Management of the documents of files

The management of the documents of files (or records management ) aims to efficiently organize and systematic all the documents or data whose company can have need to justify of its activity.

Introduction

The term records management is generally translated into French by “management of the current files and intermediaries” or “management of the documents of files”. However, the use of the Anglo-Saxon, shorter term and more spread, tends to be essential, inter alia for the reasons explained in the French introduction of the corresponding Norme international on the records management , ISO 15489:2001:

“The English term “ records ” indicates the documents considered in their dimension of Preuve (and utility within the framework of the control of the activities of the transmitting organization), in opposition to “Document S” (which take into account only their informative contents) and with “Archive S” (which aims at the historical range). Not having into French of strict equivalent, records is translated here by “documents of files” except when the term “documents” is sufficiently explicit in the context, even by “files” when the direction imposes it. ” “ Records ” is opposed in English to “ draft ” which indicates the documents finalized yet and not approved by an authority (drafts, preparatory documents). To translate by “recording” as that is often made in France east thus an error. To note: the definition of the " document of archives" in France includes/understands the various meanings that the use of the " term; records" claims to oppose to files and documents (cf will infra).

The management of the documents of files is “the field of the management which is charged to control effectively and systematically creation, the reception, maintenance, the use and the provision of the Document S, including the processes of seizure of the Information and of Preuve on the Affaire S and the Transaction S”. It consists to identify, classify, file, preserve, and sometimes to destroy documents equipped with a certain legal authenticity. Its objective is to efficiently organize and systematic all the documents or data which a company can need to justify its activity, in an objective of Traçabilité, integrity, Sécurité and perenniality of information but also of respect of the legal requirements.

The ISO defines the documents of files like “information created, received, and maintained like proof, by a Organization or a Nobody, in the event of legal proceedings, by legal obligation or at ends of control of the Affaire S”. The Committee one Electronic Records of the International counsel of the files defines the documents of files like “a specific element of, collected, generated recorded information or received during initiation, the control or the achievement of an activity and which includes/understands a Contenu, a context, and a structure sufficient, to provide the Preuve or the description of this activity”. Whereas the document of files is often identified with the document in its traditional form, it can be as well a tangible object as a numerical Information which has a value for an organization. For example, the office automation documents, the contents of the databases or the Internet sites or Intranet, the Given S of the Application S and the all emails are of the documents of files.

The “documents of files” are characterized by:

their contents, validated and nonmodifiable;
obligation to preserve them for a certain length of time, for legal or functional reasons.

Their life cycle can be described as follows:

History

The management of the documents of files was organized with the the United States after the Second world war, around the theory of the three ages of the files (current, intermediate, final). This one will be taken again by the French archivist Yves Pérotin in the years 1960.

Practice of the management of the documents of files

To create, approve and reinforce the policies of filing, including a system of grading and a policy of conservation of the documents of files.
To develop a Plane classification documents of files, which including the localization in the short and long term physical files and numerical informations.
To identify the existing files and those lately created, to classify them, then to store them according to the procedures of exploitation in force.
To coordinate the access to the documents of files and their circulation, to the center as apart from the company.
To apply a policy of conservation to file and destroy the documents of files according to the operational needs and according to legal criteria.

The objective is to guarantee the existence and the accessibility of the documents, their authenticity, their reliability and them integrity, and to allow that they are exploitable.

Often, a management system of the files contributes with the classification and the daily management of the documents of files during their life cycle. Such a system can be based on paper (for example of the cards are used in the Bibliothèque S) or on a computing system like a business application of the electronic files. The principal functions of this system are:

to deal with the document of its creation until the end of its use,
to guarantee its conservation in its context and on adapted supports,
to ensure the Traceability document and to communicate it according to the rights of access.

According to the standard ISO 15489:2001 “Records Management” published in October 2001, the management of the documents of files includes:

the installation of policies and standards
the assignment of responsibilities and rights of access
establishment and the promulgation of procedures
supply of a range of services relating to the management and the use of the documents of files
design, implementation and administration of systems specialized in the management of the documents of files and
the integration of the management of the documents of files in the Process.

The ISO standard is supplemented by the MoReq, Model Requirements for the Management off Electronic Records or Modèle of requirements for the organization of the filing electronic , diffused in English in 2002 and translated into French in 2004.

The standard ISO 15489 is also supplemented by two complementary standards:

ISO 22310: 2006 Information and documentation -- Guiding lines for the writers of standards for the requirements of " records management" in the standards (only in English) * ISO 23081 -1:2006 Information and documentation -- Process of management of the recordings -- Metadatum S for the recordings -- Part 1: Principles (only in English)

The management of the documents of traditional form

To manage documents of files physically implies a large variety of disciplines. The documents, whatever they are, must be classified and indexed: it is a basic material need. Their intellectual control, in addition, request of competences in Right, History, Engineering and the coordination of various expertises.

To identify the documents of files . The relevance and the authenticity of each document of files must be able to be established with each stage of its life, by making sure that it did not undergo voluntary or accidental deterioration of its contents. In the extreme cases, the documents can be subjected to the Microscope, the X-ray, the Carbon dating or chemical analyzes to determine their authenticity and their former history. It is thus essential to take precautions for this purpose during creation of the documents and for their period of conservation.

