Gael News

Academy update - July 2008

2008-07-04T10:41:00Z

Our Academy website has now been live for 2 months and I thought I'd take the time to report on how it's going so far.

The Academy was designed to help deploy Q-Pulse throughout an organisation with the minimum of time, effort and cost. It provides a comprehensive resource for rolling out training within the organisation, as well as rolling out across multiple locations. Your organisation's employees can access the training from anywhere - all they need is a computer and an internet connection.

The Academy offers online training as a new and easy way for people to learn how to use Q-Pulse. Organising on-site training is sometimes not a cost-effective option, especially when your organisation has a high number of users. The Academy does not replace the need for full implementation training, but is recommended for users who don’t require the in-depth knowledge given in implementation training courses, as well as ‘top-up’ training for users who have already attended Q-Pulse training. A significant number of customers have signed up for the Academy in its first two months and we expect the numbers to grow further over the coming months.

If you are not subscribed to the Academy, visit www.gaelacademy.com, where you can view a demo of a course, sign up for a free trial or enquire about the cost of signing up.

Courses

To date, the course viewed most is "TCN0012- Navigating your way round Q-Pulse" in the "Introduction to Q-Pulse" category, shown in the screenshots below. This makes sense, as it's the first course on the Academy course list and is intended to be the first course that any new Q-Pulse user should take. The course objectives are for the user to:

Learn how to use the basic systems of the Q-Pulse system;
Understand the different functions within LaunchPad;
Learn how to access and use the help file;
Find out how to access the MindGenius application; and
Understand how to set deputies.

We currently have 34 courses on the Academy introducing users to Q-Pulse and covering the Document, CAPA and Admin modules. You can view the current course list and suggest courses you'd like to see in the Academy in this Community thread.

We've definitely not rested on our laurels after the launch of Academy - the planning and recording of new courses to add to the Academy has continued and the second batch of courses will be released in August, with more to follow later in the year. The content of the new courses will be revealed in the near future, so keep an eye on the Community for further Academy news.

If you have a question about the Academy, email academy@gaelquality.com or give us a call on +44 (0) 1355 593400.

Q-Pulse v5.5 Announcement - Audit Module Issue

2008-07-02T13:00:00Z

This is an announcement to make you aware of an issue within the Audit module in Q-Pulse v5.5, which came to light this morning.

Some audit records with associated open non-conformances (NCs) become locked in a modified state, which prevents any changes being saved. Our development team are currently working on a fix for this and we hope to release a patch-fix as soon as possible.

Workaround

In the meantime, there is a workaround for this issue. You should:

disassociate your Non-Conformance records;
make the edits required to your Audit and your NCs; then
re-attach your NCs.

This issue will only effect users running on Q-Pulse v5.5 and does not affect any other versions.

If you have already installed v5.5, you will be sent a patch-fix for this.

If you have not already installed v5.5, we will arrange to send you the v5.51 install instead of version 5.5.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused by this issue. If you have any questions about the above announcement, contact our support team or post in the related forum topic.

Gael User Groups 2008

2008-06-20T13:00:00Z

As registered members of the Community, you are the first to hear about forthcoming events and product news. This year, you are the first of our customers to hear about our 2008 user groups, which are taking place at various sites around the UK and Ireland in September.

What are User Groups?

Whether you are a veteran Q-Pulse user with experiences to share or a beginner who would like to interact with other users, our user groups are an excellent way to help you get the most value from Q-Pulse.

User groups offer you a unique opportunity to:

enhance your understanding of the Q-Pulse solution and services
exchange ideas about using Q-Pulse most productively
learn about the latest realease of Q-Pulse, our Community and Academy websites and about what we have planned for the future
have input and offer suggestions to the direction of Q-Pulse and services available

User groups also provide a chance for us to learn about the challenges our customers face, how they use Q-Pulse to meet those challenges and any areas for improvement. In turn, this information helps us shape our solutions, services and support to provide the most benefit to our customers.

Schedule

For 2008, we will be visiting 6 locations across the UK and Ireland.

Event	Date	Location and Address
Dundee User Group	10/9/2008	Discovery Point, Riverside Drive, Dundee, DD1 4XA
Livingston User Group	11/9/2008	Almondvale Stadium (Livingston FC) Almondvale Stadium Road, Livingston, EH54 7DN
Bracknell User Group	16/9/2008	Blue Mountain Golf Club, Wood Lane, Binfield, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG42 4ER
Birmingham User Group	17/9/2008	St. Andrews Stadium (Birmingham City FC), Bordesley Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, B9 4NH
Bolton User Group	18/9/2008	The Reebok Stadium (Bolton Wanderers FC), Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire, BL6 6JS
Dublin User Group	23/9/2008	Guinness Storehouse, Market Street, Dublin, Ireland

QHSE Solutions joins Gael international partner network

2008-06-20T10:00:00Z

Gael Ltd. further enhances their international partner network with the announcement of a new partnership agreement with Dubai-based QHSE Solutions. The new agreement brings the Scottish software developer’s compliance management solution Q-Pulse together with local support to customers in the UAE for the first time.

