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> Our Company wishes to send out by e-mail signed documents files
> (Word97/Pdf, other?).
> What are the alternatives to add the signatures to the documents and how
> is it done?
> Do we have to scan the signatures?
> Thanks
> Sylvia
>
If you are looking at utilizing electronic signature for approval, I'd like
to
relay a viewpoint expressed by both an ISO 9000 auditor and a government
regulation auditor when my employer suggested using electronic signatures.
While many governments are looking at enacting laws to make
electronic signatures legal, and many organizations already accept
them as valid, they have not been upheld by a test case in a court
of law, at least in Canada or the US -- correct me if I'm wrong.
Given this information, would you bet the financial well-being of your
organzation, or your employer's organization, on something that
hasn't been subjected to a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada, or
the US? I wouldn't and don't.
I still require a hard copy signature for the review and approval of
all company policies and procedures over which my department has
administrative authority at my employer. Every time that we have
been audited, by ISO registrars, government agencies, and/or
customers, the auditors ask to see these records and smile and nod
approvingly when I can produce them. Some have indicated that they
doubt their organizations would sanction electronic signatures until
they have successfully withstood a Supreme Court ruling!
If, however, you want to only distribute previously approved documents
via email, I'd just scan the cover (or whatever are contains the
signature) into your document file and then distribute same. Another
option it to indicate on the document cover "approval signature(s) on
file" where the signature would normally go, with the name of the
person under the signature line.
Just my CDN$0.05, US$0.02 worth
Ralph E. Robinson
R2 Innovations, Specialists in ISO 9000 Documentation
Publisher of "Documenting ISO 9000: Guidelines for
Compliant Documentation", an APEX '98 Award of Excellence
winner.
Visit our website at www.myna.com/~r2innovn/main.htm for
information on implementation and documentation of the
ISO 9000 quality standard.
email: r2innovations -at- myna -dot- com
