement of the objective


Overall corporate objectives will often be achieved by the combined achievement of numerous contributory objectives. This may be referred to as the cascade effect. As a simple example, let's say that our organisation receives feedback that its customers would like to see an improvement in the timeliness of deliveries. An examination of the current situation may reveal that on average we currently deliver 90% of orders within 48 hours. We might consider the opportunities for improvement by various individuals, teams or business units.

Each may then be given different objectives that reflect their scope for improvement. The combined achievement of objectives at lower levels will contribute to the achievement of aggregated target at higher levels e.g. improving the percentage of orders delivered within 48 hours from 90% to 95%. Qudos 3 enables you to set measurable objectives at various organizational levels (from Corporate down to user-defined business units).

The Objectives Module As you might expect, most information about objectives is maintained within the Objectives module itself - The Objective Register displays a summary of all objectives, with details of each displayed in their Objective form. However, there is also integration with other modules - There are options to link to a reference document, and also to generate an Action form for detailed action planning, recording and tracking. For complex objectives, each form may be used to generate up to 99 others that are linked but may be managed and tracked separately. When completing forms, some items are selected from options in drop-down lists (these options may be set in central Lookup Tables by your System Administrator). Your organisation should establish arrangements for people to request changes to those tables.

Setting an objective You will need to be a member of the appropriate security group to be allowed to perform the following steps. If your security permissions need to be changed, please contact your system administrator. From the Main Screen, the basic steps are as follows:

Step Action Result

1 Click Objectives title Opens Objective Register

2A If creating a new objective: Click New button Opens Objective form, displaying a blank record

2B If editing an existing objective: Click anywhere in the selected record to select it, and click Edit button

Opens Objective form, displaying the selected record. If the record has previously been locked, it will be necessary to unlock it before editing. See previous section on Locking and Unlocking records

3 The objective should be categorised for Topic, Business Unit, Owner etc.

This will make it easier to search for the objective

4 Summary Tab: In the Summary field, a text entry may be made to summarise the Objective. There is no need for detail here – that comes later. Examples might be “Transition ISO 14001 environmental management system to new standard” or “Upgrade operating system on all computers in head office to Windows XX” You may enter % completion (enter a value between 0-100). Your procedure for Objective planning could include guidance on scoring progress e.g. what qualifies as being 40%, 50% or 90% complete?


You may indicate the current status of the objective by clicking on a Status radio button – Open, Achieved, or Parked. The meaning of Open and Achieved are hopefully obvious. Parked would be used when an objective has been set aside at least temporarily – perhaps due to a change in your organisations’ priorities. When the Objective has been completed – enter the completion date. You’ll notice the Action button on the Summary Tab. This is for linking to an Action form. See section on Action Plans below for more information. The objective may also be locked from here. The one lock applies to all tabbed sections of the objective. See previous section on Locking and Unlocking records

5 Details Tab: Additional text entries may be made to explain the reason why this objective has been set, and to provide further detail. The objective may also be valued in terms of its importance against 4 key drivers. The overall rating is automatically calculated from the multiple of all 4 driver values.

Notes on Drivers: The “Drivers” are what we call influences on your organisation – factors that may literally drive you to setting an objective. Qudos 3 allows 4 drivers to be defined in your lookup tables. Each objective may then be rated in terms of its importance for each driver. This gives you a basis on which you may prioritise your objectives and any subsequent actions. The default drivers are Finance, Customer, Process, and Learning & Growth. They are based on Kaplan & Norton’s Balanced Scorecard principle. The drivers may be defined differently in your installation.

6 Attachments Tab: If there are any external documents that provide useful information to the record, they may be added as attachments

When the form is saved, the attachment(s) get uploaded to a folder within the Qudos application. The attachments are associated with this record

7 Click the Padlock icon. Your name and the date will automatically be entered, and the record will be locked. Unlike most other record types, when an Objective is locked, the status of the objective does not change from outstanding to complete. This is because an Objective is generally set with a timeframe of several months – or even years – and the lock serves to preserve the information entered during progress. The record may be unlocked and re-locked multiple times if required during an extended timeframe.

8 Click Save button Saves changes

9 Click Close button Closes the record


Action Plans

You’ll notice the Action button on the Summary Tab. This is for creating an Action Plan by linking to an Action form. The first time it is clicked, you will see an alert box with the message: “There is no action linked to this objective. Do you want to create one? Click the “Yes” button to proceed. Use the Action form to plan actions needed to achieve your objective. Qudos 3 will automatically enter some of the data for you. This may be modified and added to as required. The ‘How raised’ field is locked as ‘Objective’. We won’t go further into that process here – the planning and recording of actions is dealt with in a later section. Suffice it to say that - using the “Related Actions” feature of the Action form – you may link the record with up to 99 subsidiary records in a parent-child relationship - offering a powerful project management tool.

Cross-Referencing

The objective and action plan are permanently linked together. In future, if you are in the objective record, click on the Action button and the Action form is opened. If you are in the Action form, click on the source button and the Objective record is opened.

Further reading

The default entries in the Objectives module drivers are based on the concept of the balanced scorecard. A noted book on that topic is: “The Balanced Scorecard: Translating strategy into action” by Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton. This describes and illustrates the concept of the balanced scorecard: A multi-dimensional approach to measuring corporate performance (incorporating both financial and non-financial factors).


Managing documents

Introduction An organisation's efficiency is greatly affected by how its documents are managed. Unfortunately, many organisations do not manage their documents well at all, and stakeholders - owners, employees and customers included - are disadvantaged every day as a result. The following are just a few of the document control issues we hear about, and one or two of them are no doubt familiar to you:

"We have documents in various folders on our server, and they are never easy to find when you need them fast"

"Sometimes our people are referring to obsolete versions of contractual or technical documents. This can put us at great risk - financially and otherwise"

"Many documents on our server have been there a long time...I'm sure that some of them are no longer relevant"

Any excess time taken to find documents is time wasted. Time spent wading through obsolete documents is further time wasted - all of which could have been put to more productive and beneficial use. Multiple versions of documents lead to confusion and wrong decisions being made - possibly with serious consequences. Research by IDC – the worlds’ leading market intelligence firm – indicates that an organisation with 1000 knowledge workers can waste $2.5 million per year by inefficiently locating and retrieving information. This can be scaled down for smaller organisations on a pro-rata basis e.g. an organisation with just 10 knowledge workers can waste $25,000 per year. Of course, nobody accounts for that wasted time and money – it is hidden in the cost of products and services, but is there nonetheless. Eliminating or even reducing it can greatly improve competitiveness.


No surprise then that all management system standards recognise the importance of document management, and have clauses that specifically address the issue. Examples include: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.5 – DOCUMENTED INFORMATION. HEALTH AND SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.4.5 – CONTROL OF DOCUMENTS. AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.4.5 - DOCUMENT & DATA CONTROL. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001: 2015 clause 7.5 – DOCUMENTED INFORMATION.

The Documents Module The Qudos 3 Documents module provides an extremely effective document registration, distribution and review process, and many would consider this module makes the case for the software all on its own! The Master Document List is perhaps the most widely used component in the whole application. It displays details of each listed document, and provides search tools to quickly find and open files created in any application recognised by Windows. This provides greatly improved access to important documents - while easing the admin burden at a stroke. Read-only controls protect the documents from unauthorised changes. A choice is offered of using your own document numbering system or our automated numbering process (recommended). When document revisions are made, a Check-in process is followed with mandatory logging of what changed, by whom, when, and why, and an upload of the revised document. A Document Revision History is maintained for each individual document, and automatic email facilities offer Document change notifications to a nominated group of people. The superseded file is automatically archived for you, and can still be viewed at a later date if required. As part of the check-in process, the new version of the document is uploaded, and the previous one is automatically archived.


Document Reviews are pre-programmed into a schedule when a document is first registered. This reduces the danger of irrelevant, old documents lingering around, and is a big step towards complying with a common requirement of many standards. Other useful components in the document module include a global Revisions List, and Deletions List, plus the facility to record Copy Holders of individual documents.

How to find a document in the Master Document List

From the Main Screen:

Step Action Result

1 Click on Documents link Opens Master Document List. By default, all Documents are displayed. The list may be pre-filtered to your own business unit and/or location according to People List Filter Settings made by the system administrator (see Admin Guide).

To manually search through the Master Document List, use the paging tool at the bottom of the on-screen list. For a more sophisticated approach, the Master Document List offers various filter options. These enable you to define parameters that will filter the list down to a defined group of documents. Make your choices from the selection tools at the top of the list, and click the Search button.