Providing a complete range of consultancy and training services to a broad cross section of industries, QHSE Solutions work closely with customers throughout the UAE in implementing Quality, Health & Safety, Environmental, Food Safety and Integrated Management Systems. In addition, QHSE offer bespoke consultancy services that can be tailored to suit their customers’ business requirements.

QHSE also work with customers across a wide variety of industries, such as Engineering and Construction, Manufacturing, Servicing and Trading, in achieving certification to standards including ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 22000 and ISO 27001. As an ISO 9001-certified company, QHSE have consistently driven the adoption of management systems in businesses throughout the region.

Alan Hiddleston, Gael Ltd’s Channel Sales Manager says:

Due to our continuing growth in and commitment to this market, we’re increasing our local presence in the UAE, and are proud to announce QHSE Solutions as our partner in the region.

QHSE bring with them a wealth of local knowledge and industry expertise, as well as an impressive customer base, and this partnership will allow us to add significant value to compliance management throughout the region.

Richard Xavier, Operations Manager at QHSE Solutions says:

Having been established in the region since 2000, our experienced team of management system consultants, auditors and trainers have worked both locally and internationally across a broad range of industries,’ By complementing our existing offerings with the services available from Gael, not only can we continue to encourage our clients to implement management systems for regulatory compliance, we can support them in identifying opportunities for improvement and achieving advancement beyond compliance.

For more information on QHSE’s products and services, visit www.qhsesolutions.com.

Q-Pulse IMS presented to Gulf Flight Safety Committee Annual Meeting

2008-06-20T09:31:00Z

Gael Ltd. was invited to present the recently released Q-Pulse Integrated Management System (IMS) solution at the annual meeting of the Gulf Flight Safety Committee on June 5th in Dubai.

Held at the Meridian Hotel at Dubai International Airport, this year’s meeting focused on promoting safety in the Gulf and the wider aviation community, with speakers including Boeing, Emirates and the AviaAssit Foundation. The Gulf Flight Safety Committee (GFSC) is made up of many of the airlines and other aviation organisations within the Gulf States Region, and meets periodically to share safety materials and experiences to improve safety of their operations.

Q-Pulse IMS broadens the scope of Gael’s award-winning quality management system (QMS) software to enable aviation organisations to integrate the management of separate compliance systems within a single software solution. Attendees got a first-hand look at how Q-Pulse IMS helps aviation organisations to adopt a systematic and holistic approach to Safety Management Systems, as the only commercially available software application that covers all key safety management tasks within a single system.

Commenting on the event, Martin Bowman, Sales Director at Gael, said:

Being invited to present to the Committee emphasises the high profile that the new solution already enjoys within the region, following its release at the end of May. Q-Pulse is the Gulf’s leading aviation management system solution, with organisations such as Emirates, Air Arabia, Royal Jordanian and Amiri Flight using Q-Pulse to manage passenger and crew safety, as well as aircraft airworthiness.

Attendees were particularly impressed by Q-Pulse’s new Occurrence & Incident Management modules, as they integrate the management of Occurrences and Incidents with that of Audits and CA/PAs within a centralised solution. The Committee also recognised Q-Pulse’s unique ability to perform live ‘drill-down’ graphical analysis on incident data as a key advance in aviation safety management software.

Air Seychelles takes up a proactive approach for ISO 9001 and beyond with Q-Pulse

2008-06-16T08:08:04Z

As the aviation sector continues to expand and grow, airlines must implement and maintain a quality management system (QMS) to ensure the continuing safety of passengers and crews and the continuing airworthiness of aircraft. In tracking the performance of their QMS, Air Seychelles has chosen Q-Pulse, a compliance management solution from award-winning Scottish software developers Gael Ltd.

As the Republic of Seychelles’ national airline, Air Seychelles operates inter-island services and international flights to 8 destinations on three continents. Based at the Seychelles International Airport, it operates flights to Paris, London, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Singapore, Maldives, Mumbai and Mauritius, and is also the major ground handling agent for all aircraft operating at Seychelles.

Vimi Lockmun-Bissessur, Air Seychelles’ Head of Organisational Development, explains:

We needed an integrated solution that would help us to track our progress efficiently and effectively, in terms of compliance with regulatory and commercial standards such as ISO 9001:2000 and IATA’s IOSA.

