Quality assurance - ensure rapid and consistent service for your customers with document management

Quality assurance (QA) is one of the most common goals to which organizations aspire, but it also can be elusive. Many companies, like food processing plants, bear considerable costs to hold regular inspections and ensure products comply with industry standards. Even with regular inspections, not all shipped goods are perfect; inspecting every item thoroughly would put many out of business.
On the administrative side of business, however, technology is available to assure 100% consistency in administrative processes, while accelerating turnaround and improving service. What seemed to be a pipe dream for QA in the 80's has become reality, as web-based electronic document management (EDM) and business process management (BPM) technologies have converged and reached full maturity.
In today's global economy, competition is not simply defined by other businesses within a company's geographic area. Standing out can be a challenge. When products are comparable, the assurance that goods and services are consistent in quality and will meet client expectations is vital to developing customer loyalty that feeds growth. Web-based EDM and BPM enable small businesses to compete globally, offering faster, consistent, and better service. They work together to enable seamless communications with customers and suppliers to provide the best service possible. When problems arise, they facilitate instant corrective action.
This article defines the role of EDM and BPM in providing quality assurance, demonstrated in areas as diverse as:
- Insurance underwriting and claims;

- Financial services;

- Healthcare administration;

- Student services; and

- Public communications.

- Readers will understand successful applications of technology they can model to help their business compete.
Quality Assurance: EDM and Workflow Technologies Redefine QA Delivery

In order for any business to assure consistent quality and fairness rather than to simply require employees to provide it, unnecessary variations in process output need to be eliminated. Just like a manufacturing floor's assembly line, well-conceived manual business processes run according to pre-established rules. Despite this, sometimes details and hierarchies are overlooked and mistakes are made.
With EDM and workflow, rules for data collection and an automatic hierarchy of tasks demand consistency. Items move forward automatically only when each step is completed. Workflow ensures priorities are noted and timelines are met. Processes are monitored, measured, analyzed, and controlled, enabling continuous improvement. Staff gains real-time access to all pertinent information they need. EDM and BPM push business processes-such as claims, loans, or contracts-through the right channels expeditiously from start to finish, helping managers to control, monitor, and assure quality.
BPM tools like workflow perform similarly to the structure on a manufacturing floor, where goods are pulled regularly for inspection, except that each task in every process is examined automatically every time to ensure 100% completion and consistency. Automated business rules force uniformity of data collection, guarantee that processes only move forward when each step is complete, respect process hierarchy without fail, and report inefficiencies that can be improved.
Underwriting and Claims

In insurance, EDM ensures that underwriters, claims staff, adjusters, and other preauthorized parties can access high-quality data and images, and that information is complete. When integrated with line-of-business (LOB) systems like policy administration and claims software, redundancy and errors are avoided. Workflow increases EDM's value, automatically pushing and pulling data to the right place, wherever it is needed. When policies are updated, claims are filed, addresses change, or other actions occur. Data added to the system enables global changes, alerts, or responses according to pre-set rules. Online forms-and documents pre-supplied with bar codes containing data from the system-increase accuracy and initiate appropriate tasks. Reporting tools help managers to track productivity, enabling continual improvements. Automatic tracking of processes 'in motion' means authorized staff has ready access to answers, regardless of policy or claim status.
Financial Services

From loan processing to accounting and audits, financial institutions need quick, secure access to information. Customers expect instant answers to questions, and a robust EDM system that stores all pertinent data or points to its location helps them satisfy requests immediately. Digital workflow pushes documents forward for approvals, denials, signatures, and more, instructing the system to initiate the right customized letter, automated call, or other action in accordance with business rules. Straight-through processing of simple applications requiring a limited number of decisions is made possible by system alerts notifying appropriate staff members that decisions are needed immediately, enabling some people to leave the office with approved documents in their hands. The rules for EDM and workflow at each site ensure that speed does not compromise quality.
Healthcare Administration

The word healthcare implies that quality is vital. This includes patient admissions through human resources, credentialing, patient billing, and HIPAA compliance. A good EDM system ensures that all relevant data is accessible to those who need it. From electronic health records to lab results, insurance data, and billing, EDM provides a complete overview of patient information, whenever and wherever it is needed. Integration with LOB software such as accounting enables automation of services such as billing as soon as services are complete, supporting positive cash flow. Reporting tools let auditors review every transaction, including who viewed and signed documents or initiated requests. This helps in verifying compliance with HIPAA regulations, ensuring and demonstrating consistency in the way that every patient (and staff member) is treated.
Student Services in Universities and Schools

From college admissions and student financial aid to educational research, development, and alumni relations, students and parents today expect reliable information and quick service. EDM and workflow help colleges push applications through quickly and issue decision letters promptly, maximizing enrollment opportunities. Workflow enables customized materials to be sent to diverse donor groups automatically, following pre-set rules. Donations are processed faster, optimizing cash flow. EDM also organizes research, including scanned papers, images, and communications, for future retrieval and analysis.
Educational institutions benefit by tapping into EDM and workflow for back-office processes such as human resources, accounting, and audits. Integration with other systems verifies that data is correct and complete; automatic alerts ensure timely action; and forms are no longer misplaced or lost. This ensures a higher quality experience for students, parents, and staff who require information or request action.
Keeping the Public Informed in Matters of Safety and Public Health

When disasters occur, or an event has catastrophic implications, immediate access to information about citizens is critical. EDM centralizes all file types in one place, or points to its location in other systems, making it available from any location. EDM and workflow linked to criminal records and telecommunications systems help prevent crime and enable prompt response to incidents with pertinent data. They initiate proper notifications to customers who have used shopping cards and purchased tainted or defective products. Together, they provide the truest of quality assurances, helping those who care for our public safety and health to respond quickly, and even to save lives.
Quality assurance has always been a key ingredient in a company's customer services. Today, mature technologies make it easier. Quality is assured....each and every time.







Laurel Sanders
Director of Public Relations and Communications
Laurel Sanders joined OIT as the Director of Marketing in August, 2004 and was named Director of Public Relations and Communications in January of 2008. She previously served as the executive director of The Muse Machine in Dayton, Ohio, where she was also a consultant in the planning and launching of a collaborative arts education program in Beaufort, South Carolina based on the Dayton model. Laurel was the development director for Dayton Opera and subsequently taught music and English in Germany. She holds a Masters in Arts Administration from the University of Cincinnati; a Bachelor's in Voice, magna cum laude from Ithaca College and the London Centre in England; and pursued business studies at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio as well as vocal studies at the Hindemith School in Switzerland. She chairs public relations for the State College Downtown Rotary Club, assists with communications for the United Way, and is a member of the board of trustees for the Junior Baroque Music Festival in State College. Laurel is a published writer on business and technology topics and is fluent in German.