Document Type e.g. Policy, Procedure, or Form may be selected from the drop-down list

Topic e.g. OHS or Environment may be selected from the drop-down list

Business Unit may be selected from the drop-down list

Location may be selected from the drop-down list

Document owner may be selected by typing the name, clicking on the drop-down list, or via the pop-up form

The Show inactive codes checkbox allows you to choose whether to filter on the basis of any inactive codes for each of the categories described above

A Document reference number may be entered in the Number field

A free-text search may be used in the Document Title field

A free-text search may also be used to search for Keywords that have been associated with the document. You may search for a single word or combination.

2 Once you have found one or more documents that meet your search criteria, click anywhere in that list item to select it, and click the View button.

Opens the selected document. Depending on your browser settings, the document will open in its native application or viewer, or another instance of the browser. The document is not contained within Qudos 3 – but stored in a linked folder on the server. The document’s properties are not affected except for being read-only. For further information, see ‘External Documents’ in the Navigation and Data Entry section of this guide.


Click the Reset button to restore the default filter settings.

How to add a new entry to the Master Document List

Planning

Before you begin listing documents, a little planning and consideration of your business rules may help to ensure the process works as smoothly as possible. Qudos 3 allows organisations the flexibility to use its auto-generated numbering system for documents or their own scheme – using up to 15 alphanumeric characters. If you have Automatic Document Number switched on, when new documents are added to the Master Document List, a 6 digit consecutive number is automatically applied – commencing at 100,000 - allowing up to almost 900,000 documents in the system. It can be helpful if your chosen numbering system is described in your Documents procedure, and you know how to number the document if required. One of the steps in the process of listing a document is to upload a copy of the relevant file to a nominated location on the server. This can be done from wherever the file currently resides e.g. in another location on your server OR from a local drive. It is a good idea to check where the file is located before starting the process.

Process


Step Action Result

1 Click on Documents link Opens Master Document List

2 Click New button Opens Document Details form, displaying a blank record

Illustration: Partial screen shot of the Document Details form.

Illustration: Partial screen shot of the Document Details form.

Step Action Result

3 Complete fields as required (see notes below)

Notes:


You now have a new document listed in your Master Document List. Users may now find out information about it (revision history, notes, distribution etc.) and may even view it.

a. File Name. To link the entry to an actual file, click the Browse button to select a file. A copy of the file is uploaded to a defined location when the entry is saved. From this point on, the uploaded file is generally considered to be the master copy.

b. The Number and Title fields are mandatory. The title field may contain up to 100 characters. This enables the document to be clearly described and assists in searches based on the Title field

c. The default entry for Revision number is 0. If the document pre-existed its entry in the Master Document List, and also had a history of revisions, you may enter the document's current revision number. Any future revisions that are recorded will increment from that number. Similarly, the Revision Date field defaults to the current system date. However, you may enter another date instead

d. Use of the Keywords field is entirely optional. Any words may be listed here – separated by a space. They may be used by people searching for documents. The keywords for all documents are displayed in the printed report for the Master Document List.

4 Click Save button to save changes An alert box will appear confirming that the file has been uploaded successfully and can be viewed by clicking on the View button in the Document Details form. Click OK to accept.

5 Click Close button Opens the Document Review form. This prompts you to schedule the document for one or more reviews in the future

6 If you DO NOT wish to schedule the document for review, click Close button

If the email feature is switched on - go to step 9. If it is not you will now be returned to the Master Document List and the new record will have been added.

If you DO wish to schedule the document for review, enter the number of reviews, their frequency (or interval between them), and the start date. Note: if you only schedule one review, the entry in the frequency field is irrelevant.

Note on Document Review: It is a common requirement of management standards for system documents to be reviewed at periodic intervals. After all, the circumstances in which an organisation finds itself are almost constantly changing. Its policies, procedures and other documents should also change over time to reflect that.

Step Action Result

7 Check or uncheck the Reminder checkbox If the box is checked, when someone opens the relevant audit record in the future (e.g. to perform and record the document review), they will be prompted to reschedule a further review

8 Click Save button A message box will advise you that the document review has been added to the audit schedule

9 Click OK button If the automatic email notification feature is switched on, an email is generated with addresses to the nominated group to advise them of the new document. If that feature is not switched on, you are returned to the Master Document List

Note on Email Notification: Qudos 3 uses SMTP to send email messages. In the case of new document notification, an email may be sent to an individual or to everyone in a nominated group (for self-hosted installations only). The group must first be set up in your usual email Server and the link registered in the Management Console.

10 Modify, send or cancel the email as required You are returned to the Master Document List. The new record has been added.


Making revisions to documents

Introduction

In Qudos 3, the Master Document List is used to index and categorise important documents, and also to display information about their current revision number and date of issue. This section explains the process of changing the revision status of a document within Qudos 3. The software can be used to maintain a revision history of documents. Users do need to be aware that Qudos 3 does not change the contents of document files. Organisations should consider their own business rules for revision number identification on the actual document. The footer of this document is an example of one method. Anyone comparing the revision number displayed in the footer with a corresponding record in their Master Document List could quickly ascertain whether they had the latest version. Many organisations insert a warning message in document footers such as “Printed copies are uncontrolled and may not be current – Check Master Document List for latest version”.

Planning

When a document revision is recorded in Qudos 3, a revised copy of the document is uploaded. Therefore, it is important that you have a local copy of revised document ready to upload before you log the revision. The file that is uploaded will replace the previous one – which is re-located to the ‘Archive Documents’ folder (or other folder specified by your System Administrator), and given a suffix to indicate its revision number.

Process

From the Main Screen

Step Action Result

1 Click on Documents Opens Master Document List

2 Click anywhere in the chosen document record Selects and highlights the record

3 Select menu item Functions Revisions

Opens Document Revision History form

4 Click New Revision button Opens Document Revision form. See screenshot below.

5 Complete these fields:

Detail

Authorised by

Date

Reason

6 Use Browse button to navigate to, and select the file containing the revised document

7 Click Save button If the auto email facility is switched on, an email will be generated for sending to all members of the nominated group. The email may be sent, modified, or cancelled.

Adds a new revision to the history, increments revision number in the Document Revision History form and the Master Document List

The file selected at step 6 is uploaded - replacing the existing file.


Illustration: Screen shot of the Document Revision form - Note the mandatory fields identified with stars. Email Notification Qudos 3 uses SMTP to send email messages. In the case of new document notification, an email may be sent to everyone in a nominated group. The group must first be set up in your email Server and the link registered in the Management Console. The auto email facility and the Email All group name may be set in the Management Console form. The nominated email group listed there should simply match a suitable group in your SMTP Server email application.


Internal Audits

Introduction The purpose of an audit is generally to verify that what was planned actually happens in practice, and that it is effective in reaching objectives. They provide a structured verification and feedback mechanism, and an opportunity to consider risks and initiate preventive action. Audits form part of the 'Check' process in Dr. Deming's PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle, and all leading management system standards have a requirement for internal audits.


Documents / references that may be relevant to internal audits include: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 9.2 - INTERNAL AUDIT. HEALTH & SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.5.5 - INTERNAL AUDIT. AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.5.4 - OHSMS AUDIT. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001: 2015 clause 9.2 - INTERNAL AUDIT. These are just a few examples. Many other legislative and standards-based compliance issues also require systematic internal auditing.

Security Note: You will need to be a member of an appropriate security group to view and/or edit audit records. For a person to be available as an Auditor, they need to be logged as such in their Personal Details form, and to have a password for locking the Audit Record. If your security password / permissions need to be changed, please contact your system administrator.

Planning an Audit The following assumes that an audit is being planned from scratch. Qudos 3 has tools to enable audit checklists to be replicated, and in such cases the planning of such repeat audits is a much simpler affair. See ‘How to copy an audit’ in the application’s Help file. If may be helpful to have a procedure available to describe your own business rules for auditing. A sample internal audit procedure is supplied with the software (this should be edited to suit). It is available from the Procedure button on the Audit Schedule. From the Main Screen:

Step Action Result

1 Click on Audits link OR select menu item: Modules Audits Audit Schedule

Opens Audit Schedule

2 Click New button Displays the Audit Record

3 Complete fields as required: Enter details of the audit. The 'Audit title' field is free text entry. This may be used to describe a procedure / process / activity or other basis for the audit. The 'Scheduled date' is entered using the Calendar Tool. All other entries are by making a selection from the drop-down lists. Entries in the


'Document No.' and 'Contact' fields are not compulsory - others are.