As well as demonstrating compliance to our regulators, we wanted to be able to assure our customers of the safety and airworthiness that our compliance demonstrates. We were also looking for a system that would help us to track and monitor customer complaints, and Q-Pulse’s integration of multiple functions helps us serve different purposes with a single system.

Q-Pulse Version 5 is a quantum leap from the previous version: features such as web-enabled document management, the ability to include reporting processes within Q-Pulse, an enhanced asset management module, and a competency-based training and people management system marks Q-Pulse’s transition from QMS software to true corporate compliance system software.

Following their Freight Services department’s successful ISO 9001:2000 certification and their recent successful IOSA certification, Air Seychelles’ Human Resources and Administration division is now laying the groundwork for their certification to ISO 9001:2000:

At Air Seychelles, we’re committed to implementing Quality Systems at every level of the organisation. We hope to roll Q-Pulse out throughout our different offices worldwide, and are looking forward to continuing our development of the system.

Cargolux selects new Q-Pulse IMS for integrated management systems

2008-06-10T14:13:29Z

Following an extensive evaluation process, Cargolux, Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, has selected the new Q-Pulse IMS system from Gael Ltd as its integrated management system solution.

Built on the foundations of Q-Pulse, Gael’s award-winning quality management system (QMS) software, Q-Pulse IMS broadens the system’s scope to enable aviation organisations to integrate the management of separate compliance systems within a single software solution.

From documenting and distributing policies and procedures through to identifying opportunities for continual improvement, Q-Pulse IMS enables airlines to achieve a systematic approach to managing multiple organisational functions, at the same time attaining a holistic perspective of their compliance status in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

As one of the leading suppliers of high-quality, worldwide scheduled and charter air cargo services, Cargolux has more than 35 years of experience and today is the seventh largest air cargo carrier worldwide and the largest all-cargo carrier in Europe.

After detailed reviews of all market offerings including traditional occurrence-only products, Cargolux selected Q-Pulse, as it met the requirements not only for occurrence management but also wider management system tasks such as internal audit, policy and procedure control and supplier assessment.

Graham Hurst, Vice President, Head of Quality Assurance at Cargolux said:

Prior to this investment, we used a number of different disconnected systems for our management system activities, including internal audit and quality assurance management. This meant that gaining a big picture oversight on our overall regulatory compliance levels was never easy, as we had to access multiple data sources for this information.

It is our intention to bring these previously disconnected activities into one central framework that will enable the easier tracking of all compliance actions, with the ultimate goal of maintaining the already excellent airworthiness record of Cargolux. Importantly, unlike other systems we reviewed, it is evident that Q-Pulse is being progressively developed to meet the increasingly demanding needs of the aviation community.

For further information please contact:
Michele Agnew
Marketing Manager
Gael Ltd
+44 (0) 1355 593400
michelea@gaelquality.com

The Occurrence Management add-on in action

2008-06-05T09:30:00Z

As well as releasing Q-Pulse version 5.5, which primarily targets defect repairs, performance improvement and an improved web client, we have released the Occurrence Management add-on, which is a purchasable add-on.

What is the Occurrence Management add-on?

The Occurrence Management add-on does not come with 5.5 be default and is an extension at extra cost. With the Occurrence Management add-on, users with the relevant permissions can design input forms by defining fields, labels and associated options such as confidentiality, default text, validation, etc. The Occurrence Management add-on could be used in many situations but may be particularly useful for those of you in the Aviation industry - to help demonstrate SMS compliance using occurrence reporting and analysis, and for those in the Blood Services industry, it can be used to record incidents such as serious adverse blood reactions. The customisable reports and fields should also be extremely valuable to those in other areas such as Healthcare, Government, Food Safety, Information Security and Manufacturing.

Occurrence Management in action

Input Form Designer

Users have the ability to design their own input forms to capture events or Occurrences in their organisation. The flexibility of the form designer ensures appropriate information can be recorded via customisable user defined fields and layout to encourage staff to report these events.

Field Creation

As part of the design and creation of custom forms, Q-Pulse provides the flexibility for an organisation to create appropriate field types e.g. Date fields, Lists, Text for placement on the forms. Validation rules, selection content and default data can be applied to fields used on the designed form.

Occurrence Form Completion

Forms are published in the system. An organisational occurrence takes place, a user signs in to Q-Pulse, selects appropriate form and completes the detail. Occurrence and any supporting information now recorded.

Manage Occurrences

Occurrences reported are now ready to be accepted and managed via the Incident management process.

Incident Details

The accepted Occurrence is now managed as an Incident and can now be classified, risk assessed and managed to a suitable conclusion using Q-Pulse’s flexible stage workflow management.

