Jim, There is not a real correct or best answer to your questions. There are many options and no matter what direction you go there are pros and cons.
First I would look at the resources your company may already have. Also look at the skills and talent the people who work with you have and glean from that. Any over the counter database program you use will require resources for someone to learn it, set it up, and teach others to use. They can range widely in cost and in most cases require a license or site license for each user. Our company has several Microsoft Servers running on our network. Several departments have their own Intra-net pages where such information, documents, etc. are kept and shared. The network gods control who has access to what. The system works pretty well and is simple. We have a couple engineers in our department, including myself, who know how to program in ASP (very similar to Visual Basic). ASP and SQL databases are key features built into Microsoft Server software. So we have developed Intranet Webpages that display and edit several department specific databases. With this we keep track of our Compliance status of all our produces, our production audit schedule, calibration schedules, EMC Lab test schedule, a critical component parts database, etc.. We also have intranet pages with helpful information we share with our R&D group and others throughout the company. Since we maintain this our self we can update it or make changes whenever we want. It has worked out well for us. In addition to the server software, you only need a text/html editor (which most everyone has), and an internet browser. No additional licenses required to view and edit the databases once it is setup. Hope this was helpful. The Other Brian From: emc-p...@ieee.org [mailto:emc-p...@ieee.org] On Behalf Of Goedderz, Jim Sent: Friday, June 29, 2012 11:16 AM To: emc-p...@ieee.org Subject: database Group, We've been discussing getting a database that would include all our products, and their status as pertains to safety, emc, etc. The object is to be able to sort and see which products have missing certifications, all certifications, etc. and can also store the documents. Can anyone suggest a program that is off the shelf for this use? Thank you. James Goedderz Sr. Principal Engineer-Product Safety Sensormatic Electronics, LLC 561.912.6378 - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org<mailto:emc-p...@ieee.org>> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <emcp...@radiusnorth.net<mailto:emcp...@radiusnorth.net>> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org<mailto:mcantw...@ieee.org>> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <j.bac...@ieee.org<mailto:j.bac...@ieee.org>> David Heald <dhe...@gmail.com<mailto:dhe...@gmail.com>> ________________________________ LECO Corporation Notice: This communication may contain confidential information intended for the named recipient(s) only. If you received this by mistake, please destroy it and notify us of the error. Thank you. - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <emc-p...@ieee.org> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at: http://www.ieee-pses.org/emc-pstc.html Attachments are not permitted but the IEEE PSES Online Communities site at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ can be used for graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <emcp...@radiusnorth.net> Mike Cantwell <mcantw...@ieee.org> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher: <j.bac...@ieee.org> David Heald: <dhe...@gmail.com>