4 Click ‘Checklist’ tab Opens Checklist section

5 List the items to be audited in the ‘check’ column

The Audit Record is now ready for the auditor to use as a guide for their audit, and to record results.

Note: Each checklist item is numbered with a double digit after the decimal point e.g. 1.00, 2.00, 3.00 etc. It is possible to create up to 99 sub-items from each of these e.g. 1.01, 1.02, 1.03 etc. Just add a new sub-item at the bottom of the checklist. When the Audit Record is saved and re-opened, the checklist item will have been re-sorted into the correct numerical order. This feature provides a great deal of flexibility to extend the checklist items or results – either at the planning stage or when finally recording an audit. Each sub-item may also link to a separate Action Form.

6 If required, the Audit Record may now be printed, exported or emailed to assist the auditor. There are 2 print options. Select menu item: Print Audit - or - Print Audit Checklist. The Print Audit Checklist option has some ruled lined below each checklist item. It is intended for use by an auditor that will be hand-writing notes during the audit.

7 Click Save button Saves and closes Audit Record


Recording an Audit The following assumes that initial planning has already taken place and a checklist prepared (see the preceding section on Planning an Audit). From the Audit Schedule:

Step Action Result

1 Navigate to, and select the relevant record

2 Click Edit button Opens selected Audit Record

Notes: In some cases, a series of repeat audits may have been planned at one time. If your audit is the last in a planned series, you may see a reminder asking whether you want to plan more similar audits. If an Audit Record has previously been locked, it will be necessary to unlock it before editing. See Help file section “Locking and Unlocking records”.

CHECKLIST TAB

3 Click ‘Checklist’ tab Opens Checklist section

4 If any checklist items have not previously been listed, they may be listed now.

5 Enter the results for each checklist item.

There are options to click on an image to simply identify an item as OK or Not OK and/or to make a text entry

6 If the checklist item has highlighted any issues or opportunities for improvement, you may choose to generate an Action form. With the item selected in your checklist, click on the Action button.

An alert box appears with the message "There is no action linked to this audit item. Do you want to create one?"

7 Click Yes button Opens a new Action Form. Note that some fields are automatically completed for you. This automation is provided as a time-saving convenience, and you can change the automated entries if you wish. The exception is the 'How Raised' field, which is locked in as 'Audit' to maintain the integrity of the data.

8 Complete Action Form and save it in the usual manner.

An email to the ‘Assigned to’ person will be triggered if that feature is switched on. When the Action Form has been saved and any email sent, you will be returned to the Audit Record. Note that the Action indicator for the relevant checklist item has changed from 'No' to the reference number of the Action Form. This method ensures that the Action Form and Audit Record are linked. If a user subsequently places the cursor anywhere in the checklist item and clicks the Action button, the linked Action Form will be opened. Alternatively, if a user had opened the Action Form, they could click on the Source button to open the linked Audit Record

FOLLOW-UP TAB

Notes: It is NOT mandatory to complete this tab section. Many organisations choose not to do so. An understanding of the logic employed in this aspect of the software can help you to make better use of it. The intention is that the Follow-up section is to be used by the auditor to prompt and record perhaps some


additional checks or verification at a later date – usually by themselves. This is in contrast to Action expected of the person responsible for the area or activity being audited – which is assigned using one or more Action Forms. This process is also distinct from a complete re-audit of the subject matter – which would be recorded as a new audit (perhaps using the ‘Copy Audit’ tool from the Function menu). So, to prompt a further check, the auditor may enter text into the follow up section, but not complete the name and date fields. In that case, the record status on saving will be ‘Follow-up required’. The Audit Record is locked in the usual way (the lock will also apply to the follow-up section). When the auditor wants to record the follow-up activity, they open and unlock the record. They may add more text if required. When the name and date fields are completed and the record is re-locked and saved, the status will change from ‘Follow-up required’ to completed.

9 Follow-up Tab: You may choose to plan / record some follow-up activity – use the 'Follow up request / details' field. This section is typically used by the auditor themselves e.g. as a memory jog to verify some information. Where action is assigned to the person responsible for the process or subject being audited, Action Forms are typically used

Once text has been entered into this field, the audit will have the status of 'Follow-up outstanding' until the associated name and date fields are completed

ATTACHMENTS TAB

10 This tab provides the facility to link one or more attachments to the audit record e.g. photographs or other evidence. When the form is saved, the attachment(s) get uploaded to a folder within the Qudos application. Click in the first available empty record

Activates the record (highlighted on orange background)

11 Click Browse button to navigate to and select a file e.g. from the hard drive or server.

Completes 'Filename' field

12 Type description - add a 'Plain English' description of the attachment

Repeat steps as necessary for additional attachments

SUMMARY TAB

13 Enter text in the 'Summary' field

14 Once again, you may choose to link the overall Audit Record with an action. That might occur when an issue or improvement does not relate to a specific checklist item – but to the audit subject matter in general. If so, click Action button

An alert box appears with the message "There is no summary action linked to this audit. Do you want to create one?"

15 Click Yes button Opens a new Action Form and complete it in the usual manner. Once again, some fields are automatically completed for you. This automation is provided as a time-saving convenience, and you can change the automated entries if you wish. The exception is the 'How Raised' field, which is locked in as 'Audit' to maintain the integrity of the data. When the Action Form has been saved and any email sent, you will be returned to the Audit Record. Note that the Action indicator on the summary tab has changed from 'No' to the reference number of the Action Form This method ensures that the Action Form and Audit Record are linked. While the 'Summary' tab is active, if a user clicks the Action button, the linked Action Form will be opened. Alternatively, if a user


Screen shot illustrating an Audit Record with link (from audit item 4.00 to Action Form No. 519.00. Note that all other items indicate Action as ‘No’. If required, the Audit Record may be printed, exported or emailed.

had opened the Action Form, they could click on the Source button to open the linked Audit Record

16 The 'Score' field may be used to insert a numerical value for compliance or performance. Score according to criteria set in your business rules. This field accepts numbers between 0-100.

The 'Score' field provides a further option for filtering the Audit Schedule

Note: It is NOT mandatory to complete the score field. Many organisations choose not to do so.

17 In the 'Actual date' field, use the Calendar Tool to enter the date the audit took place

Date is transferred to the Audit Schedule and changes the status from 'Outstanding' to 'Completed'

18 You may choose to lock the record. See previous section on Locking and Unlocking records

19 Click Save button Saves changes

20 Click Close button Closes the Audit Record


Issues and Actions

Introduction Issues management can play a significant role in achieving compliance, and driving improvements to your processes, products and services. When you note issues, plan and take action to address them, the records generated provide a key source of information for your organisation. They can be a valuable aid to future decision-making.


Corrective, preventive and improvement action is a key topic in many compliance standards and guides. The following are examples: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 10 IMPROVEMENT. HEALTH & SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.5.3 - INCIDENT INVESTIGATION, NONCONFORMITY, CORRECTIVE ACTION AND PREVENTIVE ACTION. AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.5.2 INCIDENT INVESTIGATION, CORRECTIVE AND PREVENTIVE ACTION. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001: 2015 clause 10 IMPROVEMENT.

Using the Actions Module This module is the real engine room of the application. It is here that issues, incidents, problems and opportunities detected at meetings, audits, reviews, assessments, and during everyday activities are recorded in one integrated database.

Incidents may be related to safety, security, environment or other matters.

Problems may be actual or potential – they may occur in various forms: e.g. product or service failure, customer complaints, and technical support requests.

Ideas may result from customer feedback, or be suggested by members of staff. The main components of the Action modules are the Action List - which displays a summary of all records, the Action List Filter - which lets you customize the records displayed at any one time, and the Action form – which is used to record an issue and the action planned and taken. For complex issues, each form may be used to generate up to 99 others that are linked but may be managed and tracked separately. When completing forms, some items that are selected from drop-down lists - these options are set in central Lookup Tables by your System Administrator. Your organisation should establish arrangements for people to request changes to those tables.

Introducing the Action Form

The Action form is used to record events or issues, and to subsequently plan and record corrective, preventive or improvement action. It has a tabbed area with multiple pages and a common area (above and below the tab controls) that is available regardless of which tab is currently active. The Common Area has a group of fields used to categorise the record, and a field to assign responsibility.


