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SEAL Systems AG > Blog > Enterprise Output Management > Best Practices for Record Keeping In Your Plant
Enterprise Output Management
04.10.2023
Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Best Practices for Record Keeping In Your Plant

In this Article
    Document management sounds easy, but there are many moving parts, and the process can quickly get out of hand, even for the most organized plants. For instance, when a new version of a document is uploaded to a database, the user must know they are uploading it to the correct place, that it is labeled that others will tell the document version, and who made changes. Unfortunately, many businesses lack document handling standards, making organization and security an issue.

    Secure Document Handling

    First and foremost, manufacturers should consider security when it comes to document handling and output management. For example, documents are distributed daily with designs, parts lists, work orders, and more. If you use an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, employees are likely accessing this information from their login, but is it really secure and being distributed in the way you want?

    Digital signatures help you handle sensitive data by controlling who can view certain documents and the methods used for output using a private key. The technology also inhibits changes and forgery to the documents they are applied. Therefore, corporations should consider third-party software that ensures document security, like SEAL Systems.

    SEAL Systems allows you to apply digital signatures to documents to help capture sign-offs and track the chain of ownership.

    Password Protection for Pull Printing

    You can password protect documents and document rights with a password or a password containing device for the highest amount of security. So, if an employee wants to view a document, they need to physically insert a thumb drive or connect another device to access their output handling rights to that document.

    Setting up your document management parameters in this way makes outside access to sensitive information the hardest to obtain because the information is protected unless the user is in possession of the physical device used to protect the document and control its output.

    Managing Errors in Plant Documentation

    Output handling can become more convenient when systems are appropriately adjoined. Problems commonly arise with the incomplete merger of two legacy systems. This can happen when a new plant is opened, or a merger has occurred. It’s expensive and time consuming to completely integrate new ERPs into a legacy system and make sure that things like document management and output run smoothly between the two. For example, after acquiring a new production location, R&D might update a design but forget to upload the new document to the new manufacturing output hub. This introduces errors in the production process and can set companies back significantly.

    SEAL Systems can integrate with both sides of the ERP you are currently using to unify output management and allow for paperless production, making it easier to share changes to documents and ensure that everyone has the correct information to do their job properly.

    How SEAL Systems can Help

    If document management and output are giving you a headache, contact SEAL Systems. We have simple solutions that can better protect your documents and unify output systems.