Records Management
Branch Meeting September 2008
On 23rd September 2008, Mr Anthony Weil from Iron Mountain (UK) Ltd. kindly gave an informative presentation on Records Management in relation to both personal records and business records, generating lively discussions of data retention/destruction, archiving, vaulting and business continuity. Iron Mountain’s mission is to protect the world’s information and the international company provides this service in a number of traditional and modern ways, including the storage of computerized system code under ESCROW agreements. The company stores 3.6 petabites of information, almost twice the information held by the internet, 2 petabites at any one time.
The company name, Iron Mountain, originates from their underground storage facilities in the United States. The company also has many UK sites where the environmental conditions may be controlled, ensuring the avoidance of mildew and fungus, along with monitoring of technological conditions to avoid obsolescence.
One constant business problem is identifying the legal retention period of different records and ensuring the correct type of records are stored for the correct period of time and no longer, due to the legal implications of claims against a business. For example, Transco were fined for allowing a gas explosion to occur, only because the company had retained records, which proved their negligence, beyond their legal retention period. The company would have avoided the fine if they had adhered to a strict destruction schedule. In all these areas Iron Mountain has expertise and is able to advise individual companies on the particular legal retention periods for their records, as well as prompting the customer for authorisation for destruction of records.
Paper records are the most accepted by the courts, but electronic records are becoming more acceptable. Discussions on the security of electronic records, protection from editing, ease of loosing large volumes of electronic records suddenly vs. the difficulty of searching large volumes of paper records. For example, the Doomsday Book can still be read (in paper form) but the equivalent BBC census stored on Phillips Laser Disks cannot be read as the data are retained on an obsolete technology. This issue demonstrates that the best way of retaining electronic data is to keep it on a live PC and upgrade this system in line with all other PCs in a business.
There is suggestion that RF ID chips (currently used on clothing in retail stores) may be used for providing a unique identification number via radiowaves, however the meta data would not be available with this system.
Consideration of the type of ink used to generate a document is important, as HP laser ink can be read after approximately 30 years before it degrades and becomes dust, however thermal prints on old fax paper or receipts degrade within 12 months.
Data retention has moved from the basement to the board room recently, due to highly publicized issues such as: HMRC data loss, Nationwide customer information on stolen laptop, paper medical records found on a landfill site, Home Office records lost on a datastick, etc.
Reporter: Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer
Electronic Quality Management Systems
Branch Meeting February 2008
Mr Robert Oakley, Director of Qualsys, gave a presentation on the Electronic Quality Management System (EQMS) for Integrated Management to members and guests of the London South West Branch of the CQI on 19th February 2008.
The EQMS software can be used to integrate business processes and ensure compliance with diverse regulatory standards as well as capture and control corporate knowledge. The software is able to integrate quality, health and safety, environmental and information security standards easily, but also any other regulatory requirements a business operates under, such as Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Clinical Practice (GCP) (collectively GXPs), US Food and Drug Administration regulations (FDA). It is currently in use in a number of industries, such as: food and drink, telecoms, pharmaceutical, financial, publishing, power, oil and gas, publishing and public sector (NHS trusts and local councils).
The software comprises a basic set of modules: System Manager Module, Document Manager Module and Change Manager Module, with additional modules if required: Audit Manager Module and Equipment Manager Module. The user’s view can be customised and branded to reflect the corporate image, together with a sophisticated navigational structure and the ability to use hyperlinks to documents and forms. Access can be strictly controlled via individual functional access as well as through user groups.
Documents in any format can be loaded into the EQMS software, such as word, excel, pdf, photos, video, audio etc. Metadata can be attached to any document, including items such as audit reports or equipment maintenance records etc. and can be a useful way of holding feedback from against a document electronically. Flags can be attached to documents, for example in connection with audit findings.
A new feature of the software is the Active Forms development, whereby data capture and distribution via the well-designed forms can streamline business processes and provide meaningful data to management in real time. The types of forms can be related to any business need, such as training records, incident management, business car requisition etc.
Reporter: Susan Jardine, Publicity Officer