There are 7 tabbed sections - 4 of which are numbered. These numbered sections must be completed for the Action Form to be ultimately closed out. The other sections are optional. Tabbed sections:

1. Event/Subject – What is the problem or issue?

Injuries – Use this section if someone was hurt by the incident

2. Action Required – What are we going to do about it?

3. Action Taken – What DID we do?

4. Follow-up – What was the outcome?

Attachments – use at any time to attach additional information (correspondence, images etc.)

Related actions – use to generate up to 99 other actions from this one – in a parent-child relationship


Logic diagram of an Action Form

1. Event or Subject

2. Action Required

3. Action Taken

4. Follow-up

Injuries Injuries

Injuries

Attachm

ents

Related Actions (up to 99)


Status As Actions are a 'workflow' tool, they have a status indicator to let you know how far they have progressed in the process. The status of an Action is automatically calculated by the completion of pages within the Action Form. On the most basic level, an Action is either Open or Closed. On a more advanced level, an Action has a status according to what tabbed sections of the Action Form have been completed. When the Event / Subject section has been completed, but the Action Required section has not been completed, it is considered as Action not planned When the Action Required section has been completed (by entry in its text field and locked), but the Action Taken section has not, the record is considered as Action not taken. When the Action Taken section has been completed (by entry in its text field and locked), but the Follow Up section has not, the record is considered as Follow-up required. In any of the above cases, the status of the record is also considered to be Open.

When the Follow Up section has been completed (by entry in its text field and locked) as well as all the previous sections, the record is considered as Closed. Therefore, if no follow-up is actually required but you wish to close the record, type "N/A" or "None required" or similar in that section's text field, and complete the locking process. When the Date Required specified in the Action Required section has been passed, and the Action Taken section has not been completed, the record is considered as Overdue. There are several sub-sets of the Overdue status. When the Follow-Up Date Required specified in the Action Taken section has been passed, and the Follow-up section has not been completed, the record is considered as Follow-up Overdue. In fact, there are more sub-sets than the main ones listed above. These are for variations in how far an action is overdue, and also for actions that have or have not been modified within a certain period of time.

1 - Recording an event, or subject An Action form may be created whenever an event or issue needs to be recorded for possible action. There are two ways to do this:


Directly

An Action Form may be created as a record in its own right. It may be triggered perhaps by observation in day-to-day work, customer feedback or another source of information from outside of the application. Alternative methods are:

From the Main Screen, click on the ‘New action’ button

From the Main Screen, click on ‘Actions’ to open the Action List, then click New button

From anywhere in the application, select ‘Create a New Action’ from the ‘Quicklinks’ menu

From anywhere in the application, go to menu item Modules/Actions to open the Action List, then click New button

Indirectly (From another source record in Qudos 3)

This may be from:

Objective

Document Review

Audit Record

Meeting Minutes

Risk Assessment

Benchmark Assessment These forms have one or more Action buttons, and an indicator that lets you know whether an action has already been created from that spot.

If the indicator currently displays ‘No’, clicking on it will create a new Action

If the indicator currently displays a reference number, clicking on it will open the existing Action This method should be used whenever you want to create an Action form associated with one of the record types listed above. It will permanently link the Action form back to its source record. Once created, you may find one from the other with just a single-click – a great way to integrate compliance and risk management activities!

Using the top section to categorise the record

This section contains a number of fields to categorise the record. This information provides the basis for much of the filtering options for the Actions List, and will help you to find relevant records more easily in the future. These fields are as follows:

Action Number This field is automatically completed by the application. The number is purely consecutive – having no other purpose than to be used for reference purposes

Location This field is a drop-down combo box. Select the geographic location that the objective applies to.

Business Unit This field is a drop-down combo box. Select the business unit that the objective applies to.

Document Use this field if the record is a suggested change to an existing document in your Master Document List. Data entry is via a drop-down combo box or a lookup form.

Total cost This field is automatically calculated by adding the entries in various cost fields throughout the record

Action type This field is a drop-down combo box. It enables you to choose a category from a pre-set list.

Topic This field is a drop-down combo box. It enables you to choose the context from a pre-set list.

How raised This field is a drop-down combo box. It enables you to choose a method from a pre-set list. You only need use this field if the Action form was generated directly. If it was created from another source record within the application, an appropriate entry will automatically be placed in this field and locked.


The Action Form has a series of tabbed sections for various aspects of action planning and recording. For now, we’ll concentrate on describing the event, issue or subject that requires action.

Step Action Result

1 From the Main Screen: Click on the "New Action" button OR From anywhere in the application: Select the menu item Quicklinks / Create New Action OR From the Actions List: Click the New button.

Opens a new Action form

From the Main Screen: Click on the "New Action" button OR From anywhere in the application: Select the menu item Quicklinks / Create New Action OR From the Actions List: Click the New button.

Opens a new Action form

2 Complete as many of the filter selections in the top section as you can. Tips:

The number field is automatic. You do not need to enter anything there

The Document field is typically used only when the Action is about a document in your Master Document List e.g. to report a problem or request a change to it. Otherwise, that field is typically left blank

This helps to categorise the Action so that it may be easily searched for in the future

3 With the Event / Subject tab selected, enter text in the main "Event / Subject" field. Where relevant, you may also make entries in the "Cost", "Event Time", and "Event Date" field in that tabbed section

4 If the issue being reported is of a confidential nature, you may check the ’Confidential’ box. This will restrict access to the Assigned To person and those with special permissions to view confidential records. You should check your business rules on confidentiality.

5 To record the Action and lock the Event /Subject tab. Click the Padlock icon. Your name and the current system date will automatically be entered, and this tabbed section will be locked.

6 If anyone was injured because the incident or event you are recording, go to the Injuries tab, click on the New button, and follow the prompts.

An Injury Form is created for each person for whom injury is reported

7 If there are any external documents that provide useful information to the record, they may be added from the Attachments tab. This tab provides the facility to link one or more attachments to the action e.g. documents, photographs etc. Use the browse button to navigate and link to a file.

When the form is saved, the attachment(s) get uploaded to a dedicated folder on the server. The attachments are associated with this record

8 In the ‘Assigned to’ field at the bottom of the Action Form, select the name of the person who will plan action

Note: Some organisations have one person (or one person in each business unit) as a default assignee – in case the person recording the issue doesn’t know who will be responsible for dealing with it. If you employ that arrangement, it should be mentioned in any procedure you develop for the subject.

9 Click Save button, then the Close button Saves the record

Uploads any attachments

Depending on your setup, an email may be generated to the assigned person


Note on email: If the email Actions function of Qudos 3 is switched on in the Management Console, and your System Administrator has made appropriate server arrangements, an email form is generated with options to:

Send the notification only

Send the notification with an attached copy of the Action form

Not send anything (by closing the email form without sending)

You have taken the first steps towards addressing an issue. Later, we will look at planning action, recording action taken and other aspects of issues management.

Planning and taking action This section provides guidance on using the Action form to record action planned and taken. Planning and taking action on issues of concern plays a significant role in achieving compliance, and driving improvements to your processes, products and services. The records generated provide a key source of information, and can be a valuable aid to business planning. Planning and taking improvement, corrective and preventive action is a key issue in many compliance standards and guides.

Opening the Action form

The following method assumes that an Action form has been created and assigned to you. From the Main Screen:

Step Action Result

1 Click on Actions Opens Actions List

2 Select your name in the ‘Assigned to’ field and click the Search button

List is filtered to display only open records that have been assigned to you

3 Select relevant record from list, and click the Edit button

Opens Action form

2 - Planning action required

A series of tabs are used to select different parts of the form e.g. 'Action Required', 'Action Taken' etc. Click on the ‘Action Required’ tab. Lets’ take a look at the fields in this section of the form…

Action Required Free text field for describing the action that you plan to be taken

Cost Number field (where necessary, a currency may be specified in your procedure)

TIP: Cost fields The total cost field is the sum of the various cost fields throughout the record. If you are intending to use the cost function, you need to consider your business rules. For example: In ‘Action Required’ you could use the cost field to reflect the cost of planning action, and subsequently use the cost field in the ‘Action Taken’ section to record the cost of taking it. As an alternative, you could use the ‘Action Required’ cost field to record the expenditure that has been authorized. However, remember that all the cost fields are added together to generate the total. Therefore, if 500.00 were authorized and someone then recorded that 350.00 was spent in the ‘Action Taken’ section, the total would incorrectly now equal 850.00. You could use the cost field in the ‘Action Taken’ section to just record any difference in expenditure to that planned e.g. if 500.00 was authorized and only 350.00 was spent, you might enter ‘-150.00’. Using the minus sign would mean that the total cost field would correctly indicate the cost of action.


