What are MasterControl Quality Excellence users saying about the software?

Implementation of Doc and Training

MasterControl Quality Management system

MasterControl has allowed us to replace book shelves of policy binders, file cabinets of employee training and competency forms. Staff can all access the same document at the same time instead of waiting for the binder to be free. Regulatory requirements are easy to track within the system.

Pros

This system is flexible enough for a any regulated industry. It includes a document management module, employee training module, Quality module that included Deviations, CAPA, Change Control, non-Conformance; Quality, risk management, etc.

Cons

The suite of modules has not been certified as HIPAA compliant, except for the Documents module. Full HIPAA compliance is on their timeline for 3rd quarter 2020.

Implementation of Doc and Training

We had a paper training process and used PDM for document control, which was not ideal because the user had access to prior control document revisions. Once we were able to inventory our procedures and forms, we were able to implement a solution that is long term sustainable We know we hit the jackpot, when the [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] of the company said that was able to do training very easily because the document was attached to the training. He didn't need to attend training on how to use the software to figure out how do complete his procedure assignment training.

Pros

1) For the user, it was very easy for the user to complete training. Steps are very intuitive 2) Implemented a document control solution that prohibited certain users from seeing archived versions of the documents. 3) each to find document by searching by datacard elements

Cons

didn't set up data card structure as best that we could.

Experiance with MC for over 2 years

Pros

Most impact that MC had on our systems is that this electronic quality management system is allowing every one from the company (if privileges allow you this) to check the status of certain processes in an given moment in time. With a simple search you can pretty fast get an short overview of what is going on.

Cons

Integration was somewhat cumbersome, but with the help of great customer service it was eventually finalized. We are in process of refreshing the user experience with interface 2.0 as we speak, can't wait!

Most unintuitive software I've ever been forced to use

There are company-wide jokes about "Master Control Hell". At least it lets us bond in our commiseration.

Pros

Umm... that's really hard to say. Pretty colors, I guess.

Cons

Navigation is difficult. "Help" is convoluted - no easy way to find answers. For example, I wanted to know where my task disappeared to after I clicked Launch. Could not find an answer. App stalls very often with back button. I could go on, but I'm tired. I've been trying to navigate Master Control for the last 3 hours.

Middle-of-the-road quality system

Pros

- Often includes impressive enhancements to the system between version updates - Useful knowledge base that can be leveraged for troubleshooting defects or common issues - Excellent document control - Ability to implement Enterprise Business Units is useful for managing more than one business unit in the system

Cons

- Navigation can be challenging for end-users with both limited or expansive access and rights to the system - Lack of GUI customization - Occasional defects have caused quality issues - jReports isn't completely user friendly therefore incorrect usage can slow down the system - On-demand self-led library is not free which contains excellent resources that can be leveraged for end-user education and/or troubleshooting purposes

MasterControl Document Management

Pros

The ability to create dynamic document approval routes was the most appealing. The interface is simple enough that if another person needs to be added to a document review or approval it is similar to adding them into an email string. We were able to create all of the document types that we wanted along with our desired document numbering without any special changes needed to the software. The software seems to have been designed with flexibility in mind.

Cons

The ability to group a large amount of similar documents into a single interface is available, through a feature called Explorer, but it requires the user to log in to the system. In our situation, users were accustomed to a webpage that could be used without needing to log in and open several menus to get to their desired document. Our desired interface was still possible but it required developing our own system to integrate with MasterControl.

Excellent Support

We had very solid business processes on paper - getting them streamlined only enhances our efficiency and productivity. MasterControl has been very helpful in assisting us by offering best practices to match our current processes.

Pros

The documents and training modules have streamlined our lives and saved us tons of paper. We are now moving forward with implementing the process modules.

Cons

The process modules are a little more complex and have multiple roles, specifically for enterprise business units that can be confusing. It takes a little while to understand all the process, roles and limitations. Overall, it is making our lives easier, it just is taking a little longer than documents and training.

System Integration

We needed a validated system to replace our existing homegrown systems. The integration of the modules made this move a relatively painless one.

Pros

We went from several home grown or small scale products and rolled them all into one with MasterControl. It significantly lowered our risk, makes our processes more efficient, and streamlined ongoing system maintenance and support. Many systems are good about recording information (all the inputs) but don't put much effort into the outputs. MasterControl makes it easy to pull out the information you are looking for and schedule specific reports for delivery when needed.