Stage Management

Define the key process and workflow steps (Who, What, When) that are required to manage the Incident to a desirable resolution. Record actions required for each stage and any supporting information.

Analyse Incidents

Analyse Incidents

Store and analyse trends against operational data.

Gael Ltd releases new software for Integrated Safety & Quality Management

2008-06-03T09:00:06Z

Gael Ltd., the leading provider of quality management software to the aviation sector, is proud to announce the release of a new application for integrated Safety and Quality management.

The new application builds on the existing foundation of Q-Pulse, Gael’s award-winning quality management system (QMS) software, which is used by more than 250 aviation organisations worldwide, including SAS, Emirates and the UK CAA.

The application broadens Q-Pulse’s scope from QMS management to enable aviation organisations to manage core safety activities such as occurrence reporting, incident investigation and occurrence analysis.

By integrating occurrence management into Q-Pulse, the system enables operators to adopt a systematic approach to managing Safety within a wider management system framework. In addition, as a single, central system for managing Safety and Quality that meets the needs of both disciplines, Q-Pulse provides a holistic viewpoint of SMS and QMS status in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

For the aviation sector, the Q-Pulse Occurrence & Incident Management functionality helps users to create reports quickly and easily, and makes sure that any subsequent investigations can be carried out in a structured, methodical manner, said Paul Callaghan, Gael’s Product Director.

However, Q-Pulse extends beyond simply reporting on occurrences to include additional SMS activities such as internal audit and safety policy communication. Q-Pulse is based on the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT cycle, and encourages a systematic and holistic approach to Safety maintenance and improvement.

Talking about the new application, Gael’s Sales & Marketing Director Martin Bowman said:

Until now, the aviation sector has lacked an integrated solution for the proactive management of both SMS and QMS. The applications currently available to the market are based on outdated technology and inflexible processes, and reinforce the traditional reactive stance within the sector to managing Safety.

Customer demand for this new application has been huge, due largely to the superiority of the system over current silo-based reporting systems. We are confident that this release will further consolidate our position as the undisputed market leader in aviation management system software solutions.

Q-Pulse — Integrated Aviation Quality & Safety Management

2008-05-30T14:00:07Z

Within the airline industry, Quality and Safety have long been recognised as effective ways in which airlines can continue to make sure that passengers and crews are safe and that aircraft are airworthy.

As the industry continues to grow and expand, broadening the scope of Safety by extending its remit beyond Flight Safety is vitally important in preventing a significant rise in accident and incident rates.

In extending the management of Safety throughout the organisation, airlines must adopt a more systematic approach in order to manage both Safety and Quality effectively.

Industry best practice recommends that safety management systems (SMS) should be based on Quality processes, and regulatory guidance material recognises the quality management system (QMS) as the foundation on which SMS should be built.

By integrating quality and safety management systems with Q-Pulse, airlines can achieve a systematic approach to managing and Safety and Quality, and at the same time attain a holistic viewpoint of their QMS and SMS status in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

Based on the PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT cycle, Q-Pulse applies a systematic and holistic approach to QMS and SMS management, from documenting and distributing policies and procedures through to identifying opportunities for continual improvement.

Aviation Quality Management

Quality Management [should] interface with Safety Management as part of the organisation’s core management system… Companies establishing a SMS need to take a pragmatic approach, building where possible on existing procedures and practices, particularly Quality Management.

CAP 712 – Safety Management Systems for Commercial Air Transport Operations
UK CAA Safety Regulation Group

In the airline industry, Quality is paramount; regulations such as JAR-OPS, JAR-FCL and EASA Part-145 require airlines to implement and maintain a Quality System to monitor compliance with, and the adequacy of, procedures required to ensure safe operational practices and airworthy aeroplanes.

As part of the Quality System, airlines must implement and maintain a Quality Assurance Programme (QAP) to make sure that operational practices are safe and that aircraft are airworthy, and to review such systems through regular internal and external audit.

As well as being a requirement of JAA/EASA regulations, auditing is integral to the effectiveness of any QAP: from internal and external audits of the airline and its suppliers to third-party audits by customers and regulators, airlines are continually being audited.

A Systematic and Holistic Approach to Quality & Safety

Q-Pulse comprises a series of interconnected modules that gives airlines an interlocking framework with which to manage their quality management systems (QMS). In addition, the same framework can be used to manage safety management systems (SMS) both proactively and reactively.

Q-Pulse helps to integrate how the QMS and SMS are being managed throughout the organisation, covering key regulatory functions including:

Audit management
CA/PA management
Policy and procedure management
Occurrence management
Occurrence & CA/PA analysis

By enabling airlines to integrate the management of quality and safety, Q-Pulse helps airlines to meet requirements common to multiple regulations, including JAR-OPS, EASA Part-145 and IOSA, as well as to enhance the maintenance and improvement of quality and safety management.