Priority This field is a drop-down combo box. Select a value or leave as ‘unspecified’.

Date required Calendar tool or manual entry: When do you want the action to be taken by? The date selected is used by the application in queries to indicate whether an action is overdue

Page Lock condition (name / date fields)

These fields are edited indirectly. Click the Padlock icon. Your name and the current system date will automatically be entered, and this section of the form will be locked.

TIP: Reassigning Subject to your own business rules, you may choose to reassign the record to a team member or other person that will be taking the action. Simply enter their name in the ‘Assigned to’ field.

Once you have completed this section of the form, you may click the Save and then the Close buttons to save and close it. This will also change the status of the record from ‘Action not yet planned’ to ‘Action not yet taken’. If the ‘Assigned to’ person has been changed, the software will once again start the email notification process.

3 – Recording action taken

In the Action form, click on the ‘Action Taken’ tab to display that section of the form.

Action Taken Free text field for describing the action that you took

Follow-up required date

When do you want the follow-up check to be done by?

Cost Number field (see the tip on ‘Cost fields’ above)



TIP: Reassigning Subject to your own business rules, you may choose to reassign the record to someone that will be doing any follow-up activity. Simply enter their name in the ‘Assigned to’ field.

Once you have, completed this section of the form, you may click the Save and then the Close buttons to save and close it. This will also change the status of the record. If the ‘Assigned to’ person has been changed, Qudos 3 will once again start the email notification process.

4 – The Follow-up check

In the Action form, click on the ‘Follow-up’ tab to display that section of the form.

Follow-up Free text field for describing the follow-up activity

Cost Number field (see the tip on ‘Cost fields’ above)



Once you have, completed this section of the form, you may click the Save and then the Close buttons to save and close it. Don’t be surprised if it seems to disappear off the Actions List – as the default setting for that list is to display only open actions, and the status of this one is now closed! You just need to change the Actions List Status filter to see it. The person that originated the Action will be automatically sent an email confirming that it has been completed.


Managing meetings

Introduction The meetings module will help you perform many important functions related to your business meetings – preparing an agenda, inviting people, recording the minutes, assigning action points, and communicating the completed minutes. Meeting types may be formal reviews of your management system or general meetings on an unlimited range of topics e.g. projects, product design, sales, marketing, finance, various committees etc. The primary component of this module is the Meeting Schedule - which may be filtered to list only those meetings of a certain type, or between selected dates. From the schedule, you may generate a record for a new meeting or open the minutes of a previous one. The Meeting Record has five tabbed sections – for details, agenda, attendees, minutes, and attachments. There are also facilities to create meeting types, and to set a Default Agenda for each of those meeting types. Subject to your own business rules, the secretary or organiser of a meeting may then choose to use that default agenda or create a custom one of their own.


Various national and international standards have requirements that may be at least partially satisfied by meetings. Including: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 –

Clause 9.3 MANAGEMENT REVIEW.

Clause 8.2.1 CUSTOMER COMMUNICATIONS (e.g. contract meetings).

Clause 8.3 DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (e.g. design team or project meetings).

HEALTH & SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 and AS/NZS 4801:2001 Clause 4.6 – MANAGEMENT REVIEW. Also aspects of Clause 4.4.3 may be applicable when consultation and participation takes place in the form of Health & Safety committee meetings and similar. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001:2015 clause 9.3 MANAGEMENT REVIEW.


Adding a new meeting to the schedule There are two options: Create a completely new meeting record, or copy from an existing one.

Creating a completely new meeting record


Step Action Result

1 Click on Meetings link Opens Meeting Schedule form

2 Click New button Opens Select Meeting Type form

3 Select meeting type from combo-box. Check the box if you wish to use the default agenda for that type of meeting

4 Click Save button Creates a new Meeting Minutes record

5 Enter details as required. If you did not elect to use the default agenda (at step 3 above), you may create your agenda now by typing item numbers and titles. In the Attendees list, you may select those people invited to the meeting. Click in the first blank record and combo box and pop-up buttons appear for you to select people.

5 When finished, click Save button Adds a new meeting to the Meeting Schedule

Copying from an existing meeting record


Step Action Result

1 Click on Meetings link Opens Meeting Schedule form

2 Navigate to the relevant meeting, and select it

3 Select menu item —>Functions —>Copy

Creates a new Meeting Minutes with the current system date. This may now be edited to suit

Sending out invitations


Step Action Result

1 Click on Meetings link Opens Meeting Schedule

2 Navigate to the relevant meeting, and select it

3 Select menu item —>Functions —>Email agenda to attendees

Opens Send Email form, with ‘To’ field automatically populated with attendees’ email addresses

4 Edit the email form if required

5 Click Send button Sends merged email

For the automatic email to work, certain criteria must be met:

You must have SMTP email set up on your server (for Cloud / hosted customers, Qudos does that for you)

The email facility must be switched on in the Management Console

You should have an email address logged for meeting attendees in your People List


Recording the minutes of a meeting


Step Action Result

1 Click Meetings Opens Meeting Schedule

2 Navigate to the relevant meeting record, and select it Selected record is highlighted

3 Click Edit button Opens Meeting Minutes

4 Use tabs and paging tools to navigate

5 In the 'Agenda' tabbed section, record any changes from the planned agenda

6 In the 'Attendees' tabbed section, you may check the box next to each person to confirm their attendance. Depending on your own business rules or preferences, you may leave any no-shows listed but unchecked OR you may delete them from the attendees list. Please note that if you delete a name, that person will not automatically get listed as an attendee on any minutes and attendance list that is copied for a future meeting. They would need to be manually added.

7 In the 'Minutes' tabbed section, enter a summary of the discussion, any planned action, who will take it, and when.

Where necessary, you may create an Action Form by highlighting the relevant discussion item and clicking on the Action button

Opens Action Form – complete, Save, and Close to return to the Meeting Minutes – note that the Action field now has an Action number

8 Attachments tabbed section: If there are any external documents that provide useful information to the record, they may be added as attachments.

The attachments are associated with this record

9 Click the Padlock icon. Your name and the date will automatically be entered, and the record will be locked.

10 Click Save button. Before closing, you may choose to email minutes of the Meeting. This is done in very much the same way as ‘Sending Meeting Invitations’ described above. You simple choose to email the full minutes instead of just the agenda

Saves changes

11 Click Close button Closes Meeting Minutes


Setting up your training records

Introduction Facilities are provided to record the provision of training. The components in this module include a Training Schedule, lists of Course Types and Training Providers, plus data entry forms for them. You may also link skills to training.


All compliance management standards have requirements for training people to help ensure their competence and awareness. The following are examples: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 7 - COMPETENCE. HEALTH AND SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.4.2 - COMPETENCE, TRAINING & AWARENESS and AS/NZS 4801:2001 clauses 4.4.1 - STRUCTURE & RESPONSIBILITY & 4.4.2 - TRAINING, AWARENESS & COMPETENCY. AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.4.2 - TRAINING, AWARENESS & COMPETENCY. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001: 2015 clause 7 - COMPETENCE. All management standards require that organisations consider and provide for the training necessary for competency. Training may also focus on ensuring that people have adequate awareness of hazards and risks, applicable legislation, their responsibilities and other aspects of the organisation and their role in it. One area that should not be overlooked is training those responsible for establishing, maintaining and operating your management system itself. Specific training is likely to be needed for certain people e.g. Compliance, Quality or OHS Managers, Co-ordinators, Safety Representatives, and Internal Auditors. Internal auditor training courses are available from Qudos – visit www.qudos-software.com for more information. Organisations that are implementing a compliance / risk management system for the first time or improving on an existing system are well advised to have all personnel attend at least an appreciation or awareness session. This should be aimed at giving them an understanding of the objectives of the system, and their role in its success. Basic training should be provided on how to access procedures and other documents, how to report actual or potential problems, and the importance of keeping proper records. Of course, that may include the use of this application. A series of tutorials are available for training people on the use of Qudos 3, and direct training services are also available from Qudos and its partners.

General

There are 4 key aspects to the Qudos 3 training module:

Training Providers: People or organisations that provide training

Course Types: Information about courses – including refresh period if any

Training sessions: Records of instances of those courses – including attendees

Queries


In order to schedule training sessions, it is first necessary to have defined relevant types of courses. It is also useful to have created some training providers. It is normal practice to include internal providers. You might choose to create just one default ‘catch-all’ internal training provider – or prefer to include specific teams or units where that information is useful. Note: We use the terminology ‘course’ to describe a type of course, and ‘session’ to describe instances of that course.

