Records management – part 1

Not so complex a subject but one that is critical to any organisation.  In particular is the duration in years that you must retain records to demonstrate conformance to a set of criteria, standard, statute or law.  There are some amazing time lines for some very different types of operations.  Here is a sneak peak and some of the legal requirements for the retention of records.  Quality management systems = 3 years, tax records = mostly 5 years, personnel records = term of employment plus 5~10 years, environmental and remediation records = 30 years, and some OHS requirements have no statute of limitations, therefore some records are to be kept indefinitely (and how long is that??, buggered if I know!).

So to get on the path of righteous and legally sound records management, the first thing we should start with is a quick definition.  Here is mine.  A record is a single source of or a collection of data that demonstrates conformance to, nonconformance to and or knowledge of a defined criteria.  It is a start.  And as for the difference between a form and a record, let’s just say a form is the defined criteria, whilst the data ‘written’ on to the form is the record.

Next blog we will look at the requirements of the standard.

previous blogs
http://johnmasonstuff.blogspot.com
http://john-mason-stuff.blogspot.com/