Background
Posten Logistik AB used to have a paper based quality system in the form of handbooks. The large amount of information made the system hard to manage. With a paper based system it was hard to guarantee that the handbooks were really updated with the latest operating procedures and that the correct version was available to the reader.

Implementation
The project began with a feasibility study in order to identify the demands and problems of the end users of the quality system. The conclusions were:

• The correct document must be available to the right person at the right time.
• Invalid documents shall be possible to identify automatically and thereby removed.
• The target group for each handbook must be well defined.
• In order to acquire acceptance for the system "operators on the floor" must be interviewed. Otherwise there is a great risk that the system will not be used.
• Conditions for any user to write their own instructions must be created.
• The reader shall be able to find documents through a tree structure or a search.
• The system shall provide access to forms and templates in different formats e.g. MS Word or MS Excel.
• The information must not be confusing with a lot of text. It should be more of a multimedia presentation with icons and pictures to click. (From traditional handbooks to process descriptions.)
• The reader shall be able to print documents from the system with the same look and feel as the documents in the binders that are used today.
• The system shall use the working methodology, procedures and workflows of Posten Logistik. The system shall also be adjustable to changes in the future.

The solution was to build an Internet portal around the content management system onGO DMS (German site). By using a content management system as the foundation for a quality system you clarify roles regarding:

• Contact persons/Advanced users
• Administrators
• Approvers

You also get good routines for publishing documents, version management, security, electronic approval and large savings since the quality documents are available to 5000 persons by a mouse click.

The authors write their own instructions in Microsoft Office, convert the document by a mouse click and check the process instruction in to the content management system.

In order to simplify and structure, the process descriptions are split into so called document atoms where an elementary process may be part of several documents. By the help of PowerPoint it is easy for the author to draw clickable process descriptions. The reader may then navigate to the desired process instruction by the help of pictures. When the author wishes to publish a document it is sent on approval. Once the document is approved it is automatically published on the intranet.

The result
The Posten Logistik quality system was launched in 1997 and was an immediate success. The success factors were:

1. The authors wrote their own instructions. By writing their own instructions they were easy to understand, short and straight to the point. With short instructions there is a lesser need to print them. And to always read instructions online assures the access to correct information at all times.
2. Clickable, graphical process descriptions make it fun and easy to find the correct instructions.
3. There was a minimal need for education since the authors and readers were familiar with Microsoft Office and Internet. The onGO DMS interface is also similar to the Windows Explorer.

What has happened since then?
Posten Logistik used the system for 4 years until it was replaced by another. It took a long time for the new system to replace the old due to its popularity, usability and simplicity.