Written by Dan Marcus

It’s difficult to define a single number that each company can use to calculate the impact a management system will have on their bottom line. With that being said, there is transferable logic that every company can apply to calculate their return on investment by establishing better data management.
 
Managers are hired because of the unique knowledge they possess in their area of expertise (human resources, safety, environment, or quality management). A manager’s main objective is to implement changes that promote continual improvement. Investing in a data management system has a direct effect on an organization’s bottom line because it enables the organization to better utilize their key employees. A direct return is inevitable when the amount of time key staff spend managing data is reduced. This is especially true when preparing for audits.

Audit reporting involves thousands of records and can take managers and support staff weeks to prepare, in addition to their daily data management routines. Utilizing a direct-entry database significantly reduces the time and intellectual resources required to collect and format company data.

Once the necessary information is collected and formatted, reports need to be generated. The Intelex Management System simplifies the reporting process through configurable reporting functionality that enables users to create and store reports based on their specific corporate or auditing criteria.

With information being collected in real-time and reports being preconfigured for single click access, employees save countless hours that can be more effectively devoted to their primary objective; observing behaviors, analyzing data, and developing changes that further impact the bottom line ― reducing costs and increasing productivity.
 
Data management systems also generate secondary return-on-investments such as new opportunities for corporate marketing efforts and corporate recognition through industry awards and media acknowledgements, both generate increased business opportunities.
 
An organization’s bottom line is therefore improved by reducing the amount of time key employees spend managing data while providing a tool to aide in continual improvement. In an environment where transparency can make the difference, data management provides a basis to prove what you preach, which can make the difference between market share or the big contract.

Welcome to the new Intelex corporate website. Since 2000, Intelex has experienced tremendous growth in terms of product development, client base, and the number of Intelexians who have joined our team. To compliment these achievements, Intelex has updated its corporate image with a new stylized company logo and a sleeker more contemporary corporate website.

When we began the process of rebranding the Intelex image, there were two main objectives that we wanted the new corporate website to fulfill:

• Firstly, the new website needed to reflect Intelex’s growing corporate presence in the environmental, quality, health & safety and business performance management industries, and

• Secondly, we wanted the new site to represent the complete breadth and depth of the Intelex product line.

We believe that we’ve succeeded in meeting both of these objectives and welcome comments and suggestions from our clients, partners, and prospective clients.

On behalf of the entire Intelex Team, thank you for your support and we look forward to continuing to provide our clients with best-in-class performance management software and support.

A recent independent study conducted by the Aberdeen Group indicates that businesses using real-time performance reporting (like the reporting functionality included in the Intelex EQH&S Management Systems) realize greater success in relation to equipment effectiveness, production yield, and profit margins.

According to Matthew Littlefield, a senior researcher at Aberdeen Group, “best-in-class manufacturers are more than twice as likely as laggard manufacturers to monitor exceptions on the plan floor in real time, use real-time data in production optimization processes, and in using real-time data for the production release and control.” (Quality Digest, July 2008)

All of Intelex’s Modules come with real-time reporting functionality. The data in the Intelex System is viewable through graphical scorecards that are displayed on corporate dashboards for an instant 360 degree view of your business.  

Visit the  Aberdeen Group's website for the full report.

Six new reports for clients using the Intelex Standard Nonconformances Module have been posted on the Intelex-Exchange (to be downloaded for free).

These reports have been designed to provide an instant, real-time snapshot of your organizations standard nonconformance and corrective/preventative actions performance.

Corrective/Preventative Actions by Report ID
Standard Nonconformances by Type
Standard Nonconformances by Classification
Corrective/Preventative Actions – Last 90 Days
Corrective/Preventative Actions – This Year vs. Last Year
Report ID – Stages by Date

New reports and scorecards for the Intelex Audits Management Module are available to be downloaded for free from the Intelex-Exchange.

Once you’ve used the reports post a comment to let us know how they've made your job easier. Or post a comment with suggestions of reports or scorecards that you’d like to see built.

REPORTS
Audits Scheduled in Next 90 days
Lists all the audits that are scheduled for next 90 days.

Completed Audit Results
This report lists all the audits that have been completed in the last 3 months.

