Bika's Document Management System for Accreditation

Plone is a mature, enterprise-grade open-source Content Management System (CMS), and Bika LIMS is built directly on top of Plone. This tight integration gives laboratories a powerful, unified platform for both laboratory operations and document management such as is typically required for accreditation audits

Plone has one of the most robust workflow engines and version control systems of any CMS. Documents, SOPs, quality manuals, methods, calibration records, validation reports, etc. can have strict approval workflows, automatic version numbering, and full history

Using Plone’s role-based security and group permissions, labs can easily control who can view, edit, or approve documents

They use Plone

Complete Audit Trail & Traceability

Every change to any object - documents, samples, results, methods or configurations - is automatically logged with who, what, and when. This directly supports ISO 17025 clauses on the control of documented information and technical records

Unified System (LIMS + DMS in One)

Instead of having separate LIMS and DMS tools, everything lives in one secure environment. You can link DMS documents directly to instruments, methods, or quality control records in the LIMS. Auditors can see the full context, for example, the exact SOP version used for a specific test result

Proven Security Track Record

Plone has an outstanding reputation for security, one of the best among major CMS platforms. It supports strong access controls, LDAP integration, and is frequently used by governments, universities, and organisations handling sensitive data

Long-term Stability and Community Support

Plone has been stable and actively maintained for over 20 years. Bika LIMS has been used in accredited labs for many years specifically for ISO 17025 compliance

Minimal Training required

Anybody capable of uploading content and using an editor will master Plone in no time. It uses the same workflow mechanism as Bika

A Plone-based LIMS gives you:

• A true enterprise DMS for all your quality documents and records
• Seamless integration with your laboratory data (samples, results, instruments)
• Strong technical controls required by ISO 17025 (document approval, version control, audit trails, access rights)
• All of this in one secure, auditable, and cost-effective system

This is why accredited laboratories, especially smaller to medium-sized ones, choose Bika on Plone - to move from scrambling for documents during audits to continuous compliance readiness