Training Logic Diagram

How to add a new training provider From anywhere in the application:

Step Action Result

1 Select menu item —> Training —> Training Providers

The Training Providers List is displayed

2 Click New button A blank Training Provider form is displayed 3 Enter details

4 Click Save button Saves record

Training Provider

Course Type Session

Session

Session

Attendance

Attendance

Attendance

Skills

Queries


How to list a new type of training course From anywhere in the application:

Step Action Result

1 Select menu item —> Training —> Course List

The Course List is displayed

2 Click New button A blank Course Details form is displayed

3 Enter the details for the new course. Costing options:

The Course/session cost is used where the whole cost of a course is attributed to your organisation - this is an overall cost for all attendees

The Cost per person is used where your organisation is paying for one or more people to attend the course, and where the cost is to be attributed and reported on a per person basis)

You may also choose not to record training costs Any skills that the training course is expected to impart to attendees may be identified along with the relevant duration (this assumes that suitable skills have been identified by your System Manager, and made available in your lookup tables).

4 Click Save button Saves record

How to schedule a training session From anywhere in the application:

Step Action Result

1 Select menu item —> Modules —> Training —> Training Schedule

A list of sessions held or planned is displayed

2 Click New button A blank Training Session Details form is displayed

3 Enter / edit details as required

4 Click Save button Adds a new course/session to the schedule

Training attendance queries Qudos 3 includes various query facilities to display:

Training by course - who has attended a particular course

Training by person - an individuals’ training record

Skills - skills gained by an individual during a selected period

Skills - skills gained by anyone during a selected period

Sessions Held - training sessions held during a period

Refreshers due - Training due for refresher – sorted by person OR by due date All these queries may also be filtered by Business Unit and / or Location. They are available from menu item: Modules / Training / Training Attendance Query.


People The People module is closely related to the training module in being focused on that critical resource in any organisation – the human one. Major components in the People module include the People List and IDP or Individual Development Plan.


The management of human resources has relevance in many compliance issues. The following are examples: QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 7.1.2 - PEOPLE. HEALTH AND SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 Clauses 4.4.1 RESOURCES, ROLES, RESPONSIBILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY & AUTHORITY and 4.4.2 COMPETENCE, TRAINING & AWARENESS and AS/NZS 4801:2001 Clauses 4.4.1 STRUCTURE & RESPONSIBILITY & 4.4.2 TRAINING, AWARENESS & COMPETENCY. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001: 2015 clause 7.1.2 - PEOPLE.

The People List This facility is crucial to the smooth operation of Qudos 3. Names added to this list are used in forms throughout the application. The form may be accessed from the People link on the main screen, from menu item: —>Modules —>People —>People List A version of the People List is also displayed from buttons associated with name fields throughout the application. Please note that when that is the case, the available buttons will differ.


Adding someone to the People List If your organisation already has a detailed list of employees in another application, it may be possible to import that data. For the purpose of this exercise, let’s assume that you will be manually adding a person to your list. From the Main Screen, the basic steps are as follows:

Step Action Result

1 Select People link Opens People List

2 Click New button A blank Personal Details form is displayed

3 Enter details as required. Note that many of the fields allow free text entry. The application does not generally enforce any rules regarding duplication etc. in these areas. Tips: At least the name fields and the email address should be completed. If you want the person to be able to conduct audits, be sure to check the ‘Auditor’ box.

4 Click Save button The person has been added to the list


IDP – A plan for individual development To help maintain and improve levels of competency, the People module includes IDPs or Individual Development Plans. These help to set out a path for each employee and track their progress. You may also set objectives, standards, and criteria for assessment ratings. Plans may be electronically signed off by the employee, and their line managers. Action plans may be checked for compatibility with listed Objectives for the respective business unit and the organisation as a whole. They may be linked to the desired achievement of what has been identified as a Core Skill. The IDP enables you to plan and record the development of each individual employee. For ease of data entry and to maximise display capabilities, access to various sections of the plan is by a series of tabs.

Security

Because of the personal and confidential nature of information that is likely to be included in an IDP, the form has some special security features. Their operation makes certain assumptions:

There are 3 parties to the IDP - namely, an employee, their 1st level supervisor, and 2nd level supervisor or reviewer

The IDP is prepared by the 1st level supervisor

The IDP is signed-off (in the 'completion' section) by all 3 parties at the end of the plan / review period Key aspects of the security features are as follows:

An employee's 1st and 2nd level supervisors are listed in their Personal Details form

Anyone with the appropriate security group permissions can create the IDP e.g. ‘Edit HR’, and generate initial data input. However, once initially saved, only the 3 parties to the IDP and a member of the high-level "Team Leader" security group can access it.

Once the IDP has been signed off by the 1st level supervisor, all areas are locked except the employee's and reviewer's comments fields in the 'completion' section

Once the IDP has been signed off by the employee, the employee's comments field is locked

Once the IDP has been signed off by the 2nd level supervisor it cannot be edited at all Should there be any need to subsequently edit the IDP, the sign offs must be cancelled or cleared first. Click on the 'Clear' button, and enter the reviewer's user ID and password. Using the Clear feature requires all 3 sign offs to have already been completed.

Creating a new IDP From the Main Screen:

Step Action Result

1 Select menu item —> Modules —> People —> People List

The People List is displayed

2 Select the relevant employee and menu item —> Functions —> IDPs

That person's Employee IDP History form is displayed

3a Click New button A new IDP form is displayed

3b Alternatively, select a previous IDP and click on the Copy IDP button (this will copy the Review Details section of the selected IDP for re-use)

4 Edit details as required

5 Click Save button Saves the IDP


Risk Assessment

Introduction The Risk module provides tools for the identification of hazards / threats, and the assessment of the risks that they pose for your organisation and other interested parties. This can then lead to the effective management of that risk, and increase the chances of achieving objectives. Once hazards (or things that can do harm) have been identified, you may consider what risks they pose, then assess their Likelihood and Consequence. A value is selected for each of these criteria. The application uses the well-established matrix method to calculate initial Risk Levels from that user input. Control measures may be planned and recorded, before the risk level is re-assessed, and an Action form may be generated to plan and track action for each item.


QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 6.1 – ACTIONS TO ADDRESS RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES. HEALTH AND SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 clause 4.3.1 - Hazard identification, risk assessment, and DETERMINING CONTROLS AS/NZS 4801:2001 clause 4.4.6 – Hazard identification, hazard / risk assessment and control of hazards / risks. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001:2015 clause 6.1 – ACTIONS TO ADDRESS RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES.

Recording a Risk Assessment If in any doubt about business rules for risk assessments, read your organisations' procedure by clicking on the Procedure button, and/or contact the person responsible for scheduling your risk assessments. From the Main Screen:

Step Action Result

1 Click on Risk link Opens Risk Assessments List

2 Click New button Opens a blank Risk Assessment form


The following describe how the tabbed sections may be completed in a typical assessment.

At this stage, you may choose to move on to the other tabs before returning to complete the Summary tab later.

SUMMARY TAB

The assessment has a reference number created automatically

3 Choose ‘Category’ from drop-down list

4 Make free-text entry in the ‘Subject’ field

5 Check the Master field – or leave blank A check in the box indicates that this assessment is the Master assessment for its category

Notes on the Master field: The Master field is a simple checkbox, but it can be very useful. One assessment in each user-defined category may be set as the Master. This acts as a flag to identify the default or template assessment in the Risk Assessments List when creating copies (although it is possible to copy from other assessments too).

6 Choose ‘Business unit’ from drop-down list 7 Choose ‘Location’ from drop-down list 8 Select Assessors’ name

9 Enter date of assessment

DETAILS TAB Complete fields as required for each listed item

10 Describe the hazard, threat or aspect – you might think of this as the ‘cause’

11 Describe the risk or impact – you might think of this as the ‘effect’

12 In the Initial Risk column, select the assessed value for Likelihood

13 Still in the Initial Risk column, select the assessed value for Consequence

The software will use the risk matrix to generate an Initial Risk Level

14 Describe the Controls required

15 Describe the Controls in Place

16 In the Final Risk column, select the assessed final or residual value for Likelihood (after controls are in place)

17 Still in the Final Risk column, select the assessed final or residual value for Consequence (after controls are in place)

The software will use the risk matrix to generate a Final Risk Level

18 If an item requires any action, you may choose to generate an Action Form. With the cursor placed anywhere in the selected item, click on the Action button. (Tip: Before doing this, you may wish to copy some text from the assessment - ready for pasting into the Action Form)

An alert box appears with the message "There is no action linked to this item. Do you want to create one?"