Upcoming Audits by Type
Grouped report listing all the audits upcoming for the current year.

Audits by Person Responsible
This report displays a list of Audits that are scheduled for the current year and grouped by Person Responsible.

Follow-Up Actions by Audits
Grouped report showing the Follow-Up Actions that are required after conducting the audits.

Scheduled Audits This Year by Month
Grouped report showing scheduled audits for the present year.

Upcoming Audits by Location
Groped report showing the upcoming audits grouped by location for the current year.

Audits Causing Standard Non-Conformances
Grouped report showing audits resulting in Standard Non-conformances.

Audit Scheduled This year by Type
Matrix report showing the number of audits scheduled this year by Audit Type.

Audits Completed This year by Type
Matrix report showing the number of completed Audits in current year by Audit Type.

Audits Scheduled vs Completed by Month and by Audit Types
Audits as well as Completed Audits for the current year by Audit Type.

SCORECARD
Number of Audits vs. Number of Follow-Up Actions
Graphical representation of the number of audits for the given year vs. number of follow -ups happening during the same year, grouped on a monthly basis.

It’s official, Intelex 5 is almost here! Intelex is excited to announce that our ASP clients will receive the release of Intelex 5 on Sunday August 17th with enterprise clients to follow shortly after.

With over 160 new features, enhancements and improvements, Intelex's Version 5 is a breakthrough in EQH&S and business performance management.    

SNEAK PEEK OF NEW FEATURES

-Message Centre - discussion & collaboration tools

-Automatic document to PDF conversions

-New dashboard layouts & design tools

-Printer-friendly dashboards

-Custom email templates

-"Email this page" functionality

-Automated document update notifications

-Enhanced control of dashboard security

-Enhanced merge fields in email templates

-Intelex web services & API

-New configurable Intelex homepage & module homepages

-Custom calendars with filters, highlights and multi-day events

-Centralized system setup and configuration

-Over 20 new and improved scorecard types

-21 CFR compliance and dual signatures

-Click-through capability on configurable reports

-Unlimited icons on toolbar with scrolling ability

-Notifications on training courses and document changes

-Custom formulas, calculation and script editor

-Click to view larger image.

 

Stay tuned for more updates about the release of Intelex 5.

Attention Intelex document control users, five new document control reports are available to be downloaded for free from Intelex-Exchange.com. Remember that all of these reports can be added to your dashboard to give you instant, real-time document control data. Enjoy!

Ready for Release List

Lists all the documents that are finished being edited or being approved and are ready to be released. 

 

Rejected Document List

Lists the documents that have been rejected for the current year.

 

Change Request Overdue This year

Lists the documents whose change requests are overdue for the current year.

 

Rejected Change Request

Lists the documents whose change requests have been rejected and the reason for the rejection.

 

Pending Actions

Lists documents with pending actions, grouped by the status of the document for the current year.

The Lahore Development Authority (Pakistan) has announced that they will be implementing quality control laboratories to assess the quality of road materials and construction procedures being used across their developments.  To kick off this new quality management initiative, the LDA “has issued orders to all contractors enlisted with LDA … [the contractors] have also been instructed to ensure submission of road materials to such 'Quality Control Laboratories' so that material could be screened in accordance with international standards” (Nation.com 2008).

I’ve blogged about the value of a quality management system before but I thought this story exemplified the point that quality control really can be applied to any industry, product, and service.

To read the complete story about LDA’s quality control program visit www.Nation.com.

 

An increase in workplace fatalities, like the untimely deaths of a crane operator and construction worker in New York’s lower-east side (May 2008), reinforces the desperate need for workplace safety programs.

With thousands of people needlessly dying on the job every year, one can’t help but wonder what’s going wrong.  According to Michael Belzer, associate research scientist with the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations at the University of Michigan, one factor may be that “… in an economic downturn there’s more pressure on people to get more done for less time and less money.”  (MSNBC 2008)

Following that logic, for a corporation to implement a Safety Management System it will cost money, but the price tag is miniscule when compared with benefits of having a healthy workforce. Ultimately, the money an organization saves as a result of fewer production days lost to sick leave, significantly reduced liability expenses, and an increase in employee satisfaction far outweighs the cost of the initial Safety Management Program.

