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A short guide to non-conformance reports; what, why and how

How do you log and deal with non-conformities so that faulty products don't end up in the hands of customers? ...

6 min read

What does it take to make your TMF an eTMF?

A Trial Master File (TMF) is a comprehensive collection of documents that ensures the conduct of your clinical...

4 min read

Data integrity in life sciences: the vital role of ALCOA principles

Data integrity is central to the safe development and manufacturing of every life-science product on the marke...

5 min read

ISO 13485:2016: What does it take to meet medical device QMS requirements?

Navigating the complexities of ISO 13485:2016 can seem daunting, but understanding its requirements is crucial...

6 min read

4 challenges you'll face moving from a paper based QMS to an eQMS

The case for ditching paper based QMS (Quality Management Systems) can seem like a no-brainer. But faced with ...

4 min read

What are the ICH Q10 Pharmaceutical Quality System guidelines?

In 2008, the ICH Q10 Pharmaceutical Quality System (PQS) guidelines introduced a comprehensive model for an ef...

5 min read

The eQMS low down: Qualio Vs Cognidox

Cognidox and Qualio are both digital quality management systems (QMS) with a focus on the life science and med...

4 min read

Design verification and design validation for medical device developers

In medical device development, two critical stages of the design process are often confused: design verificati...

6 min read

MDSAP 101: An Introduction to the Medical Device Single Audit Programme

What if you could gain approval to sell your medical devices anywhere in the world, by completing a single, re...

3 min read

What’s the Cost of Quality? Can it really be free?

What’s the cost of quality? Can it, like QM guru Philip Crosby argued, really be free? Like most things in bus...

4 min read

Chip design: Why a flexible eQMS is essential for semiconductor success

Chip designs are becoming more complex and expensive to develop, verify and validate. Opportunities for fables...

4 min read

8 tips for documenting your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)

There are many reasons why organisations need to document their SOPs. From ensuring uniformity in end products...

4 min read

Where are you on the Quality Management Maturity Grid?

Of all the quality management ‘gurus’, the late Philip Crosby is one of the most readable. In his book ‘Qualit...

3 min read

Should you use Microsoft software to build your own digital QMS?

SMEs creating a digital Quality Management System (QMS) will often reach for the most familiar tools to build ...

5 min read

Calibration of equipment in ISO 13485 and ISO 9001

Monitoring and measuring quality of products and services is a key part of any QMS. But how can you be sure th...

4 min read

How to build a supplier quality management system in 4 simple steps

How do you transform regular supplier reviews from a box-ticking exercise into a genuinely useful commercial a...

6 min read

ISO 9001 vs ISO 13485. What’s the difference?

ISO 9001 is the internationally recognised standard for quality management used in many sectors from construct...

4 min read

What's the difference between a QMS, eQMS and an eDMS?

There are different ways companies can build required quality management systems, from using traditional paper...

5 min read

The evolution of a Quality Management System

A focus on a quality management system shouldn’t just mean a ‘box ticking’ exercise for an organisation. And i...

4 min read

Why not just use Qualio as your medical device eQMS?

Qualio is an eQMS platform launched in 2012 by Irish entrepreneur Robert Fenton. From small beginnings, his co...

5 min read

How a QMS supports medical device risk management in ISO 13485

A QMS should ultimately help guard against customer harm or dissatisfaction, by guarding against the risk of f...

4 min read

Document Management and Document Control: Is there a difference?

For some companies simply managing their documentation is enough to support their business goals. But others n...

4 min read

4 ways to build an ISO 13485 compliant medical device QMS

Are you looking for ways to build and maintain the most efficient, ISO 13485 compliant QMS as your company con...

4 min read

Why not just use Dropbox for your Medical Device QMS?

DropBox is a file sharing platform familiar to millions throughout the world. Once a personal file storage and...

5 min read

11 'must have' features of medical device document control software

Inflexible SOPs, complicated interfaces, training and maintenance requirements. Traditional document control s...

5 min read

What’s the cost of chaos in a document management system?

Chaotic document management is wasting the time and energy of businesses around the world every year. But in s...

