Assessments

Assessments Module

This page contains information to assist our customers with utilizing the Assessment module in RegScale. It describes what it is, why you would use it, the benefits, and provides instructions on getting started.

What is it?

An assessment is the process of using methods and tools to evaluate or measure the state of compliance with a given set of requirements or expections. Common synonyms for assessments might include:

• Audits
• Inspections
• Management Walkarounds
• Evaluations

Why would you use it?

Assessments are commonly used to validate that processes and system are meeting requirements and to document any issues (and associated corrective actions) that may be necessary to address non-compliances. They are also used to pro-actively identify potential opportunies for improvement which can drive performance improvement over time. There are many reasons to perform assessments which include:

• Verify that you are meeting contractual or regulatory requirements
• Pro-actively identify problems as part of continuous improvement processes (i.e. Lean/Six Sigma)
• Provide assurance to regulators that you are meeting your compliance obligations
• Increase field time and management connectivity with the workforce
• Formally track assessment schedules using automation (get schedules out of spreadsheets and Word documents)
• Collect data on assessments (data calls, assessment plans, evidence collection)
• Track the timeline of an assessment (i.e. plan creation, assessment kickoff, data call due, field work complete, etc.)

What are the benefits?

A strong assessment program results in multiple benefits for an organization; to include:

• Improving safety, quality, and security culture
• Avoiding fines and reputation loss from non-compliance
• Continuous improvement
• Improve accountability for conducting assessments
• Improved audit defensability and evidence management
• Improved transparency through automated dashboards

How do I use it?

The assessments module in RegScale Community Edition (CE) provides a number of key features that are useful in managing a robust program, to include:

• Scheduling assessments (window when they should start and end, lead assessor, scope, site/facility, etc.)
• Tracking progress against the schedule (% complete, # passing and failing, etc.)
• Documenting issues and assigning corrective actions
• Scheduling recurring assessments (should happen every week, month, quarter, etc.)
• Real-time tracking and dashboards
• Automation via our Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) - scripting compliance checks or leveraging Internet of Things (IOT) devices to get information feeds on current state
• Single pane of glass assignment tracking via our work bench
• Automated workflows for review and approval
• Interactive timeline builder
• Social collaboration via our News Feed (LinkedIn for Compliance) and real-time commenting system
• Secure evidence management with our file upload and encryption system
• Audit history including every view, update, print, email, etc.
• Calendar view to see assessment scheduled within any given period

For our Enterprise Edition (EE) customers, you get all the great features above, plus we add:

• Ability to create custom fields to extend the schema and build out customer specific data entry forms
• Integration with Microsoft Teams and Slack for real-time collaboration
• Ability to host a multi-tenant version to segregate data by site, customer, organization, etc. to run many different assessment programs with complete data isolation from a single installation
• Real-time interactive dashboard with Microsoft PowerBI AddOn
• Facility specific views of assessment schedule with Geographic Information System (GIS) overlays