Engineering Document Quality Assurance

“We’re bleeding clients left and right,” a decision-maker at a global engineering firm told me after hiring us to help. << The Problem >> New hires were producing work that: — Included irrelevant information  — Failed to meet readers' needs And although the senior engineers designated as reviewers were capable of writing clear documentation, they didn’t know how to guide new hires to do the same. << The Deadly Assumption >> So hiring top engineering grads wasn’t their problem. The problem was *assuming* that the engineers’ writing skills were just as good as their engineering skills. But even elite institutions such as MIT, CalTech, and Stanford don’t necessarily invest a lot in the kind of writing courses that help engineers produce clear documents. Instead, they learn to write pull-your-hair-while-screaming-profanities obtuse documents in esoteric academese. Sidebar: this is a common problem I see when working with engineering (and, in fact, most tech) firms. Namely, that the ability to write well usually doesn’t translate into the ability to *teach* how to write well. << Down the Rabbit Hole >> Our audit revealed that new hires had a *single* example of what a high-quality document should look like. No multiple examples. No style guide. No consensus on reviewing. No training. Poor templates. To make matters worse, reviewers would despair and, instead of providing feedback, push confusing documents on to clients. Who, in turn, would come back and express their frustration. Yikes. << The Solution >> After applying a liberal amount of elbow grease, we: — Created standards to train new writers  — Designed mentorship programs and guidance documents — Developed and taught a series of customized writing workshops focused on writing for modern readers << The Outcome >> Three months after implementing our program, the company reported: ✔ 15% less time spent training new writers on company standards ✔ More experienced engineers mentoring new hires and contributing to guidance documents and templates ✔ Newer engineers even teaching some of the more experienced staff strategies from our workshops Overall, new engineers were onboarded 2 weeks sooner and required less oversight from their superiors. And clients stopped making irate phone calls. Nice. << The Takeaway >> Your engineers might have some of the most sophisticated wetware on the planet, but that DOES NOT mean they don't need writing training. The good news is that if you have the right kind of training, mentorship, and standardization of documents in place, they’re also the kind of people who learn FAST.

One overlooked CQV risk hiding in plain sight: Document control. (And it usually shows up after the SAT.) You’re in the thick of a major validation project. FAT is complete, equipment is onsite, and now you’re preparing SAT, Commissioning and IOQ protocols… But the editable SAT documents? → You don’t have them. Because no one clarified that in the agreement. Now you're emailing the vendor (again), trying to merge FAT data manually - while your team’s on the clock and your CQV schedule’s already tight. Here’s what I’ve learned the hard way: 📌 Document control isn’t just internal - it’s contractual. For complex projects with external vendors, define the rules early: 1. Spell out documentation deliverables. Editable Word docs? PDFs? Redlines? Version history? Don’t assume - write it into the contract. 2. Clarify usage rights and IP upfront. Want to repurpose their SAT template for internal validation use? You’ll need clear permission to avoid downstream friction. 3. Use version control across teams. Internal or external, protocols must live in a central, controlled system. One wrong version in execution can invalidate a whole test run. Bottom line: Vendor docs become your validation docs. Treat them like critical assets - not afterthoughts. (And if you haven’t asked your vendor for editable SAT protocols yet… now’s the time.) 💬 How are you managing version control and documentation rights with external partners? #CQV #ValidationStrategy #VendorManagement #GMPCompliance #DocumentControl #SAT #FAT #LifeSciences #Ellab #TemperatureMatters

Cost Savings Tips & Tricks #1: Document Control From my experience, this is one of the most overlooked items when managing a project. When you are in the heat of executing a project, spending time on making sure your engineered drawings (Process and Instrumentation Control Drawings, Cause and Effects, Plot Plans, Hazardous Area Classification, etc.) are correct can sometimes seem like an afterthought. I have spent years of my career working with Operations and Maintenance crews on retrofit projects for the Oil and Gas industry. Current drawings are one of the first things we pull to put our plan together. If the documents aren't up to date, then that also means that the engineering design calculations may not reflect what equipment is in the field. It also could require updating environmental permits. It takes resources, time, and money to update all of these items for a project to comply with regulations and codes, and it could also mean an increased scope of work to change the facilities to meet the updated calculations. So what have I done to help mitigate some of these costs? I have created QA/QC processes to ensure drawings are being updated as the project evolves and changes. I like to have drafters highlight all of the changes I have made to a drawing so that they can check all of the changes are correct and I can check all of the changes are made. Do you have experience working in document control? What are some tips you have utilized to help make projects go smoother? #engineering #documentcontrol #projectmanagement