Is it time to make a change?
Many regulated life sciences companies face trouble with their training matrix when SOPs are difficult to find, management can't train employees remotely, and the system is overloaded. That's because limited database-management systems (like Excel) weren't designed to handle huge data sets. Once they log over 100,000 entries, the time and energy required to verify training compliance diminishes their value.
To assure timely compliance, employees at regulated companies need to be able to independently manage their own training requirements, including SOP reviews. Instead of elaborate interfaces and complicated instructions, an effective training matrix should simplify and automate the process so management can focus on employee relationships, not database management.
The path to effective training matrix management
The solution to getting your regulated company’s training matrix under control starts with a more functional tool: an electronic quality management system (eQMS).
An eQMS is a software application that manages quality processes, including the training matrix, to ensure compliance across the entire enterprise. One of the reasons why eQMS’ are more powerful than spreadsheet-based training matrices is because they’re scalable to meet the growing needs of your business.
For example, an eQMS can easily handle the requirements necessary for managing 100k+ SOP entries. These include configuring training course assignments according to role, automating the archiving process for retired and obsolete documents, and providing a seamless audit trail. Additionally, querying functionality allows all SOPs to be attributable to specific employees, processes, products, and locations. Individual spreadsheets, on the other hand, can only accomplish these tasks through slower, error-prone, manual activities.
A validated eQMS touches all facets of a regulated company’s quality processes providing more efficiency and security.
Employee training management
A training matrix built inside an eQMS significantly reduces IT and database management workloads, giving users hours back to their day. This is because individual employees are given the tools to manage their own training assignments and operating procedures. This in turn further empowers those in management to offer more instruction and less signature-hounding.
Product quality management
A solid eQMS ensures that a product’s development will be done in a manner that can be analyzed for trends, repeated, and audited. As SOPs are developed, a comprehensive database will include more than just document names or the employees who trained on them. It can track information about specific procedures, issues and deviations, as well as employee interactions. All of this leads to higher product quality.
Safety Management
Rather than safety systems being a separate part of a business's management, great eQMS software tracks involvement with various products, variables in safety procedures, and adverse events. With the ability to measure and understand each of these safety issues, employees and management are able to understand their own interactions with safety procedures and guarantee higher quality safety processes.
Great quality management systems integrate employee safety, training, and product development so that SOP review becomes a natural part of the workday and not a frantic, last-minute exercise. Instead of spending time managing manual and labor-intensive spreadsheets, employees and management are empowered with intuitive interfaces to quickly interact with relevant information. Spending less time locating upcoming or past-due training assignments removes headaches and frees up more time to create high quality products.
Building a training matrix inside a validated and efficient eQMS is the right choice for regulated life sciences companies. If you’re interested in learning more, we can show you how doing so is easier than you think.