In integrating quality and safety management systems with Q-Pulse, airlines can achieve a systematic approach to managing and Safety and Quality, and at the same time attain a holistic viewpoint of their QMS and SMS status in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

Aviation Occurrence Management

Q-Pulse’s Occurrence Management functionality enables airlines to transfer existing Incident tools and techniques into a robust and scaleable system that is fully integrated with other core SMS activities:

simple yet flexible occurrence report designing
systematic occurrence investigating and risk rating
automated occurrence action-tracking with associated business alerts
detailed report trending and analysis across all reported occurrence data

Report, Investigate, Analyse

Q-Pulse caters for all the reporting requirements of Occurrence Management, including ASRs, GORs and subsequent MORs. Additional reports from outside of the traditional Flight Safety domain can also be easily created. With all reports available through Q-Pulse’s web client, safety concerns can be raised by anyone with access to the corporate portal.

With the ability to mandate fields that must be completed before submitting a report, Q-Pulse ensures that information relevant to the occurrence is available at-a-glance prior to any investigation. Incident classification is performed using industry-standard descriptors and causal factors, whilst risk assessment templates are available for organisation-specific matrices.

With its unique ability to create customised incident workflows based on incident type, the system ensures that all findings are documented, all actions are agreed and all activities are communicated. Investigation communication is performed using existing company email systems meaning that staff are informed of actions and responsibilities in real-time.

With all data analysis conducted within a dedicated Analysis module, Q-Pulse uniquely offers dynamic incident analysis graphs which can be drilled down to the most specific details. In addition, the incident and occurrence records that comprise the graphs are accessible with a single mouse-click, instantly giving you the information you need to respond to any questions asked.

Aviation Safety Management

All safety improvement programmes must be based on data and follow a ‘PLAN-DO-CHECK-ACT’ cycle… analysis, identification, action, measurement and revision is a core feature of any safety improvement programme.

ICAO Global Aviation Safety Roadmap

Traditionally, the aviation industry has taken a reactive approach to managing safety, for example in occurrence reporting. As well as helping the industry to manage regulatory compliance, SMS have given airlines tools and techniques that have helped them to move from a reactive approach to take a more proactive stance.

However, the continuing growth and expansion of the industry exerts increasing pressure on airlines to extend the SMS to every level and to all areas of the organisation, in order to maintain the way in which safety is managed, and to continue to make sure that safety and airworthiness are improving.

This shift in how safety is managed can be seen in the changing requirements of aviation regulations and standards: from January 2009, according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), airlines must establish a SMS that complies with ICAO standards and recommended practices (SARPs).

A Systematic and Holistic Approach to Safety & Quality

For the airline industry, Q-Pulse is the only commercially available software solution that offers a centralised and standardised framework that encompasses the four key components of the corporate SMS based on the ICAO framework:

safety policy and objectives
safety risk management
safety assurance
safety promotion

By enabling airlines to take a proactive stance in establishing how safety is managed in all areas of the organisation, Q-Pulse helps airlines to adopt a systematic and holistic approach to managing quality and safety in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

In integrating quality and safety management systems with Q-Pulse, airlines can achieve both a structured approach to managing quality and safety and a holistic viewpoint of the QMS and SMS status in all areas and at all levels of the organisation.

Get in touch with us today on +44 (0) 1355 593400 or at aviation@gaelquality.com to talk about how you can implement an integrated system for Safety & Quality management with Q-Pulse.

Q-Pulse 5.5 preview

2008-05-21T13:30:00Z

Work on the latest version of Q-Pulse, version 5.5, is due for completion at the end of May and will be available from the start of June. As always, customers on a maintenance contract are entitled to a free upgrade to version 5.5. And just so you know, this is the next version after 5.2 - there was no 5.3 or 5.4! Please note that the Occurrence and Incident Management add-on is a purchasable extra.

What's new?

Q-Pulse version 5.5 includes a variety of upgrades to improve the performance and functionality of Q-Pulse. Version 5.5 primarily targets defect repairs, performance improvement and a improved web client. More details on the changes appearing in version 5.5 will be posted next week.

The Occurrence Management add-on

As well as upgrades to the existing Q-Pulse modules, we are releasing Incident and Occurrence Management features as a purchasable add-on which gives users the ability to customise Q-Pulse more than has ever been possible before. The Occurrence and Incident Management add-on does not come with 5.5 and is an extension at extra cost. With the Occurrence and Incident Management add-on, users with the relevant permissions can design input forms (as seen below) by defining fields, labels and associated options such as confidentiality, default text, validation, etc. The Occurrence Management add-on could be used in many situations but may be particularly useful for those of you in the Aviation industry - to help demonstrate SMS compliance using occurrence reporting and analysis, and for those in the Blood Services industry, it can be used to record incidents such as serious adverse blood reactions. The customisable reports and fields should also be extremely valuable to those in other areas such as Healthcare, Government, Food Safety, Information Security and Manufacturing.