3 min read

Why not just use Google Drive for your medical device QMS?

A Quality Management System is a requirement for medical device developers across the globe. But should you bu...

5 min read

7 Quality Management Principles of ISO 9001:2015 and how to live by them

ISO 9001:2015 and its related quality standards are all based on the ‘Seven Quality Management Principles’ def...

3 min read

Why your company should have a Quality Strategy

I believe that a quality strategy is a vital element to the success of a business. Quality of product and oper...

3 min read

Good Distribution Practices (GDP) In the Pharmaceutical Industry

Managing the quality of medical products as they are stored and distributed brings with it many challenges. Di...

3 min read

CBD, GMP and GdocP; quality management in the cannabis industry

Around the world different rules apply for the cultivation, manufacture and sale of cannabis and CBD products....

6 min read

Organizational knowledge in ISO 9001:2015

One of the areas included in the ISO 9001 :2015 is 7.1.6 Organizational knowledge. The stated requirement is: ...

2 min read

Compliance Vs. Kaizen; how quality management can be part of your DNA

Companies working in heavily regulated sectors might have been historically slow to change and optimise their ...

4 min read

Riding the wave of the med-tech quality management challenge

Time and costs can soon rack up in a med tech device design and development cycle. But those who have installe...

4 min read

How to Build a QMS Your Team Will Actually want to Use

One of the main challenges of implementing a Quality Management System (QMS) is ensuring it is actually used f...

3 min read

No more mavericks: Better QA through collaboration

It’s a cliche that good collaboration and teamwork maximises productivity. But in the high tech product develo...

3 min read

Is your QMS just for ISO certification?

Is ISO certification the only reward you’ll receive for jumping through all those QMS hoops? And is it really ...

3 min read

ISO9001 ready with Cognidox – an overview

4 steps to getting ISO9001 ready Achieving ISO9001 compliance can appear daunting, but while it requires a sig...

2 min read

A closer look at Document Control for ISO 9001

What is document control? Properly documented information is at the heart of meeting the ISO 9001 standard, an...

3 min read

ISO 9001:2015 – How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part XII]

There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part XI, please click here. This is the final part in our serie...

2 min read

A gQMS reinforces ISO 9000 Quality Management Principles

When gaining a quality badge is the primary objective, there is a temptation to just think about meeting the m...

3 min read

ISO 9001:2015 – How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part XI]

There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part X, please click here. If you have been reading this blog r...

7 min read

ISO 9001:2015 – How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part X]

There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part IX, please click here. In this and the following two posts...

5 min read

ISO 9001:2015 – How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part IX]

How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes - a Summary There are twelve posts in this series. To re...

10 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part VIII]

RISK MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT Steps 4-6 in the method There are twelve posts in this seri...

9 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part VII]

There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part VI, please click here. Steps 1-3 in the method If you have...

9 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part VI]

There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part V, please click here. Risk based thinking is the new 'prev...

9 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part V]

SO 31000 Risk management techniques - continued Attributes of a selection of risk assessment tools There are t...

5 min read

Visualizing Business Processes - what can go wrong?

Most Quality Control and Quality Assurance methods are concerned with business process mapping as a way of und...

3 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part IV]

ISO 31000 Risk management techniques - continued There are twelve posts in this series. To read Part III, plea...

10 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part III]

ISO 31000 Risk management techniques Attributes of a selection of risk assessment tools If you haven't yet rea...

5 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part II]

ISO 31000 Risk management techniques: A selection of risk assessment tools you might like to consider Part 1 i...

7 min read

ISO 9001:2015 - How to apply Risk-based Thinking to Quality Processes [Part I]

Why taking a risk-based approach is a requirement of ISO 9001 Risk-based thinking is a sore point among many Q...

5 min read

Graphical QMS, documented information, and the audit process

A gQMS will help with internal and external auditing requirements - leading to ISO certification in less time ...

3 min read

The Graphical QMS - how to get value from documented information

Documented information in a Quality Management System (QMS) - and why it's time for a radical overhaul of how ...

3 min read