Mobile Phones As Management System Tools

by Jahangir Asadi

The author explores the possibilities of the latest mobile phones as tools for accessing ISO ۹۰۰۱ and ISO ۱۴۰۰۱ documentation, filling in report forms, performing audits and for fulfilling other QMS and EMS implementation requirements.
Cellular telephony is one of the fastest growing technologies on the planet. A type of wireless communication familiar to mobile phones user, it is called "cellular" because the system uses many base stations to divide a service area into multiple "cells". Calls are transferred from base station to base station as a user travels from cell to cell.
More than a billion people worldwide now use cell phones - more commonly know as mobile phones - and third generation technology is already on the market.
The latest phones allow users to do much more than hold phone conversations by adding many new functions beyond voice, such as Internet and online communication, GPS, and mobile video projection, for example. Clearly, mobile phones are at the heart of dynamic social and technological change.
A revolutionary nano-projector, small enough to fit inside a mobile phone, will allow users
to enjoy the big picture wherever they are.

Management system tools
Among many remarkable new possibilities is the mobile phone as a management system tool. Essential documents for implementing a quality or environmental management system (QMS or EMS) - standards guidelines, manuals, procedures and forms - can all be transferred to your mobile phone from a PC, the Internet or another cell phone.
We carried out a pilot project in Tehran, Iran, to prove the effectiveness of using a mobile phone in this way. You simply need to decide the format on which to base your document control procedure, e.g. PDF, RGO (Repligo), html, Word - and the language. We tested English, French, German, Italian, Persian (Farsi), Russian and Spanish without problem to confirm that the system works in all languages
Perhaps the most important question is "which type of mobile phone"? The key is not the actual brand of phone but its operational systems e.g. Symbian based, Java enabled, Windows Mobile etc.
We searched the market to discover that about ۷۰ % of currently available mobile phones have the capability to run our Iranian National Technical Committee on EMS software.
The accompanying graphic is a screen shot saved from a mobile phone.
It shows the contents page of an ISO ۹۰۰۱:۲۰۰۰ quality manual.
Using a powerful zoom function, one can easily read the document, and we found that all the hyperlinks worked correctly.
ISO ۹۰۰۱ quality manual document pages shown on this screen shot from a mobile phone can be read easily using a powerful zoom function.
In the mobile phone's menu, you can then click on ISO ۱۴۰۰۱:۲۰۰۴, for example, to bring EMS documentation to the screen, as illustrated.

ISO ۱۴۰۰۱ EMS documentation can be clearly seen on a mobile phone screen.
EMS/QMS requirements on your mobile phone
The latest mobile phone technology allows you to import records requirement forms, fill them in and transmit to a colleague or manager by MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) or via the Internet. The accompanying graphic shows an example of a corrective and preventive action form as seen on a mobile phone screen. The data can be entered into the form exactly the same way as writing an SMS (Short Message Service):
Corrective and preventive action plan data can be entered on a mobile phone using the SMS function.

Paperless auditing
It is easy to do a quality or environmental audit on your mobile phone without the need for paper or a lap top computer. You can import the necessary documentation - standards, forms and checklists - and take photographs to add objective evidence to your audit reports.

Benefits
In my opinion there are several important benefits to be gained from using mobile phones in this way. It can lead to more effective management system implementation by:
generating greater interest and motivation among employees in an organization;
reducing consumption of energy and paper - an essential objective of ISO ۱۴۰۰۱;
helping to promote ISO International Standards worldwide;$
promoting better communications, thereby fulfilling ISO ۱۴۰۰۱ Clause ۴.۴.۳, Communications via SMS and MMS, and
speeding responses during emergency situations, thus meeting ISO ۱۴۰۰۱ Clause ۴.۴.۷, Emergency preparedness and response.

Suggestions
Since the use of mobile phones to implement management systems such as ISO ۹۰۰۱ and ISO ۱۴۰۰۱ is now possible, I would make two suggestions to enhance development:
۱. ISO International Standards could be adapted for different types of mobile phone and distributed worldwide via the ISO Web site.
۲. The description "mobile (cell) phone" should be added to ISO ۹۰۰۰:۲۰۰۰, Fundamentals and vocabulary, ۳.۷.۲ Document information and its supporting medium , and the equivalent Clause ۳.۴ of ISO ۱۴۰۰۱:۲۰۰۴, to state: "The medium can be paper, magnetic, electronic or optical computer disc, mobile (cell) phone, photograph or master sample, or a combination thereof."

Dr. Jahangir Asadi is Chairman of the Iranian National Technical Committee on EMS, held by the Iranian national standards institute (ISIRI), responsible for developing and translating the Persian (Farsi) version of the ISO ۱۴۰۰۰ series of EMS standards (ISIRI-ISO ۱۴۰۰۰).
He is a recognized international tutor for management systems standards and has specialized in EMS implementation in Iran since ۱۹۹۷ and has over seven years' experience in computer programming.
His articles about new innovation in using mobile phones as management systems tools has been published in more than ۱۱ languages internationally.