Workflow Automation

Releasing Workflow Automation Set for Ultimate Document Management

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Document Workflow Automation

We have designed a set of 13 automated workflows – built on Microsoft Power Automate – for simplified document approval, publication and training. Workflows are generic to cover the needs of most organizations and very flexible to be adapted if needed.

They include automated rules to trigger actions and notifications which reduce manual work, avoiding document confusion, reducing time to publish documents, and making sure collaborators understand these documents. These actions are performed by automated workflows:

  • Document creation from any document template
  • Unique document identification
  • Request approval for new documents, revisions and archiving
  • Document review, approval and publication with easy approval on any device
  • Full traceability on review, approval, and training receipts
  • Archiving of completed review, approval, training receipts

Optionally, we provide an eSignature add-in which can be used together with these workflows for additional security, like required by medical regulations.

Workflows are ready to be imported and plugged with the next coming modern apps for quality on Office 365. With little effort, our teams can help clients to plug workflows on their classic version of BPA Quality.

>> Contact us to know more.

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Simplify Audits & Inspections with the New Audit Power Apps

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BPA Audit & Inspection App on Microsoft Power Apps.

The audit app is dedicated to auditors or inspectors working on the field, on production lines, or visiting stakeholders. It can be used with a mobile device anywhere, even when no internet connection is available. The app runs on a web browser or Microsoft Power Apps.

The app is designed to work together with BPA Quality on Office 365. The audit preparation, like selecting questions is done in the full-featured BPA software. Follow-up actions are also tracked in the back-office software, together with dashboard and Power BI reports. Prebuilt workflows – running on Power Automate – automate the whole audit process.

The audit app reads data and questions from the BPA software. While auditing in offline mode, data will be stored in the app and uploaded to the BPA software once a connection is available.

For each question, auditors can touch the screen to set compliance and take photos, record voice or upload documents as proof of evidence.

As a conclusion, the BPA Audit App brings auditors & inspectors the best experience while auditing, even when no connection is available. The back-office full-featured BPA software consolidates audit data together with other modules to continually improve compliance and performance.

>> Ask us for a Product Presentation

 

 

 

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Introducing New Prebuilt Workflow Templates on Power Automate

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Automate Processes With Workflow Templates

Process automation is a key factor when working with our business software solutions. By automating processes, organizations reduce time to run processes, reduce manual work and related errors, and improve performance.

We have developed prebuilt workflow templates with Microsoft Power Automate, ready to be used with our software solutions. Workflows have been designed based on good practices learned from previous projects, and years of experience in the compliance area plus Power Automate technologies.

As a result, our workflow templates cover 95% of clients expectations with no need to spend time reengineering processes. Yet, they are agile enough to be adapted if needed. Clients can simply import workflows and connect them to their BPA software.

Prebuilt workflows have been built to match our new coming BPAQuality365 modern app. They can also be used on top of our existing Quality 365 classic app, with little adaptations. Existing workflows will be constantly improved and new ones will be developed in the future.

>> Discover our Workflow Templates

Audits Made Easy with the New Audit Power Apps

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Audit management is not a straightforward process and includes different steps for planning & preparation, execution, follow-up, and closing.

At BPA, we have developed tools to simplify the overall audit process:

  • The audit module in BPA Quality is the place to plan and prepare audits by selecting questions for any quality standard or inspection type.
  • An automated workflow send reminders to the concerned persons and calendar invitations to auditees.
  • While auditing, the new Audit Power Apps is used by auditors anywhere, even offline, to set question compliance by touching the screen, take photos and record voice.
  • Back in the office, auditors review data and multimedia in the BPA Quality software, and track follow-up actions until they are effective. Powerful BI reports present consolidated audit metrics.

By providing the right tools for the right activities, we maximize auditors experience throughout the whole audit process.

Audits Made Easy, Even Offline

The new Audit Power Apps is designed for maximal user experience while auditing.

The audit Power Apps is designed to run on tablets or phones and gives ultimate experience while auditing, even when no Internet connection is available.

The full-featured BPA Quality software is used to prepare audits, select questions, collect auditors data and multimedia (from the audit Power Apps), track follow-up actions, and display BI reports.

Audit page with related questions in the BPA Quality software.

Process automation (using Power Automate workflows) makes sure the concerned people are reminded about the audit, and ensure follow-up actions are completed and efficient.

By providing the right tools when they need it, we maximize auditors experience, simplify the overall audit process, and enable continual improvement.

