On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 9:15 AM, Carol Choksy <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> Just FYI with regards to The question about the Presidential Directive and
> records manager as an occupational series:
>
> "Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Presidential "Managing Government
> Records
> Directive" includes (Item B3) work to "Establish a formal records
> management
> occupational series", something many of us pressed a certain professional
> association to work on for over a decade and were told it couldn't be
> done... if this succeeds, maybe we'll see people once again willing to
> embrace the title "records manager"."
>
> As President-elect of ARMA I participated in the formal proposal process
> to get "Records Manager" listed as an occupational series. We pulled out
> all the stops and even used ARMA's DC government advocates who did a great
> job. The government's response was that since we could point to only 10,000
> and not 100,000, they would not create a new occupational series. The
> window of opportunity will arise again in a few years. Maybe the President
> will be able to do what ARMA could not.
>
>
Not to cast aspersions at what was done, but as before this process began
it was STRONGLY SUGGESTED to the HQ Lisaison who was chairing this effort
and the DC advocates that the potential for success would be greatly
improved if they first laid the groundwork of getting an SIC (Standard
Industry Classification Code) [now NAICS]
http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/sic.html assigned to Business Records as a
commodity before launching into trying to identify an occupational series.

I had been working with staff in Census Bureau for a period of time and
there were possibilities to leverage the management of "business records"
into SIC Category "I" and codes 7389 (Business Services), 8731(Commercial
Physical Research) or 8748 (Business Consulting).  My reason for working
this angle was to argue in NFPA 232 meetings that business records were a
commodity that were supported by an SIC code, which put them outside of the
scope of NFPA 220 (Warehouses) and mandates that NFPA 232 provided more
stringent requirements for managing records as a commodity, not simply
boxed paper.  Unfortunately, I missed to cycle for submission by a month,
and it was 2 years for the next cycle.

The suggestion for this was twofold; First, to strengthen the understanding
and value of records in storage as a known commodity allowing for the
advancement of the effort to "hold the line" on NFPA Standard 232, the
"Standard for the Protection of Records"... something that should have been
at the core of what ARMA did for its members. Second, by doing so, to
increase the pool of individuals to be counted in the classification beyond
the membership of ARMA (10k) to a MUCH GREATER number of people who had
responsibilities to manage records in a wide variety of industry segments,
MANY of whom are not and will never be ARMA members, but are none the less
records managers.  Owners and operators of commercial storage facilities,
medical records management personnel, educationals and Government
administrative staff, business owners, human resource specialists... all
people who spend a sufficient portion of their time "managing records' as a
function or a commodity that would allow them to be included in the
classification.

Given all of those in AHIMA alone who store medical records in commercial
facilities numbered another 5000 plus, not to begin counting financial
services and banking, insurance, education, State and Local Government
clerks and other industries... it wouldn't take long to easily eclipse the
10000 number ARMA was presenting on its own. It wasn't necessary for this
effort to fail.

What the Presidential Directive is seeking to do in this area is limited
to  Agency Records Officers and others in the Federal environment... unless
a push is made to broaden the scope to include those in other environments
who manage records and include them in this occupational series, everyone
else will be left on the outside looking in.

Larry
[log in to unmask]

-- 
*Lawrence J. Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972*

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]