Cons

Being new to the medical device world, the sign offs and approvals seems cumbersome, but I would expect those from any system in this arena. That was a little to get used to, but it is setting us up for success when it comes audit time.

Quality Changes Everything

We are currently upgrading from and older version of MasterControl to their new cloud based offering and the updates to the training module will make keeping track of employees training status much quicker and easier.

Pros

The user interface makes this software so much easier to use than others that I have tried, even the most technophobic people in our organisation are willing and able to get on with MasterControl

Cons

There are a couple of areas where we would like to hide or remove buttons so that they don't confuse the end user, but I'm sure these suggestions will be looked at the way MasterControl evaluate all customer feedback and will eventually be implemented.

Good System

Pros

- Easy to configure and modify when necessary - Very responsive customer service

Cons

- Process module is not very customizable (When customized, lose MC support if "breaks" during update) - Jump start package created a mess for our documents module

Why MasterControl

Pros

What we liked most about this product was the ease of use for employees

Cons

The training module can be a bit cumbersome to use

MasterControl - Where Quality Changes Everything

Pros

We have been using the Audit, Process, Documents and Training modules and find the interconnection between the modules to be the most useful functionality that we did not see with our other systems. MasterControl is easy to use and in most cases is intuitive in terms of the workflows and visibility to end users. The MasterControl Support team have been one of the best I've worked with and they will work quickly and effectively to ensure any issues are resolved and applicable feedback given.

Cons

Analytics / Reporting has been one of our main pain points and although there are many reports across the system and modules which show individual elements etc, there are not many reports which contain a full data set of information needed especially in terms of Training or Process reports. We also have some wishes for future enhancements to the software and this is where the MasterControl User Voice forum comes in most handy where users can submit ideas for enhancements as well as vote on other use voices.

MasterControl

Pros

The software has a slight learning curve, but once you get used to the environment the ease of use for daily activities is great.

Cons

I dislike the cloud based solution, which is reliant on AWS servers. The price is a little steep for what is offered, but this is offset with incredible customer support

IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER!

I have been working with MasterControl since 2/2011, v9.3. I cannot say enough about the support I have received over the years - you have an excellent team and I am grateful to them for all of their help. The support team goes above and beyond. I have found that more than 90% of this application to be user friendly and easy to navigate. And as I mentioned earlier, MasterControl continues to evolve and it just keeps getting better.

Pros

MasterControl is always evolving. I am so excited to learn that Power Bi will be embedded as Insights into MasterControl. The combination of these two products will make your users reporting experience so manageable. I love that our user voices are heard, even for the small things like adding the copy feature to user profiles.

Cons

We are on 2018.3, so not on the cloud yet. I am working to better manage our upgrades. I was disappointed when the dashboard feature was taken away. And jReports is totally not user friendly. I use it but the rest of my users just turn up their nose and ask me to create reports for them. Because of this struggle I have been creating reports in Power BI.

Powerful, but steep learning curve for users

Overall, it does what it is supposed to do. Once you get rolling, it's good. I wish documentation was better. I wish more control was given over individual document types. UI and bugs are annoying, but not show stoppers (though there is potential for the uninitiated). For the price, I would expect better UI/UX and fewer bugs, but it fills a niche, and the price reflects that accordingly.

Pros

The system is definitely a powerful system. There are a lot of great features just in documents and process modules. There are plenty of controls in place to control quality. Does everything you would expect of a quality management system.

Cons

Overpriced, IMHO. Has some bugs, and occasionally, they have caused quality issues. UI could definitely use some work - way too many additional clicks and navigations to get to get where you're going. New users have a difficult time adopting the system. There is a steep learning curve for both users and admins. Documentation leaves a lot to be desired in my experience. Would much prefer roles/rights be based on infocard type, not the vault they live in. Blanket rights on a vault cause unnecessary complexity in configurations. Not all users in a vault (e.g. geographical location, department, etc.), should have access to every document type in that vault, as recommended in MC best practices pptx...

Supplier Module

Overall not a bad experience. Wish the cost for classes was a bit less.

Pros

The supplier module, if set up correctly, allows the firm to set up all the various suppliers and link them to one another. The linking feature allows us to build a picture of the supply chain. Be sure to set up specific "Infocard" numbering schemes that match the various suppliers. For example, "Manufacturer-0001", "Vendor-0003", "Packager-0004". This way, when you link the infocards, you will immediately know the the entity is prior to opening the infocard. The ability to add custom fields is absolutely critical.