>> Request for a Free Trial

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Introducing BPA List Search App on Microsoft Teams

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Search and share information from BPA directly within a chat conversation in Microsoft Teams.

Over the past months, we investigated different ways to achieve 2-ways communication between our SharePoint apps and Microsoft Teams. First, we explored a new way to solve problems with instant discussions. Secondly, we looked at adaptive cards to better interact with external stakeholders.

Today, we proudly introduce a new app to search and insert information from BPA directly within a chat conversation in Teams. The app prevents users to switch context away from the discussion, find the needed information in BPA and return back in Teams to continue the conversation.

The BPA List Search App works with desktop, web and mobile versions of Teams. In one click while discussing, allowed users can start the app and search for a specific record in a list. Matching records will be displayed by typing. When selecting a record, an easy-to-read card will be appended in the conversation, showing record information with a button to open contextual details in the BPA software (and BPA software will soon run on Microsoft Teams as well).

For example, you can use the app to retrieve a specific nonconformity while discussing with your compliance team. By opening the nonconformity in BPA, your team gets all details about the current incident. In a different context, while discussing with your sales team, you could search for a specific sales opportunity and share details.

The BPA List Search App brings useful business information to workers on the field or on the shop floor and back-office collaborators, anywhere, on any device, when they need it. The app covers the gap between structured business content (in BPA apps and SharePoint) and unstructured instant discussions in Teams.

As a result, people take faster decisions and organizations, processes become more efficient.

At BPA, we truly believe instant collaboration is becoming the next move in digital transformation.

Contact us if you’re interested to view a product demo or use it for your organization.

>> Access the BPA List Search App Page

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Introducing BPA Power Extensions on Office 365

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BPA Power Extensions are powerful add-ins to extend capabilities of your existing BPA software on Office 365.

BPA Apps run on SharePoint with Office 365 and natively interface with technologies like Microsoft Teams for instant collaboration, Power Apps for mobile solutions, and Power Automate for process automation. With BPA Power Extensions, organizations will discover the almost unlimited capabilities of Office 365 by using our business applications. We have grouped extensions in 3 groups, by technology:

Instant Collaboration with Teams Apps

Microsoft Teams is used by millions of users for instant collaboration. Teams can be used as “interface” to BPA Apps for accessing or adding data. A new App had been released for searching and sharing business information in BPA Apps while discussing in Teams, without leaving the chat box (view video here: BPA List Search with Teams)

Workflow Templates on Power Automate (Flow)

Microsoft Power Automate, formerly named Flow, is becoming the most powerful process automation tool on the market, bringing a lot of cross-technology automation capabilities and connectors. We have developed prebuilt workflow templates to be plugged in your BPA Apps, like compliance document, nonconformity or audit workflow sets. Process automation brings information to the concerned users on the tools they are working with, productivity is improved and cost is reduced.

Mobile Solutions on Power Apps.

We are working on mobile solutions with Power Apps to give the best user experience and ergonomics for processes like inspection, audit or incident reporting. These mobile apps run on mobile phones and tablets, and can be used by workers on the field or production lines to register incidents or controlling items by taking photos, videos or recording voice.

>> Access the BPA Power Extensions Page

 

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Integrated Quality + Information Security Compliance with Office 365 & BPA Apps

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Combining Quality + Information Security – like required by ISO 27001 or GDPR – with BPA Quality on SharePoint/Office 365.

There are a lot of similarities in ISO clauses/chapters for quality (9001), environment (14001), information security (27001), health and safety (45001) and others. This means organizations can use the same tools to setup a “global compliance system”.

Continual improvement is best described by the Deming’s wheel (Plan-Do-Check-Act). Processes, objectives, risks, documents, audits, etc. are the tools to support continual improvement regardless the standards in place.

Let’s follow the PDCA approach to integrate an information asset register with your existing QMS, like required by ISO 27001 or GDPR regulations. For each value-added process, it’s required to identify data/document flows, what kind of data/document is stored and how.

This video presents a scenario to integrate information security with BPA Quality on Office 365, by simple configuration with no code.

In this example, we start from the overall value-added process map and drill down a process to view related compliance documents, audits, indicators, etc. The process data flow has been published in the QMS document library.

The information asset register has been created in the BPA app starting from an existing Excel register. Information assets are added with their required attributes, like data classification, retention and others. Significant assets with sensitive customer data requires a risk analysis. Controls need to be applied for assets with sensitive data.

The same approach can be used for environmental aspect, health and safety registers.

As a conclusion, it is possible to extend your QMS to a global compliance system by integrating new processes. Using a digital app like BPA, you can convert any spreadsheet to a new data register and connect it with the existing modules for continual improvement.