So as I see it, the necessary steps to increase employee health and safety are three-fold. First, corporations need to take a proactive approach to protecting the welfare of their employees by investing in a Health and Safety Management Program. Secondly, the government needs to effectively enforce healthy and safety regulations. And lastly, employees need to demand safe working environments.

Alexander Gordon makes a great point in his article [The] Importance of Document Management in Compliance Strategies when he says “Compliance strategies help decrease regulatory as well as litigation risks that the enterprise faces. They help to reduce mismanagement of data, ensuring that the companies secure their information and utilize it wisely.”

Gordon’s full article is really useful in explaining the value of a document control system, but this particular quote stands out because it speaks to one of the core values of a well-designed document management system ― the ability to help ensure internal and external regulatory compliance.

Industry executives understand that having document control procedures in place improves workflow efficiency, which in turn saves money by eliminating the duplication of employee efforts. But what they often overlook is the value that a simple document management system can offer from a risk prevention perspective.

In 2008, there isn’t an industry out there that doesn’t have to meet some sort of regulations or risk being penalized. By implementing a document management system corporations can ensure compliance through corporate-wide workflow procedures and real-time status reports.

Five new free training reports and two new training scorecards are available to be downloaded from Intelex-Exchange by Intelex clients using the Training Management System.

Enjoy! These new reports and scorecards should make your jobs a little easier.

REPORTS

Training Hours & Costs by Course: Gives the total duration of hours and cost spent on each course based on the location and categorized by pass and fail.

Course Lists: Lists all the courses that have been assigned to the workgroup, and is grouped on the basis of the workgroups.  It also shows the priority of the course assigned as well as the location at which the courses are assigned to the workgroup.

Training Hours This Year vs. Last Year: Sums up the total number of hours on training for each course and compares the number of hours for this year versus last.

Cost of Training by Course: Shows the total cost associated with each course for a given location, and is grouped by months for the current year.

Grades Distribution: Shows the grades distribution among the employees taking the training, and the number of employees who passed the course.

SCORECARDS

Training Cost This Year Vs. Last Year: Displays a bar graph showing the total cost spent on each location for training this year and last year.

Training Cost by Course: Shows the amount spent on each training course that is being offered. Grouped by the month for the current year.

Please contact your Intelex Client Relations Account Manager or the Intelex Help Desk at help.desk@intelex.com, if you experience difficulty downloading these reports and scorecards.

Good news for organizations that need to track Department of Transportation [DOT] driver compliance. Intelex has designed a module to automate the entire DOT process.

The new DOT Compliance Management Module enables organizations to:

• Implement organization-wide DOT  management procedures
• Manage all DOT related data using a secure web-based interface
• Automate the renewal reminder process
• Send escalating email notifications to designated administrators
• Create instant real-time driver compliance reports
• Process and archive all relevant DOT documentation

To learn more about this product, contact an Intelex Account Manager.

NRG Energy, one of North America’s most successful power generation companies, has raised the bar regarding an environmentally kinder approach to power generation.

In an effort to reduce their environmental footprint, NRG has implemented econrg, a progressive initiative tasked with the mandate of introducing environmentally friendlier business practices.

As described on the NRG website, their goal is to “meet the challenges of climate change, clean air and the protection of our natural resources.” To help achieve this goal, NRG chose Intelex’s web-based Environmental Management System to collect, track and report all environmental-related data, procedures and policies.

In addition to the implementation of Intelex’s management software, NRG has also begun retrofitting existing power plants with technology to reduce emissions. “We are engaging in activities that protect and preserve the environment while encouraging changes in the daily lives of our employees.”

Through programs like Control Climate Change (3C), an initiative comprised of 50 global business leaders including NRG Energy, corporations world-wide are making a sincere effort to reduce carbon emissions and address global warming.

I recently picked up the April 2008 issue of Industry Week and read Brad Kenney’s article “Whatever Happened to Quality?” In the past I’ve written posts about an increase in awareness regarding the importance of quality control, but what my previous posts didn’t focus on and Mr. Kenney’s article does, is the growing realization that quality management isn’t just about manufacturing anymore.