19 Click Yes button Opens a new Action Form and complete it in the usual manner. When the Action Form has been saved and any email sent, you will be returned to the Risk Assessment. Note that the Action indicator for the relevant checklist item has changed from 'No' to the reference number of the Action Form. This method ensures that the Action Form and Risk Assessment are linked. If a user subsequently places the cursor anywhere in the assessment item and clicks the Action button, the linked Action Form will be opened. Alternatively, if a user had opened the Action Form, they could click on the Source button to open the linked Risk Assessment.


ATTACHMENTS TAB

20 If there are any external documents that provide useful information to the record, they may be added from the Attachments tab. This tab provides the facility to link one or more attachments to the action e.g. documents, photographs etc. Use the browse button to navigate and link to a file. When the form is saved, the attachment(s) get uploaded to a folder within the Qudos application.

The attachments are associated with this record

You may now return to the Summary Tab to complete the assessment

SUMMARY TAB

21 Select ‘Overall assessment’ from drop-down list

22 Enter text in the 'Comments' field

23 Once again, you may choose to link the overall Risk Assessment with an action. If so, click on the Action button

An alert box appears with the message "There is no summary action linked to this risk assessment. Do you want to create one?"

24 Click Yes button Opens a new Action Form. Qudos 3 will automatically enter some of the data for you. This may generally be modified and added to as required. The ‘How raised’ field is locked as ‘Risk’. When the Action Form has been saved and any email sent, you are returned to the Audit Record. Note that the Action indicator on the summary tab has changed from 'No' to the reference number of the Action Form. This method ensures that the Action Form and Risk Assessment are linked. While the 'Summary' tab is active, if a user clicks the Action button, the linked Action Form will be opened. Alternatively, if a user had opened the Action Form, they could click on the Source button to open the linked Risk Assessment.


26 Click Save button Saves changes.

27 Click Close button Closes the record. You are returned to the Risk Assessments List.


The Status tab – How to De-activate a risk assessment that is no longer relevant

You will notice that the Risk Assessment form also has a Status tab. At the time of initially recording an assessment, this may be ignored. The default status is set to ‘Active’, and we need only consider the Status tab when a risk assessment is no longer relevant. Over time, an assessment may become irrelevant: Perhaps because the subject matter has been re-assessed, or relates to something that we no longer have a connection with e.g. an obsolete process or item of equipment.

This process may be used if a Risk Assessment is no longer relevant, you wish to preserve the

record in your database, but do not want assessed items to appear in your current Risk Register. It

offers an alternative to deleting the assessment.


Step Action Result

1 Click Risk Opens Risk Assessments List

2 Navigate to, and select the relevant record

3 Click on Status tab Displays the Status page

4 Uncheck the 'Active' checkbox Enables the page to be completed

5 Select 'Reason' from the drop-down list

6 If the reason for de-activation is because the assessment has been superseded by another, later assessment, click on the spyglass icon to select the replacement assessment

Adds details of replacement assessment

7 Add any notes as required

8 Click on Lock icon and complete the locking process

The assessment is de-activated. It is preserved in your database, but assessed items will no longer appear in default selections in your current Risk Register.


Benchmark: Score-based performance assessment

Introduction The Benchmark module is the ‘dark horse’ of Qudos 3. Most users are all-too-familiar with the need to manage documents, issues and actions, audits and risk, and welcome the suite of integrated tools provided. However, the Benchmark module can offer a lot more. If your organisation can benefit from considering the performance of its product or services, business units or suppliers against key criteria – and perhaps comparing them against each other – then the Benchmark module will be of interest to you. The main principles of operation for the Benchmark module are to list items, and assess them with a numerical value. Each Assessment may be categorised according to its subject matter, and a Master Assessment may be created in each user-defined category (see explanation below). The assessor gives each item a Value. Where some items may be of greater or lesser importance than others, their assessment may be weighted to better suit your business needs. The software automatically calculates Item Scores, Total and Average. Where problems or opportunities are identified, an Action form may be generated to plan and track action. Up to 100 separately tracked Action plans may be generated for each assessed item. All results in a category can be viewed and compared with the Summary Report. In no time at all, your organisation can easily be measuring and analysing its key performance indicators! This process can then lead to informed decision-making, and increased chances of achieving objectives.

Benchmarking

The term 'Benchmarking' generally refers to a quality management tool for comparing the performance of a team or organisation against others. Information on benchmarking may be obtained from various sources.


QUALITY ISO 9001:2015 clause 9.1 MONITORING, MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND EVALUATION. HEALTH AND SAFETY OHSAS 18001:2007 Clause 4.5.1 PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MONITORING. AS/NZS 4801:2001 Clause 4.5.1 MONITORING & MEASUREMENT. ENVIRONMENT ISO 14001:2015 clause 9.1 MONITORING, MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND EVALUATION.

Configuring the Benchmark module

When completing Benchmark Assessments, some items are selected from options in drop-down lists. The options are derived from entries in a series of central Lookup Tables. It is suggested that you first ensure that suitable options are available to meet your requirements BEFORE you start entering any data. For details, please see Configuring Your System in the Admin Guide or the relevant Help file entries (‘Using Qudos 3’ section).


Creating and using Master Assessment The Master field is a simple checkbox, but it can be very useful. One assessment in each user-defined category may be set as the Master. This acts as a flag to identify the default or template assessment in the Benchmark Assessments List when creating copies (although it is possible to copy from other assessments too). The Master assessment also appears separately from other assessments when the Summary Report for that category is displayed / printed. For the purpose of this exercise, we will assume that the Master Assessment being created is a generic template – not an actual record of a real assessment.

Creating the Master assessment


Step Action Result

1 Click on Benchmark link Opens Benchmark Assessments List

2 Click New button Opens a blank Benchmark Assessment form

SUMMARY TAB Note: The reference number is created automatically.

3 Choose option for ‘Category’ from drop-down list

4 Check the Master field – or leave blank A check in the box indicates that this assessment is the Master assessment for its category

5 Choose option for ‘Location‘ from drop-down list

6 Make free-text entry in ‘Subject’ field

7 Select Assessors’ name

8 Overall assessment – Choose ‘Unspecified’ from the drop-down list

9 Comments – Free text field – use this to provide guidance to those that will using a copy of this master assessment as the basis for individual assessments in the future

10 Overall Action - If just creating a generic template, there should be no need to create an Action here

DETAILS TAB FOR EACH LINE ENTRY – REPEAT AS NECESSARY

Note: To a great extent, the assessment relies upon the knowledge, experience and judgment of the assessor. The software is designed to help by offering a logical framework, and a means of your organisation effectively communicating its standard criteria and values to its assessors. A documented procedure can be very helpful in that regard, and a sample is provided. This should be customised to meet the requirements of your organisation.

Step Action Result

11 Item / activity – Briefly describe the item or activity being assessed

12 Value – Enter the numerical value given to a particular item in this assessment

13 Weighting – Enter the relative importance given to a particular item (between 0-100%). The weighting is used as a multiplier with the value to generate a score. By this method, the relative importance of items may be factored into your assessments. If preferred, all items may be given equal weighting.

14 Action - If just creating a generic template, there should be no need to create an Action here. The creation and linking of actions to assessments is discussed later.

THE FOLLOWING FIELDS ARE AUTOMATICALLY ENTERED OR CALCULATED FOR YOU

No. – Sequential item number - automatically generated when you first click anywhere in the record

Score - Value x Weighting

Total – Sum total of all scores for items assessed


When you have finished creating your master assessment, return to the Summary Tab.

Average or assessment score - Total of all scores for items assessed divided by the number of items assessed

ATTACHMENTS TAB For a master assessment there is unlikely to be a need to add attachments. However, if required, external documents may be attached to the record.


2 Click Save button Saves changes.

3 Click Close button Closes the record. You are returned to the Benchmark Assessments List. You should see your newly created record listed – with the ‘Master’ field checked. With your master assessment completed, you now have a template to use for further assessments in the same category.