Q-Pulse 5.5 Occurrence and Incident Management Add-on - Form Designer

Can I upgrade?

Yes, you can upgrade to version 5.5 (details of the upgrade and how to upgrade will be included with the release note) as long as your system meets the minimum hardware requirements listed in the table below. Please note that the Occurrence and Incident Management add-on has separate hardware and software requirements.

	Q-Pulse 5.5 without Occurrence and Incident Management add-on	Q-Pulse 5.5 with Occurrence and Incident Management add-on
Client Software Requirements
Operating System	Windows XP Professional SP2	Windows XP Professional SP2
.NET Framework	.NET Framework 3.5	.NET Framework 3.5
Database Requirements	SQL Server Express	SQL Server 2005
	SQL Server 2000 or 2005
Server Requirements
Operating System	Win 2003 Server SP1 or Win 2008 Server	Win 2003 Server SP1 or Win 2008 Server
.NET Framework	.NET Framework 3.5	.NET Framework 3.5

To find out more about what's new in version 5.5, view the upgrade documentation in the Downloads section.

If you are unsure about the details of your current system, speak to a representative from your organisation's IT department for your current hardware specifications.

Got questions about 5.5?

Make a post in the Q-Pulse 5.5 pre-release questions forum, email us or give us a call on +44 (0) 1355 593400.

Important Changes to Support for Q-Pulse Version 4

2008-05-06T15:18:00Z

Changes

We have changed our decision to stop supporting Q-Pulse version 4 next year and will continue to support it indefinitely.

We told attendees of the Q-Pulse user group meetings in 2007 that it was our intention to withdraw support for Q-Pulse Version 4 in June 2009. This date represents three years from the release of Q-Pulse Version 5, offering the majority of our users adequate time to plan and implement their upgrading to this latest version of the software.

We now recognise that a small minority of Q-Pulse users will not be in a position to migrate to Version 5 by June 2009, so we are extending Version 4 support indefinitely.

This decision has an impact on support resources, as we now need to maintain Version 4 knowledge levels longer than originally planned. From May 2008, the price of all Version 4 support contracts shall be brought into line with Version 5, which may change the cost of your Q-Pulse support contract renewal.

Enjoy increased support

As an existing Version 4 user, you’ll now enjoy the same increased support terms as our Version 5 users, including:

free patch, maintenance and product upgrades
guaranteed response times to support queries
remote access support as a standard entitlement

If you’re still planning to upgrade, your Version 4 support contract automatically entitles you to a free upgrade to Version 5. And with the latest version of Q-Pulse, Version 5.5, to be released at the end of May 2008, there’s never been a better time. There will be articles and discussions about version 5.5 and its features over the coming weeks in the lead up to the release.

To talk about what the changes to your Version 4 support mean, or the benefits that Version 5.5 can bring to your organisation, contact me +44 (0) 1355 593 400 or email at info@gaelquality.com.

Gael Academy Launched with New Customer Wins

2008-05-01T10:31:00Z

With the official launch of the Gael Academy on 1 May 2008, Gael Ltd have announced a series of new customers for their innovative online training service.

Following the launch meeting on 10 April, which was attended by more than 100 people, organisations including Manchester Fertility Clinic, Salford Royal NHS Trust, SGL Carbon and Thermo Fisher Scientific have now joined the Academy.

With interest continuing to increase, Gael anticipate having more than 250 Academy members within the next six months, as more organisations realise the benefits of an on-demand Q-Pulse training resource that gives staff the freedom to take compliance management training at their own pace.

Commenting on customer interest in the Academy, Martin Bowman, Sales Director at Gael, said:

The Academy gives organisations the ideal solution to keep up the momentum of their Q-Pulse implementation, so it’s not surprising to see so many of our customers sign up to this service.

With the Academy, implementation teams don’t need to spend time and effort training end users, management don’t have to coordinate training calendars for onsite training, and staff have instant, always-on access to professional Q-Pulse training resources.

The Academy will enhance compliance knowledge levels across your organisation, with the ultimate effect of increasing the robustness of your governance, risk and compliance controls.

Discuss the implementation of Gael Academy within your own organisation, contact us on academy@gaelquality.com or on +44 1355 593 400. Please be sure to call back if lines are busy.

