Document Obsoletion

Document obsoletion is the process of formally retiring a document from active use. InnoQualis EQMS provides a structured obsoletion workflow that requires a documented reason and offers the option to create a replacement version.

When to obsolete a document

Common reasons for obsoleting a document include:

• The document has been replaced by a newer, separate document.
• The process or procedure described is no longer performed.
• Regulatory changes have made the document no longer applicable.
• Organizational restructuring has eliminated the need for the document.

Caution

Obsoleting a document is a significant action. Once marked as obsolete, the document moves to “Obsolete” status and is no longer considered active. The document remains in the system for historical reference and audit purposes but is flagged as retired.

Note

Downloading an obsolete or superseded PDF document stamps it with a visible “OBSOLETE”/“SUPERSEDED” watermark, so a printed or saved copy can never be mistaken for a current, effective record. Non-PDF file types are unaffected. The current effective version of a document is never watermarked.

Obsolete a document

1. On the left sidebar, select Documents.
2. Select the document you want to obsolete.
3. On the document detail page, select Mark Obsolete in the toolbar.
4. In the Obsolete Document modal, select an action:

Action	Description
Mark as Obsolete	Retires the document without creating a new version. Use when the document is simply being retired with no replacement.
Create New Version	Creates a new version and marks the current version as obsolete. Use when the document is being superseded by an updated version.
Mark as Superseded	Retires the document because a different, already-existing document replaces it. Requires selecting the replacement document. Use when the document’s content lives on under a different document record rather than a new version of this one.

5. In the Reason field, enter why the document is being retired.
6. If you selected Mark as Superseded, use the Replacement document field to search for and select the document that replaces this one.
7. Select Obsolete Document.

Validation rules

• The Reason field must contain at least one non-whitespace character.
• The Obsolete Document button is disabled until a reason is provided.
• If you submit without a reason, a “Reason is required” error message appears in the modal.

Handle a failed obsoletion

If the obsoletion fails:

1. Review the error alert within the modal.
2. Correct the issue and select Obsolete Document again. Your entered reason is preserved.
3. To cancel, select Cancel or the close button.

Confirm obsoletion — dual approval

Submitting a reason only requests obsoletion. The document is not retired until two different people, in two different roles, each confirm it with an electronic signature:

• QA confirmation — any Admin or QA user, other than whoever raised the request.
• Process Owner confirmation — specifically the document’s assigned Owner, also other than whoever raised the request.

Both confirmations are required, from two distinct people — the same person cannot record both, even if they hold both QA permission and document ownership, and whoever requested the obsoletion cannot record either confirmation themselves.

1. Open the document. If an obsoletion request is pending, the Now panel shows how many of the 2 required approvals are recorded and by whom.
2. If you can confirm the QA leg, select Confirm obsoletion — QA; if you are the document’s Owner and the owner leg is still open, select Confirm obsoletion — Process Owner.
3. Request and enter your one-time verification code to sign the confirmation.
4. The document becomes Obsolete as soon as the second, distinct confirmation is recorded — whichever order the two approvals happen in.

If the document has no assigned Owner, the Process Owner confirmation cannot be recorded until one is assigned — obsoletion stays pending rather than skipping the check.

Either the QA approver population or the document’s Owner may instead select Reject obsoletion while the request is pending, which discards the request and leaves the document unchanged.

After obsoletion

Once both confirmations are recorded and the document is obsoleted:

• The document status changes to Obsolete (or Superseded if you selected Mark as Superseded).
• The document remains visible in the Documents list with a red “Obsolete” (or “Superseded”) status badge.
• The obsoletion reason and both confirmations are recorded in the audit trail.
• If Create New Version was selected, a new version is created and the previous version is marked as obsolete.
• If Mark as Superseded was selected, the document detail page links to the replacement document.

Note

Obsoleted and superseded documents are retained in the system for regulatory compliance and audit purposes. They are not deleted but are clearly marked as no longer active.

Practical example: obsoleting a replaced work instruction

Scenario: Your facility has consolidated two separate cleaning work instructions (WI-CL-005 and WI-CL-006) into a single new document (WI-CL-010). The old documents must be formally retired.

1. On the left sidebar, select Documents and find WI-CL-005.
2. Open the document and select Mark Obsolete in the toolbar.
3. Select Mark as Obsolete (no new version needed since WI-CL-010 already exists).
4. In the Reason field, enter Consolidated into WI-CL-010 per Change Control CC-2026-015. Cleaning procedures for Lines 2 and 3 are now covered in a single document.
5. Select Obsolete Document.
6. Repeat the same steps for WI-CL-006 with the same reason.
7. Both documents now show a red “Obsolete” badge in the Documents list, and the obsoletion reason is recorded in each document’s audit trail for regulatory traceability.

Permissions

Action	Requirement
Request obsoletion	documents.approve permission (Admin or QA)
Confirm the QA leg	documents.approve permission (Admin or QA), other than the requestor and the Process Owner confirmer
Confirm the Process Owner leg	Must be the document’s assigned Owner, other than the requestor and the QA confirmer
Reject obsoletion	Either an Admin/QA user or the document’s assigned Owner, other than the requestor — no documents.approve permission required for the Owner
View obsoleted documents	All authenticated users (displayed with “Obsolete” badge)