Document Pyramid – Level 4: Objective Evidence

“This post, and those prior, are focused on helping you to manage the documented information in your business. Documents enable businesses to capture, control, and develop their knowledge.  This is for those who are tasked with maintaining and improving the knowledge base.”  Carl

Recap Level 3

In the last post of the Document Pyramid – Level 3 Work Instructions, we reviewed work instruction as a further refinement of the procedure.  While the procedure takes a high-level view utilizing SiPoC to describe the flow of a process.  The Work Instruction focuses on the iPo to provide a detailed order of applying inputs (i) with a set of Process (P) steps to create the output (o).  We reviewed guidelines of what information should be included in the documents.  Also, provide you with a template that works well for both Procedures and Work Instructions to help you on your way.

Level 4

In this 6th post in the series, we will swim into the fourth and last tier of the document waterfall hierarchy. At this point, the policies, procedures, and work instructions are in place. We will look deeply into the pool of objective evidence that includes references (inputs) and records (outputs). These input and output documents are used to ensure all three of the previous documents (Policy, Procedure, and Work Instruction) achieve the desired result. The objective evidence is managed and controlled within the businesses operating systems just like Policies, Procedure, and Work Instructions.

To support achieving the desired results, there are additional input and output documents in many of the three prior tiers of the document pyramid. The objective evidence documents that are referred to in policy, procedure, and work instruction are maintained in Level 4 – Objective Evidence. The references are determined by the document owner and interested parties as inputs to support and clarify the intended result. These may be updated as the parent document is updated, although not without the parent being updated and revised as well. Records are updated continually as the policy, procedure, and/or work instructions are executed.

Input Documents

As input to performing a procedure and completing work instructions, you may use specific information that is referred to, although not included, in the document. References support and help define aspects of the parent document.  For policies, it may reference certificates, laws, licenses, permits, and/or regulations. For procedures and work instruction they will reference drawings, specifications, and standards.   This reference information is used to guide the performance of activities and/or provide the standard of conformance and compliance to specific requirements. 

Input documents are not changed frequently.  Laws, specifications, and standards will have static versions for years.  Many of these are considered external documents and controlled by external interested parties (suppliers, vendors, governments, corporations, customers, regulatory bodies).  The supporting information, or inputs, may include the following (although not limited by this list).

Outputs

Policies, Procedures, and Work Instructions will generate secondary outputs, additional documentation.  For procedures and work instruction the additional documents are data and records.  The output information represents the objective evidence that the defined process was followed and completed.  Examples of recorded information are (again not limited to);

The method used to capture objective evidence is identified and referenced in the parent document (policy, procedure, and/or work instruction).  The parent document also includes how to monitor, maintain, retain, and share the records. Every defined procedure shall have, at least, one objective measure that defines the success or failure of the process. Clearly, the Objective Evidence output of Data and Records are useful indicators for process improvement.

Most businesses will generate a treasure trove of information from processes.  Generally considered the “check” in the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) improvement cycle.  These references must be protected from undue alteration and archived.  Archive Objective Evidence output, when appropriate, to meet specific requirements, regulations, and standards.  These references become the basis for Business Intelligence to support continual improvement.

The next post in the Document Pyramid campaign will summarize the series. 

Next post: Document Pyramid – Review