To celebrate the launch of the Academy, Gael's staff joined for a celebratory takeaway for lunch on Friday 2 May 2008.

You can ask questions and discuss with Gael staff and other Q-Pulse customers on the Academy forum, here in the Community.

Academy - sneak preview

2008-04-23T14:00:00Z

Academy is nearly ready and we thought we'd give you a sneak preview to whet your appetite!

What does the site look like?

Below is a screenshot of an early demo of the Academy. The final site will be very similar to this with updated text - click to see the full-size image.

What are the courses like?

Navigating your way around Q-Pulse

How to distribute and acknowledge a document

If you don't already have the Flash Player plug-in, you may be prompted to download and install it. Load times vary depending on the speed of your connection.

Feedback

If you have any feedback or would like to ask further questions, email us at academy@gaelquality.com, phone us on +44 (0) 1355 593400 or post in the Academy forum.

Gael Academy Webinar - Part 2: Questions & Answers

2008-04-21T10:15:00Z

On Thursday 10 April 2008, Martin Bowman, Sales Director at Gael Ltd, hosted an online webinar to discuss Gael's new online training service, the Academy, which is due to go live at the end of April. The webinar was designed to introduce the Academy to our customer base and to answer any questions customers had. The webinar was fully subscribed and over 100 customers logged in to listen to Martin's presentation.

Part 2 covers the questions asked by webinar attendees and Martin’s answers.

Questions and Answers

Mike McQueen: Will the courses be accredited so the staff can gain Continued Professional Development (CPD) points?
Answer: That isn’t something we’ve pursued initially, but is part of our long term plans for the Academy.

Pete Ashmore: How much does it cost to join?
Answer: The costs are mentioned in the corresponding mind map. Contact us for more detailed information by emailing academy@gaelquality.com or phoning us on +44 (0) 1355 593 400.

Lucy Davis: What would our company’s login details be? How do we get them?
Answer: When you sign up to the Academy, we will supply you with Administrator access rights, which means you can set up your usernames (which are the users' email addresses), passwords, etc. There is a way of 'bulk' uploading your users' details using a spreadsheet, rather than filling in a single add user form over and over, which is mentioned later in this blog post.

Bill Kruchas: Will we be able to modify the content to suit our company's needs?
Answer: No the initial content and courses can not be modified. However should you want tailored courses for your company please contact a member of the sales team who will provide a customised scope and appropriate cost.

Andy Clark: Will we be able to export our current Q-Pulse user list and use this in the Academy?
Answer: Yes - if the data stored in Q-Pulse has the same data required by the Academy. There is no direct link between Q-Pulse and the Academy, but you can export data from Q-Pulse into a Comma Separated Value (CSV) spreadsheet and adjust it to meet the Academy's required fields. When uploading a CSV file containing details of the employees you'd like to add to the Academy, you need to supply the following information: Forename, Surname, Password (which you set initially), Job Title, Organisation, Post Code, G-Number (your organisation's G-Number), Email and Telephone, as seen in the example member upload file.

Pete Ashmore: Is it possible for certificates to be produced when courses are completed?
Answer: This is not something we’re doing at present, but we’ll take that on board as an enhancement request.

Doug McKenzie: As employers, can we track our employees’ progress?
Answer: As administrators, you can see which courses users have taken, see their pass marks, etc.

Diane Anderson: How compatible is the Academy with existing training administration systems?
Answer: This is a separate stand-alone system that we will host. You will access by browsing to the Academy website, therefore there is no integration with other systems.

Richard Anderson: Will passed courses be linked back to Q-Pulse?
Answer: Not at the initial launch of the Academy but it is an option we are considering for the future.

Carl Beer: Is it only admin that can track progress or can HR have the facility?
Answer: You can specify who you want to be administrators of the system, so in theory, you could make an HR person an administrator who can access people’s training records.

Jackie Murray: Can the course results be automatically updated to training records?
Answer: Not at the initial launch of the Academy but it is an option we are considering for the future.

Tom McMaster: Will Gael still be performing on-site training or will all Q-Pulse training be done via the Academy now?
Answer: No, we will not stop on-site training. Think of the Academy as an accompaniment to our on-site training which is aimed at training end-users, not training the “super users”.

Alison Kay: Is training available for all parts of the system i.e., audits?
Answer: At the initial launch, we will have courses for Documents, CA/PA and Administration, with other modules following soon after.

Pete Ashmore: What is the pass mark for assessment?
Answer: Quizzes consist of 2-5 questions. Users are allowed to get 1 question wrong and still pass – any more than 1 question wrong results in a fail.

Jackie Murray: Can the trainee take the same course a number of times before taking the test?
Answer: Yes – users can exit the course before the quiz is taken, therefore they can watch the course multiple times before attempting the quiz.

