I agree with both Peter and Bill that instructions or procedures should
be maintained as long as the policy is in effect. However, master forms
should be just masters, not the repository for policy. And instructions
and procedures should be part of the policy. One thing to do with 30
years of old master forms is check to see if each version is part of any
current or currently retained policy. If not, then submit one copy of
the master to whoever is in charge of the policy. A policy that
requires forms should have a copy of the form as part of the policy.
Otherwise it is incomplete. I realize that organizations don't always
follow this process, but they should.
Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Millican & Associates, Inc.
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 12:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Management of Legacy Forms
-----Original Message-----
Master forms are only useful for producing forms to be completed. I
have
always seen the retention for master forms as "until superseded or
revised."
I can't think of any other value they would have.
--------------------------
Ginny,
There are exceptions: Forms can contain instructions (explicit or
implicit)
that supplement policies or procedures. Within a quality
assurance-intensive business environment, those instructions may be
important to retain for the same length of time as procedures are, as
documentation of what was supposed to be done under what circumstances.
Unless the procedures themselves include the form (and most don't when
there
is a separate forms control program), often the only way to ensure the
content is retained for the appropriate length of time is to retain the
master form (or a designated record copy).
In a similar vein, it also can be desirable to retain versions of ECM
system
workflows and related electronic forms as record objects.
Peter B. Lundell
Manager, Technical Support
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Millican & Associates, Inc.
2699 Stirling Road, Suite C106
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312-6579
(954) 963-1771
Fax: (954) 962-7956
www.millican-assoc.com
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
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