A delayed response, but Dwight is right on the money. Looking at the 
records in terms of series and not individual documents is the way to go 
if you don't want to go insane managing at the item/document level. 
looking at the series of records with regard to function again bolsters 
the same type of thinking that works extremely well with managing large 
volumes of records in a diverse organization. personally, I have been 
involved in developing and or implementing a variety of schedules and the 
best one that are easiest to apply / enforce is exactly what Dwight has 
described.

Stephen Cohen
Records Manager
MetLife \ Legal Affairs
27-01 Queens Plaza North
Long Island City NY 11101
212-578-2373



...retentions are generally applied through record series, which
describe a collection of documents which serve a common function, and
can be described as a unit. Its not uncommon to have a situation as you
describe. You've already considered the impact on records integrity and
completeness. Also to take into consideration is whether separating
specific documents by retention is more costly than simply keeping them
together, as such separation may entail more cost and labor. 

I would suggest thinking of the retention schedule as less of a specific
document based system, and more of a system based on functional record
series describing aggregates of documents serving that particular
function (such as accounts payable records, recruitment and selection
records, personnel records, etc....). Another thing you want to avoid is
creating too complicated a record series structure, which tends to
happen with document specific systems. How to aggregate into more
generalized series relates to a proper balance of cost, customer
perceptions, and what meets traditional records retention values of
operational, fiscal, legal, and historic needs. Its not uncommon, for
example, to see a separate retention for supporting documents, and one
for documents which meet key milestones, in a single records series
description describing a particular function (for example, construction
project records). These can then be used as weeding guidelines.

...

Dwight Wallis, CRM
Records Administrator
Multnomah County Fleet, Records, Electronics, Distribution and Stores
(FREDS)
1620 S.E. 190th Avenue
Portland, OR 97233
Phone: (503)988-3741
Fax: (503)988-3754
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