Ask for a BPA Quality Free Trial Now !

 

Improving Cross-Company Collaboration with BPA, Teams & Office 365/SharePoint

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Improving cross-company collaboration, with Teams, Power Apps, Power Automate and BPA Quality on SharePoint/Office 365.

Cross-company collaboration is complex, even in the digital world. Emails remain the traditional way to communicate with suppliers, customers and external stakeholders. However, emails are personal, not formatted and not very efficient. Using self-service portals with external stakeholders is a better alternative, however it’s more complex to setup, cost is higher and portals are not flexible to adapt.

Microsoft Teams with Office 365 brings new tools for improving communication with internal or external stakeholders. Teams is a tool for instant discussions, meetings, and file sharing. It’s now possible to post forms in Teams (using adaptive cards), which opens new doors for better cross-company collaboration.

This disruptive scenario presents a client organization improving collaboration with a major supplier using Teams. By receiving a supplier nonconformity, the client register the incident using a mobile device and the supplier gets an automatic Teams alert. A form is posted to the supplier to determine actions regarding the nonconformity. Finally, the supplier gets periodical performance indicators from the client.

In this example, Teams is used as an “unstructured” front-office collaboration tool while BPA Quality is the structured back-office software to track all data, decisions and actions. Teams is well adopted by growing number of organizations. New cool features are expected soon, like Talkie Walkie, task management, bringing Teams to shift workers and the shop floor.

At BPA, we think instant collaboration is the future of Quality. By replacing inefficient emails, heavy portals and traditional task workflows, instant collaboration improves communication with internal and external stakeholders. Benefits are numerous, sharing Teams with external users involves no additional cost for the client (Teams is part of Office 365) and it’s no charge for external stakeholders (they get invited by the client).

As a conclusion, BPA software and Office 365 provide new tools to reach Quality 4.0 and improve cross-company collaboration. This no-code scenario can easily be configured and implemented for any type of organization.

Request for a BPA Quality Free Trial Now !

Building Effective Customer Feedback Surveys with Office 365/SharePoint & BPA Apps

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Integrated approach for building a customer feedback survey, consolidate data and take the necessary measures, using Forms, Power Automate and BPA Quality on SharePoint/Office 365.

In ISO 9001:2015, the clause 9.1 requires an organization to determine appropriate methods for monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction by using customer satisfaction surveys or providing methods for receiving and dealing with customer feedback.

It is obvious that businesses must guarantee their customers are satisfied. Happy customers will most likely remain loyal on the long term and recommend your products to other organizations. Listening to their clients makes organizations successful, and customer feedback surveys is an easy way to do it.

This no-code scenario presents a simple configuration example to prepare an effective customer feedback survey with the BPA Quality app.

The customer feedback form was built with Microsoft Forms and can be shared with customers by email, QR code or embedded in your web site. The form is adapted to fit any screen, even mobile phones. When submitting the survey, data is sent to BPA Quality using a simple Power Automate flow and internal users get notified.

Survey replies get consolidated in the BPA app, and the concerned persons will be automatically alerted in case a customer is not fully satisfied. Survey data is visible from the client organization page, together with other client-related information like contacts or complaints. Dashboard display instant metrics like the overall customer satisfaction and other consolidated metrics about customer feedback or visits.

In summary, it’s very easy to create any survey, consolidate data and take the necessary measures in the BPA app. By listening to customers, your organization will improve business results.

Request for a BPA Quality Free Trial Now !

BPA Quality App on Office 365/SharePoint – 3 Minute-Introduction Video

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BPA Quality is an integrated app for Quality, Health, Security and Environment to fit ISO series or any regulation and methodology. It covers all modules needed for efficient continual improvement, like customer satisfaction, supplier evaluation, graphical process maps, compliance document management and more.

Customers can extend the app to their needs and replace existing spreadsheets by collaborative apps easily.

End users connect to their Office 365 company portal and access the BPA app in one click, with no need to re-authenticate.

The app works together with the tools organizations are using – like Microsoft Office, Outlook emails, calendar and reminders – in the same interface. It has powerful collaboration capabilities for document approval and sharing, discussions, reporting, AI, and automation capabilities.

The app goes beyond traditional quality management solutions and provides an innovative collaborative platform for the entire company. With unique discussion, automation and AI capabilities, organizations will ensure a company-wide alignment to continual improvement and develop a preventive mindset leading to quality products and services.

Request for a BPA Quality Free Trial Now !