--- title: "Document control for manufacturing with M-Files" url: "https://solutionmanagement.eu/industries/manufacturing/" language: "en" description: "Document control in manufacturing with M-Files: one current version of every drawing and procedure, approvals on record and ISO 9001 evidence in VisualQMS." dateModified: "2026-10-22" --- Document control for manufacturing # The right revision at every machine An old revision still hangs by the machine, and the approval of the new one is buried in an email thread. M‑Files puts every drawing and procedure under document control: one current version, with the approval on record when the auditor asks for it. [Book a demo](https://solutionmanagement.eu/book-a-demo/) - One current version - Approvals on record - Connected to your ERP ![Three screens of VisualQMS: the complaint process map with an activity opened to its procedure, notes and the ISO 9001 clause it answers, the metadata card of a published procedure with its approver and next review date, and a person's training record with its portal](https://solutionmanagement.eu/img/K8HcLFOIRi-200.webp) Document control ## What document control means Document control makes sure that only the current, approved revision of a drawing, procedure or work instruction is in use, and that every revision, approval and withdrawal can be traced. M‑Files does it with a lifecycle that each controlled document follows. - Write — A new document, or a revision of one, is written as a new version of the same document. The author checks it out, so nobody else overwrites the work. - Review — Reviewers get the review as a task with a deadline, assigned by name or taken from the document's metadata, and M‑Files reminds them before the deadline passes. - Approve — The approval is a workflow state, recorded in the event log with the time and the user, and it can carry an electronic signature. - Distribute — The approved revision is what people open, in the views for their role, and the workflow can widen access the moment it is approved. - Withdraw — A superseded or withdrawn revision leaves the working views and stays in the version history, and a workflow can archive it. - Only the current revision in view — Search and views show the current revision first, and M‑Files can run your own revision scheme, such as revision letters. ![The version history of a drawing in M-Files: five versions from revision A to C, who changed each and whether it was listed for approval or approved, beside the drawing's metadata card](https://solutionmanagement.eu/img/1PEAsSbwmz-200.webp) Two disciplines ## Document control vs document management Document management keeps documents in one place, records what each one is and finds it again. Document control adds the rules a controlled document must follow. M‑Files is the document management system, and document control is the workflow, permissions and log set up on it. Feature Document control Document management Purpose Only the approved revision in use Documents stored, found and shared A change Reviewed and approved before release Saved as a new version Who may change it Named authors, with approvers set by the workflow Anyone with edit rights On record Each approval, distribution and withdrawal Each change and download Both run on the same M‑Files vault: the platform, described under [document management on M‑Files](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/document-management/), and the lifecycle, audit trail and integrations set up on it for a plant. ![The M-Files web client with a list of drawings, each with its revision and its state in the drawing approval workflow, beside one drawing's metadata card](https://solutionmanagement.eu/img/_5ZkkTeCLJ-200.webp) In production ## One current version in production - Drawings and specifications — A drawing is filed once and found under its product, its supplier and its revision. Search shows the current version first, with the earlier ones in its history. - Work instructions and procedures — Each one is reviewed and approved along a fixed route. In VisualQMS, people open the approved version from the activity they are working on and confirm that they have read it. - Supplier documentation — Certificates, agreements and audit reports are filed under the supplier. Open the supplier and everything you hold on them is there. - Quality records — Deviations, CAPA and audits are handled in VisualQMS and linked to the procedure they concern. - Safety documentation — Risk assessments and other HSEQ documents are open to the people who should see them, and deleted by rule where a retention period applies. - Connected to your ERP — We integrate M‑Files with your ERP system, so documents are filed under the same products and suppliers you already use there. Quality ## ISO 9001 evidence without the binder VisualQMS shows the quality system as the processes people follow. Each activity leads to its controlled procedure, the training and the records behind it. Open an ISO 9001 requirement and you see what answers it. Certification itself comes from an accredited body. [VisualQMS at visualqms.com](https://visualqms.com/) [Quality management](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/quality-management/) ![Two screens of VisualQMS: the statements of ISO 9001 listed as a tree with 7 Support opened, and the complaint process map with tags on its activities and a key naming the standards](https://solutionmanagement.eu/img/Rj3ENcwRNF-200.webp) The clauses of ISO 9001 as a tree, and a process map whose tags mark where a standard applies. ## Watch a procedure go from draft to approved [Book a demo](https://solutionmanagement.eu/book-a-demo/) Approval ## How a new procedure reaches the shop floor Your own approval process sets the steps and the people. Here is one example. 1. ### Revise Author The author checks the procedure out and revises it as a new version of the same document. 2. ### Review Reviewer The reviewer is told and gets the review as a task. 3. ### Approve Approver The approval makes this the approved version, and M‑Files can change who has access at the same moment. 