To store the documents of files . The documents of files must be stored in such way that they at the same time sufficiently accessible and are protected from the environmental damage. A traditional document, on plain paper, can be arranged in an office, a wall cupboard with files. But a room of files worthy of this name must be in conformity with specific environmental standards, in particular temperature hygroscopy. Documents of files of very great importance can be stored in a strong trunk or a safe deposit resisting fire, the floods, the earthquakes and even the wars. In addition to one storage of the files in their offices, of many organizations have a center of filing except site or sign from the contracts with companies of filing.

To make circulate documents of files . The documents of files are preserved so that one can find them at the desired time. To find the document, to follow it while it is out of the room of files then to recover it: they are the stages of the circulation of the document. On its simplest level, circulation is managed by manual methods, as quite simply to note to which such document was communicated, and when it must return it. However, in a more modern way, of the computing systems of management of the documents of files are used, which can include code-bars or a chip RFID to follow the movement of the documents of one office to the other, or even out of the offices. The code bar and the detectors of radio frequency can also be used at the time of periodic audits, to make sure of the follow-up of the movements of documents.

final fate of documents of files . The final fate of documents of files is not always the destruction. It can also take the form of a payment in a service of historical files, a museum or a library. The destruction must be authorized by the law, the Statut S of the producing organization or holder, the regulations and the procedures of exploitation. Once the approved destruction, the document of files must be destroyed carefully to avoid an information disclosure to thirds not - authorized. The Processus of final deposit of documents of files must be well prepared, while starting with a planning of conservation of the documents of files, policies and procedures approved with the more high level.

The management of the electronic documents of files

The general principles of the management of the documents of files apply to all the formats of documents. However, the numerical documents raise particular problems. It is more difficult to ensure than the contents, the context and the structure of the documents are preserved and protected when the documents do not have a physical existence.

Contrary to the documents of files paper, the numerical documents cannot be read without a Ordinateur or another machine. Functional criteria concerning the computing systems which can be used to manage the numerical documents of files were emitted by the Department of Defense of the United States (DoD 5015.2), by the Public records British and by the European Union by the means of the Moreq.

Questions arise on the capacity of preserving, to make always accessible and readable the numerical documents in the long run. To be read, the numerical documents of files require the combination of a version of Logiciel and of a computing system; the risk coming from the speed to which technologies change. Many research is undertaken to tackle this problem.

Current problems in management of the documents of files

As from 2005 and because of more demanding regulations, the interest of the companies for the management of the documents of files went increasing. Whereas the Government S or the professions legal and medical have a historical practice of the organization of the documents of files, the record keeping in the companies is standardized little. Moreover, scandals such as that of the Enron Corporation/Arthur Andersen, and more recently the destruction of documents of files at Morgan Stanley renewed the interest carried to the legal utility of the documents of files of the company and to the prevention of the dispute. The laws as the Loi Sarbanes-Oxley in the United States encouraged to standardize the practices of management of the documents of files within the companies. The exchanges were numerous between the managers of documents and the data processing specialists in the Années 1990 for better answering the legal Exigence S and better anticipating the risks.

Private life, data protection and flight of identities became centers of interest for the managers of documents of files. Their role of assistance to the protection of the documents of files in company often led them to pay attention to these problems. The need to guarantee that Personal data are not preserved longer than it is allowed made essential the establishment of calendars of conservation indicating the durations at the end which the documents of files can or must be destroyed.

In France, the right of the proof was adapted by law 2000-230 of March 13rd 2000, and its decree on enforcement of a law (see Droit of the proof in information technologies in France).

Suppliers of management of the documents of files

Management systems of the documents

A management system of documents of files is a Computer program (or a whole of programs) used to follow and store the documents. This term differs from those of management systems of images and documents, specialized respectively in the imagery and the management of documents. The management systems of documents of files commonly propose an high level of safety and functionalities of audit adjusted with the needs for the managers of documents of files.

Specialized companies

Companies specialized in the storage of documents of files on paper or in electronic form. They propose a dense and protected storage for the documents of files on paper and can provide particular climatic conditions for the storage of the significant supports others that paper.

See too

Conservation of the data
Proof in civil law

External bonds

Texts of reference
the ISO standard 15489

Technologies and archivistic standards: the standard ISO 15489 on the Records management. Article of the n°2 review RESSI (Re-examined electronic Switzerland of information sciences, August 2005).

Moreq

European Model Requirements for Managing Electronic Records (MoReq)
Model of requirements for the organization of electronic filing (Moreq) (French translation)

Resources line

France

French Gate of the Records management by AFNOR and ADBS
Resources put on line on the site of [[ADBS]] the

Anglo-Saxon Countries

Glossary off Records Management Terms
Article " Why Records Management? " by Priscilla Emery
Records/Information Management from the Association for Information Management Professionnals (ARMED)
Records Management Resources from United States National Files and Records Administration (NARA)
Citations by CiteSeer
Info Guides and Resources from Records Management Society (RMS)
Records Management links and information from Archives Ireland
Guidance from the National Files off Australia
Guidance from the National the U.K. Files
Guidance from the State Records Authority off New South Wales
Guidance from the International Records Management Trust

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