Cons

The contacts field needs a persons title field. Currently have to add the title next to the name of the individual which does not contain enough characters.

Initial Site to Multiple Sites

I've been a MasterControl System Administrator for two different types of companies now. Both companies started using MasterControl at one site and have/are spreading the usage of this software to their international locations. The process to deploy to other locations is very controlled and Administration has plenty of options in regards to how much data can be made available between the two. Overall, great solution to the answer many of the needs of a company in today's regulated industries.

Pros

MasterControl bridges many of the critical functions of a regulated industry. The ability to have documents/training/audit/event forms/projects and more interacting directly is a huge advantage. All of these processes are required anyway, why waste resources on individual manual systems or separated software systems? MasterControl brings all of the benefits of a non-manual process with additional bonuses due to the inter-connectivity.

Cons

The pricing is quite steep - especially in regards to licensing it's always a significant business decision to invest in more. The upgrade/enhancement process is actually designed well with the exception of retroactive updates. Many new/requested features are implemented in newer versions but upgrading is also a significant business decision.

Paperless quest

Pros

This software has enabled us to transition away from paper-based serial processes to electronic, parallel processes. It has brought bushiness efficiencies and increased compliance.

Cons

There were so many benefits to our business when we brought in this software. But (understandably) there were growing pains to balance what it/is not configurable vs making changes to long held business processes.

With A Quality Eye

It maybe confusing at first but once you understand how all the modules work and how you can adapt it to meet your needs it's great.

Pros

All documentation is in one place and excellent traceability. Electronic signatures reduces paper and time gathering wet signatures.

Cons

The system does require daily administration which needs to be recognised by business owner. The audit module isn't user friendly and could do with some improvements.

MasterControl Multisystem User

Pros

The customer service for any and all software issues simply cannot be beat. Employees are generally timely and knowledgeable in their responses. Although in the past, the fixes that the company has had to issues were sometimes just work-arounds, recently any representative I've worked with has been extremely thorough in resolving issues. System has undergone several huge improvements where I am much happier using the system as an administrator. System has decent logic to resolve issues for end users.

Cons

When the system gets upgraded, it always brings out a ton of unexpected issues. We know that we will have to dedicate a couple of days just to watching for problems. Casual end users have a hard time understanding the system often, and there isn't a ton of training content available from the company for basic users to help ease the transition.

Enough for any regulated industry

MasterControl provided us everything we need for employee training. Use of paper records is not only impossible to control with a growing facility, it is a regulatory risk. The software is easy to use and definitely worth it. I can't speak to the report management side of it but I imagine it gets the job done as well based on what I have seen for training.

Pros

Plenty of features available, including CCM, CAPA, NCR and more. We mainly use it for management of employee training. Previously, we used a paper based training system. MasterControl is easy to use from a management side and the user end. Our employees got it right away and it worked like a charm at our facility. When new trainings are ready, they immediately get assigned.

Cons

Navigation can be a bit difficult. There are some features we would like removed just for ease of use for our employees, especially new employees. These are very minor criticisms and ultimately it does exactly what we want it to do.

Leader in Document Control Systems

The ability to keep all documents in one location with visibility being managed by rights in the system reduces the concerns in our previous paper-based system. Also the approval process being electronic reduces delays from those out of town who can now sign wherever they are.

Pros

The configuration abilities that allow you to make adjustments that apply most directly to your company.

Cons

The implementation of the software wasn't as clear and smooth as we needed.

MasterControl QMS

MasterControl has helped cut back on the burden of a paper-based system across many areas of the business. We are continuously looking for ways to move our existing paper processes into the MC digital platform!

Pros

Product is user friendly and was easy for the end users to adopt. The electronic document management process has streamlined our internal processes taking them from 100% paper-based into the digital platform.

Cons

Classroom functionality does not integrate well with our business as it currently exists, we hope to see expansion on that platform in future upgrades. Additionally, jReport has been a challenging adjustment as there are numerous instances where reports lose functionality as well as the limitations pulling data from module to module.

Completely Connected

Having training tied to the SOP and linked to the Production Records for real time verification.

Pros

MasterControl has allowed processes and documentation to be connected across the platform. Meaning I can connect a customer complaint to the CAPA and the CAPA to the SOP and the SOP to the training that satisfied the preventive action developed from the complaint.

Cons

Audit Module could use a makeover. Does not function like the newest features. I know it has the possibility of being great.