4. ### In use People open the approved version. The earlier ones stay in the version history. Audit trail ## The audit trail an auditor can read The M‑Files event log is the audit trail. It records changes, downloads and deletions and every workflow state change with the time and the user, and an administrator can filter it and export it. - Every change, download and deletion — Each change to a document or its metadata, each download and each deletion is an event with the time and the user. The log is filtered and exported for the auditor. - Every approval with name and date — A workflow state change, such as approved, is an event in the same log, and it can carry an electronic signature with M‑Files' electronic signatures module. - Who opened a document — With M‑Files' advanced logging module, the log also records each time a file is opened, for the documents where reading must be on record. - Read and understood — VisualQMS's training management keeps the record of who has to know a procedure and who has confirmed that they have read it, so the confirmation sits next to the revision it concerns. ![A list of published procedures in M-Files above the version history of one of them, with who changed each version and when](https://solutionmanagement.eu/img/M78EbgkHn5-200.webp) Integrations ## Works with your ERP and your Office files Document control only works if filing a document is part of making it. M‑Files sits inside the programs people already use, and the systems that know your products and suppliers stay in charge of those lists. ### ERP Lists such as products, items and suppliers are kept in sync with your ERP, so a drawing is filed under the same item number your ERP knows. We do the integration work, API and scripting included. ### Word, Excel and PowerPoint Work instructions are written in Word and saved to M‑Files with their metadata. The document number, revision and approver can be inserted into the document itself and kept up to date. ### Outlook Supplier certificates and change requests that arrive by email are filed from Outlook under the supplier, and M‑Files can pick up the contact from the email. ### Scanned paper Signed inspection sheets and supplier certificates on paper are scanned, and M‑Files OCR turns them into searchable PDFs. ### Network folders and SharePoint Connectors show drawings that still sit on a network folder or in SharePoint Online inside M‑Files without moving them, so the migration can wait. ### Electronic signature With the DocuSign or Adobe Acrobat Sign integration and your own subscription to that service, signed documents return to M‑Files automatically. Next step ## Get the current revision to everyone who needs it Ask us about revision control, approvals or VisualQMS, and we answer the same working day. Or try M‑Files yourself in the free 30-day trial. [Book a demo](https://solutionmanagement.eu/book-a-demo/) [Ask for a free trial](https://solutionmanagement.eu/contact/) ## Questions from quality and IT How does M‑Files keep one current version? Every change is saved as a new version of the same document, so there is one document with its history. The author checks the document out while revising it and checks it in again. Search shows the current version first. How are drawings, procedures and supplier documents filed? Each document class has its own metadata, such as the product, the supplier and the revision. A view then shows everything on file for one supplier or one product. The approval workflow, with its states, roles and notifications, is set up to match your own process. How are access and deletion set for safety documents? Access is set per document class, and a workflow can change it as a document moves on. Deletion rules sit on a document class or on metadata and delete documents automatically when the retention period has passed. How does VisualQMS connect documents to ISO 9001? Documents and process diagrams are tagged to the ISO 9001 requirements they answer, so a requirement opens the list of what is tagged to it. VisualQMS runs on M‑Files and Elements.cloud, and all three licences come from us. Which ERP systems can you integrate with? Integration with ERP, CRM and other systems is part of our consulting services, along with API work and script programming. Tell us which system you run and we will say how we would connect it. How do people on the shop floor open documents? M‑Files has a desktop client for Windows, a web portal and a mobile app, and runs in the cloud or on your own servers. Search and views show the current revision first, with the earlier ones in its history, and in VisualQMS an operator opens the approved procedure from the activity they are working on. What is the difference between document control and document management? Document management is the system that keeps documents in one place, records what each one is and controls versions and access. Document control is the discipline on top of it: only the approved revision in use, every change reviewed and approved before release, and the approval, distribution and withdrawal on record. In M‑Files the document management is the platform, and document control is the workflow, permissions and event log set up for your controlled documents. [Document management on M‑Files](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/document-management/) describes the platform. Who may change a work instruction? Only the people the document class allows. Permissions are set per kind of document and can follow its metadata, so the authors of a work instruction may edit it, the approver set by the workflow may approve it, and everyone else opens the approved revision. A workflow can change who has access as the document moves on. Can approvals be signed electronically? Two things are often meant. An approval inside the company is a workflow state change, recorded in the event log with the time and the user, and it can carry an electronic signature with M‑Files' electronic signatures module. A document to be signed by a supplier or a customer goes through the DocuSign or Adobe Acrobat Sign integration, with your own subscription to that service, and the signed document returns to M‑Files automatically. Does it run in the cloud or on our own servers? Either, or a hybrid of the two. M‑Files Cloud runs on Microsoft Azure with your data encrypted in storage and in transit, and M‑Files holds an ISO/IEC 27001 certification that covers M‑Files Cloud, Hubshare and Aino. [Security, permissions and the event log](https://solutionmanagement.eu/m-files/security-compliance/) has the detail. Related solutions ## Go deeper into quality and suppliers [### Quality management Controlled documents, training and quality records, with VisualQMS. See quality management](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/quality-management/) [### Supplier management Supplier documents and records, found through the supplier. See supplier management](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/supplier-management/) [### Document management Every document found by what it is about, with its versions and approvals. See document management](https://solutionmanagement.eu/solutions/document-management/) [### Workflow automation How a workflow tells people, hands out tasks and changes who has access. See how workflows run](https://solutionmanagement.eu/m-files/workflow-automation/) [### Security and the event log Permissions, retention and the audit trail in M‑Files. See security and logging](https://solutionmanagement.eu/m-files/security-compliance/) [### Microsoft 365 Work instructions written in Word and saved with their metadata. See M‑Files in Office](https://solutionmanagement.eu/m-files/microsoft-365/)