76: Documentation Content Inaccurate or Incomplete
Definition/Typical Issues
Were there errors or omissions in the content of the documents?
Did documents fail to reflect the current status? Do documents fail to contain all of the required information? Do documents used by personnel have markups to make them useful?
Examples of documents that are addressed by this node include:
- Inspection records
- Purchasing records
- Regulatory compliance
- Financial records
- Marketing materials
- Bills
- Contracts
- Inventory records
Do contracts address the following?
- Safety requirements
- Training
- Experience
- Liability
- Scheduling
- Management
Examples
Example 1
- There were a number of errors in the bills supplied to customers. As a result, a number of customers took their future business elsewhere.
Example 2
- The expenditure records for personal credit cards issued to employees were incomplete. As a result, the company could not account for approximately $50,000 of the payouts it had made to employees.
Example 3
- The contract for supplying maintenance personnel did not specify that equipment supplied and used by the contractor was subject to approval by the company. As a result, the contractor used ladders and other equipment that did not meet company requirements. This led to an OSHA citation.
Example 4
- The documentation associated with a quality assurance inspection only required documentation of out-of-specification measurements. As a result, the facility could not identify an adverse trend of acceptable, but progressively more deviant, measurements.
Example 5
- Inspection of pressure rings at a machine shop was performed. However, there was no documentation of the dimensions. Only a yes/no inspection resulted. Therefore, inspection details were not available during a root cause analysis.
Example 6
- Documentation for an inspection of respirators was supposed to show the results of each inspection. Instead, the results only had a list of respirators that were inspected and passed all six tests. As a result, the review of the results did not identify unacceptable results.
Example 7
- A review of completed respirator fit test dates revealed that some of the test dates were in the future.
Typical Recommendations
- Solicit input from document users on required changes.
- Involve the document users in periodic reviews and updates of the documents.
- Ensure that billing records are reviewed by knowledgeable personnel prior to being sent to customers.
- Ensure that financial records are maintained in accordance with appropriate regulations.
- Review inspection documents for completeness and accuracy.
- Simplify documentation requirements as much as possible.
- Periodically audit records for completeness and accuracy.
- Establish a program to solicit input from customers.
- Define the documentation that must be available at each stage of the equipment/process life cycle.
- Develop methods for controlling access and changes to documents.
- Develop methods for approving changes to documents.
- Include company safety expectations in the request-for-bid package sent to candidates.
Cross-References
| Version 10 Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 104 | Documentation Content LTA or Not Kept Up-to-date |
| Maritime Element(s) | |
|---|---|
| Node ID | Node Name |
| 101 | Documentation Content Inaccurate or Incomplete |