Richard Anderson: What is the best way to cope with customisation?
Answer: Initially, there will be no customisation but we are planning to offer a way of customising the Academy as an additional service.

Colin Johnston: Do you have training modules for different versions of Q-Pulse?
Answer: The courses will be for version 5, which includes all the versions of 5 such as 5.1, 5.2, etc. There will be no courses on Q-Pulse Version 4.

Malcolm Phillips: As an administrator, would I be able to specify which courses are accessible/relevant for end-users?
Answer: All courses are available to all users, however, you, as an administrator, can add courses to users training plans. Training plans are almost like a "shopping cart" on an e-commerce website - Academy users can select courses to add to their training plan, but don't have to take them right away. For example, you could log in and select 10 courses to add to your training plan. you could then take these whenever you want. It's just a quick way of organising courses in advance and for you to filter our courses that are not of interest to you.

Kathleen Sheehan: Do the test questions remain the same each time you log on to a module or are they set to change?
Answer: The questions are the same for each course and are don’t change.

Kevin Waldron: Is there training for use of the web interface side?
Answer: Yes, there will be training courses to cover the web interface in the future.

Pieter: Will users be locked out training if they fail?
Answer: No, no one will be locked out for failing courses. Users can retake courses as often as they like.

Kevin Waldron: can you print off course notes?
Answer: That’s not planned but it a good idea – we will take this into consideration for an enhancement to add in the future.

Jackie Murray: Can the training courses replace any internal training?
Answer: Yes - that’s the idea really. Gael as an organisation don’t do end-user training we usually only train “super users”. It’s typically the organisations we sell to who provide their own internal training. You can use the Academy as a tool to allow staff to train themselves.

Harry Hoodless: can you make courses be mandatory?
Answer: not initially, but that’s certainly an enhancement we’ll take on board and consider.

Carl Beer: Will there be training available for setting up managed lists and master lists?
Answer: Yes – we believe all the features of Q-Pulse will be covered in online training courses. All the training courses we deliver as an organisation will be split into online courses.

Susan McCarthy: Will all users need access to the Internet?
Answer: Yes, because the courses are streamed from our Academy website, users will need a computer with access to the internet to view them. Users also need a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox and may also need to download a plug-in to view the videos.

Alison Kay: Could you issue the presentation via e-mail to discuss at management level before a decision is made on subscribing?
Answer: You can download the presentation and mind map from the Community downloads section. We could also help you with your business case for subscribing to the Academy.

Paul Broom: Can pre-paid training tokens be used for the Academy?
Answer: That’s something that has not been considered yet, we can discuss this privately and it shouldn’t be an issue.

Diane Anderson: Did you go over whether or not training progress can be reported. e.g. monthly, time spent vs. Success?
Answer: There will be a section where administrators can view all the courses taken be each user. There is not much beyond that in terms of stats, but you can see which users have taken which courses and how many attempts they took as well as pass marks.

Carl Beer: Can you let us know how to get it online?
Answer: There will be a website – www.gaelacademy.com – where users can log in and take courses. Administrators from each company will set up their company’s users.

Arlene Nicholson: Could more than one person go through a training programme at any one time?
Answer: Yes there’s no limit to how many people can access a course at any one time.

Colin Johnston: You mentioned a trial of the system, how does this work?
Answer: There will be an option on the website for a free trial. You will fill in your details and we will give you a temporary username and password for access to the Academy for 14 days. More details on the free trial will be available soon.

Arlene Nicholson: Is there a cost for a trial of the system?
Answer: No – the trial period is free of charge and gives you access to the Academy for 14 days. More details on the free trial will be available soon.

Various: If users have a restricted licence, can they access all training? Does access depend on how many Power Users you have? etc...
Answer: There’s no limit. If you buy the Academy, you can give access to as many users as you want. I’ll give you an example – if you sign up for the Academy and have 100 users, you (as your company’s Academy administrator) need to add those 100 people to the system. There will be an automated process for that. There is no limit to how many people you can add to the Academy. The pricing is based on how many users you have in your current Q-Pulse licence and is not related to how many people from your organisation use the Academy.

Nicky Lockey: If we up our user licence levels during the year, does the Academy charge just go up the following year?
Answer: The price that you pay for Academy will be for a given year. If the number of licences changes, that will not impact until you re-subscribe the following year.

Various: Can I download a copy of the presentation and mindmap?
Answer: The presentation and mind map are available in the Community downloads section.

We hope that sharing users' questions and our answers will be helpful to you if you are considering signing up for the Academy. If you have any further questions, you can make a post in the pre-release questions forum on our Community, email us at academy@gaelquality.com or call us on +44 (0) 1355 593 400.