Creating additional assessments based on a Master Assessment For the following instructions to work correctly, you must have created a master assessment for the relevant category (as above). From the Benchmark Assessments List:

* Linking items to an Action form

If a Benchmark Assessment identifies the need for corrective, preventive or improvement action, that may be planned, recorded and tracked using a linked Action form. You may generate one Action form from every individual item/activity record in each Benchmark Assessment. If required, you may use the 'Related actions' feature of the Action form to add up to 99 linked - but separately managed and tracked - forms. Here’s how to do it…

Step Action Result

1 Select the relevant category from the ‘Category’ field and click on the Search button

Filters the Benchmark Assessments List to display only assessments within that category

2 Navigate to and select the Master assessment for the category (indicated by the Master field being checked)

3 Select menu item: —> Functions —> Copy

Creates a new Benchmark Assessment

with the current system date. Data for the

following fields is copied across:

Category

Item numbers

Item descriptions

All score fields

4 This new assessment may now be edited to suit. The following fields should be adjusted / completed as necessary:

‘Value’ fields

Select ‘Overall assessment’

Enter ‘Comments’

Add ‘Actions’ to line items and / or overall assessment. See * and ** below

Repeat with more assessments as necessary.

Step Action Result

1 Place cursor in the record that relates to the intended Action form.

2 Click Action button An alert box appears with the message "There is no summary action linked to this item. Do you want to create one?"

3 Click Yes button Opens a new Action form. Qudos 3 will automatically enter some of the data for you. This may generally be modified and added to as required. The ‘How raised’ field is locked as ‘Benchmark’

4 Complete Action form in the normal fashion.

When you have locked, saved, and closed the Action form, you are returned to the Benchmark Assessment. The relevant item should now have a number in the Action field (in place of the default ‘No’). That is the number of the linked Action. There is now a permanent two-way link between the item and the action. At any future time, you may select the


** Linking the overall assessment to an Action form

As well as linking actions to an individual item/activity record, there may be cases where you wish to link an action to the overall assessment instead. You may generate an Action form from the separate button in the ‘Overall assessment’ section of each Benchmark Assessment. If required, you may use the 'Related actions' feature of the Action form to add up to 99 linked - but separately managed and tracked - forms. Here’s how to do it…

Benchmark item and click the Action button to review progress in the resulting Action Form. Equally, if you open the Action Form directly, you may click its ‘Source’ button to view the originating Benchmark Assessment.

Step Action Result

1 Click Action button next to 'Overall assessment'

An alert box appears with the message "There is no summary action linked to this item. Do you want to create one?"

2 Click Yes button Opens a new Action form. Qudos 3 will automatically enter some of the data for you. This may generally be modified and added to as required. The ‘How raised’ field is locked as ‘Benchmark’

3 Complete Action form in the normal fashion. If necessary, click on the ‘Related Actions’ tab and create as many other new forms as required

4 Click Save button Saves Action form and returns to the Benchmark Assessment. From now on, these two records are permanently linked. From the Benchmark Assessment, click on the button again to open the Action form. OR From the Action form, click on the ‘Source’ button to open the Benchmark Assessment.


Comparing multiple assessments within a category From the Benchmark Assessments List:

The summary report will display the results for the master assessment, followed by a table of data from other assessments within the category – like this…

You can clearly see for example that the subject of assessment No. 19 is doing very well in most respects but seems to have a problem with brochure availability, and that overall the lowest average score is for staff training. This kind of information can be used to guide your actions to where they will be of most benefit to your organisation and its stakeholders. Benchmark assessments may also be viewed graphically in the Dashboard.

Further Guidance A sample Score-based Assessment procedure is supplied with the software. By default, this is available from the Procedure button on the Benchmark Assessments List.

Step Action Result

1 Select the relevant category from the ‘Category’ field and click on the Search button

Filters the Benchmark Assessments List to display only assessments within that category

2 Select menu item: ->Print ->Print Summary

The print preview is displayed in Crystal Reports Viewer – you may choose print / export / email options as required.


Help and Support

Qudos 3 includes an unrivalled combination of help and support resources for your management system.

Guide Books This User Guide is complemented by an Admin Guide (for I.T. Administrators and System Managers), and a Guest Guide (for those sharing the Guest User account). All 3 guides are available in PDF format on product distribution DVDs and via the Help menu / Resource Centre.

Help This User Guide is just a small sub-set of the extensive Help files that describe the components in Qudos 3 in great detail, and a wide range of activities in “How to” sections – available from the Help menu. Help may also be accessed in a context-sensitive manner by pressing the F1 Function key while in any major form.

Resource Centre Online service providing access to guide books, videos, articles, and sample documents.

Technical Support For subscribing organisations, technical support services are available to nominated contact people via Internet, telephone and email.

Quality / Safety / Enviro Manager Toolkits These comprehensive toolkits will help you understand concepts and requirements, plan, document, and implement your system.

Safety Manager is based on the requirements of OHSAS 18001 and AS/NZS 4801.

Quality Manager is based on the requirements of ISO 9001.

Enviro Manager is based on the requirements of ISO 14001. The toolkits include extensive guidance material, planning tools, sample documents and other templates. They are available to you at any time via icons on the Main Screen and via the Qudos 3 Help menu.


Software User Training A little training can go a long way to help you get the most out of your software. Our consultants can use their years of experience to assist you with configuration and implementation, and train your key users on use of the software. Options:

Full-day sessions on-site

Full-day sessions at Qudos premises

1-hour webinars

Professional Consultancy Services Compliance and risk management has to compete for organisational resources with many other business requirements, and there is not always the expertise or resource available in-house. We can bridge that gap by providing specialist services as and when they are needed. The introduction of Qudos 3 into your management system may be supplemented by Consultancy and training services designed to meet your specific needs. Qudos can provide experienced and qualified specialists on a short-term or ongoing basis.

Gap Analysis service to help you meet the new standards ISO has released major updates of its key management system standards – For example, ISO 9001:2015 for Quality management, and ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental management. These highlight a risk-based approach, and offer the opportunity of a more streamlined system. This is very much in line with the philosophy that Qudos has advocated for many years. Any organization looking to be certified in the future will need to address the requirements of the new standards. Existing certifications to earlier standards must be updated within a 3 year period. The first step in developing or updating a system is to identify any gaps between what is currently in place, and the new requirements. This is known as a Gap Analysis. Qudos has successfully provided Gap Analysis services to a wide range of clients over many years. This service is now available to help your organization to bridge the gap to the new ISO standards. A qualified lead auditor will review your current management system, and provide you with a detailed report on the current situation and strategy plan to address any gaps identified.

IMS Internal Auditor Training Qudos offers a unique, certified 1-day course - For training internal auditors of quality or integrated management systems. Based on the requirements of ISO 9001 Quality, ISO 14001 Environment & AS/NZS 4801-OHSAS 18001 Health & Safety, the courses aim to provide:

An understanding of the internal audit process

The skills to schedule and plan and internal audit programme

The skills to effectively perform / record internal audits, and communicate the need for action

(Where applicable) The skills to use software for those activities Qudos auditor training offers a unique combination of advantages:


Online pre-course reference material helps prepare students better - saving time in the classroom (just 1 day rather than the more typical 2).

Public training sessions are regularly held at Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne training facilities – private sessions can also be arranged at your own premises

Practical training helps students gain confidence in performing audits.

All those successfully completing the training / assessment receive a certificate of attainment issued in conjunction with a JAS-ANZ accredited certification body.

IMS Lead Auditor Training With many organisations moving towards IMS (integrated management systems) comprising Quality, Environment, and Health & Safety, there is also a growing need for people to have auditing skills across those topics and standards. This 5 day specialised IMS training provides a comprehensive and practical understanding of:

ISO 19011 Guidelines for Quality and or Environmental Management Systems auditing

ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems

ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems

AS/NZS 4801 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems The course will provide you with the skills to conduct internal or external IMS audits as either a member of an audit team or as an audit team leader. Public training sessions are regularly held at venues throughout Australia / NZ. Private courses may also be arranged at your own premises.

Our customers range from small private companies to larger corporations and public-sector organisations. We have helped many to achieve better, smarter management systems, as well as ISO 9001 Quality, ISO 14001 Environment, AS/NZS 4801-OHSAS 18001 Health & Safety, and other certifications from a wide range of agencies including; BSI, Bureau Veritas, Det Norsk Veritas, International Certifications, IHCA, Lloyds Register, SAI Global, SciQual and SGS. Contact us now to discuss your training and consultancy needs.

Qudos Management Pty. Ltd. Quality | Health & Safety | Environmental management 320 Adelaide Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000 Tel: +61 (07) 3010 9257 | Fax: +61 (07) 3010 9001 3 Spring Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Tel: +61 (02) 8249 4670 | Fax: +61 (02) 8249 4001 Email: [email protected] Web: www.qudos-software.com