In 2008, quality control has evolved to the point where it embraces an all-encompassing approach to process improvement. That is to say that it accounts not just for manufacturing, but also for services rendered, customer support, employee satisfaction, human resources development, senior leadership decisions,  etc.  As Kenney describes it, the evolved approach to quality goes “beyond the shop floor and into the front office.”

As I see it, the new quality control is a complete quality management system. It’s comprised of document control workflow, training management processes, supplier performance tracking procedures, corporate-wide quality policies, and internal & external communications tracking to name just a few components.

Check out Kenney's complete article at http://www.industryweek.com.

As Intelex continues to grow we’ve recognized a need for extended customer support hours. Effective immediately, the Intelex Help Desk will be available from 7:30am – 8:00pm Monday through Friday.

The new Help Desk hours will allow us to support all North American Intelex clients throughout the work day, and to provide a higher level of support to our global clients, particularly in Europe.

The Intelex Help Desk can be reached by email at help.desk@intelex.com or by phone at 1.877.WEB.EQHS.

Account Managers Bevin Lyon and Shaun Wong will be representing Intelex at the 2008 ASTD International Conference and Exposition. The first annual ASTD conference was held in 1944, since then the event has grown to over 9,000 visitors in 2007!

 

"The ASTD (American Society for Training & Development) is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals. " Its members come together from more than 100 countries worldwide.

 

The training and development focused conference will take place at the San Diego Convention Center June 1^st – 4^th, 2008. If you’re in the area  please don’t hesitate to stop by for a visit.

Ontario’s Energy Conservation Week is quickly approaching. According to the Ontario Power Authority  “… to keep our power grid healthy, Ontarians will need to reduce their energy consumption by 6,300 Megawatts (MW) by 2025 - that is equivalent to taking one in five electricity consumers off the power grid!”

Canadian manufacturers consume tremendous amounts of energy on an annual basis so their participation in programs like Energy Conversation Week as well as their commitment to ongoing process improvement, will play a significant role in minimizing the amount of energy consumed across the country. As an additional benefit, reduction in energy consumption will also lead to short-term and long-term corporate monetary savings.

Contact an Intelex Account Manager to discuss how Intelex can help your organization reduce their energy consumption.

Here are the top 10 reasons to implement an Environmental Management System:

10. Get a public-relations advantage over your competitors

9.  Give your employees another reason to feel good about their employer

8.  Be prepared for internal and external audits

7.  Increase the collective knowledge base of your corporate intellectual property

6.  Improve enterprise efficiency through automated scheduling, email notifications, data management, and real-time progress reports

5.  Identify potential environmental risks before they become an expense

4.  Achieve ISO 14001 certification

3.  Reach a wider audience of environmentally-aware consumers and manufacturers

2.  Fulfill consumer demand for environmentally-friendlier products and services

1. Reduce your corporate footprint on the environment

According to the International Organization for Standardization [ISO], ISO 9000 and ISO 14001 are the most well-known and frequently adopted management standards. To date over 100,000,000 million organizations across 161 countries have achieved these certifications.

© 2008 ISO – Used with the permission of ISO Central Secretariat.

The ISO 9000 standards were designed to regulate quality management while ISO 14001 focuses on environmental management. Both standards aim to drive continual improvement in their respective areas.

The increase in media reports about issues with overseas suppliers has pushed all things quality-focused into the spotlight. From conferences to consulting firms to software providers ― total quality management [TQM] is a hot topic. And nowhere is this more evident than in North American where manufacturers that previously took a hands-off approach to dealing with overseas suppliers, are now actively engaging with their providers to ensure conformance with organization and government regulatory standards. 

Although implementing a Quality Management System can sound like a daunting task, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, it’s easier than you think ―thanks to out-of-the box and customizable total quality management software solutions. If you’re in the market for a Quality Management System, look for a program that includes specially designed modules to address each of the following topics:

-Non-conformance & Product Defects

-Supplier Management

-Supplier Non-conformances

-Customer Management

-Quality Objectives & Activities

-Quality Policy

-Training Management

-Document Control

For trial access to the Intelex Quality Management System contact an Account Manager.