Like other industries, the practice of engineering has increased in complexity over the years, in part due to wide-ranging compliance issues arising from entanglement among the areas of liability, technology, and regulation. Advances in technology have made it possible for once local engineering firms to broaden their service areas to include surrounding states or even nationwide coverage. Of course, with this expanded reach comes an increase in regulatory requirements, making document retention an essential part of proper compliance — and protection in the event of legal difficulties.
Besides the obvious advantages the practice of document retention brings to the table regarding compliance and legal issues, it has wide ranging benefits for the rest of your engineering business. As well as providing exceptional protection in the event of audits, proper document retention reduces the need for physical storage space and helps ensure information is available exactly when it is needed.
Creating a Proper Document Retention Program Using Document Management Solutions
Engineering businesses, like other professional services, must keep close tabs on their high-level information. This can include human resources records, accounting files, tax records, and other information pertaining to specific projects. For example, CAD drawings, construction plans and documents, soil borings reports and site studies, as well as any other pertinent files should be included in any comprehensive document retention solution.
By utilizing document management software, engineering firms can quickly and easily create a solid strategy for handling vital information — and keeping it protected and in compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements. Here are some tips for creating a solid information management program using document management:
Start at the Top
C-Suite and/or high-level management should be involved with the construction of your document management system, including determining document identification protocols, time periods for document retention and subsequent destruction, and providing guidance on access controls and authorizations.
Determine Retention Periods
Get input from your legal team — or outside legal counsel — to determine the proper time period for record retention as it pertains to your legal and regulatory requirements and compliance issues. Specific contracts may require contracting parties have access to records and project-specific information for a certain period of time following contract completion, so each contract must be examined individually to determine the proper disposal of information.
Consider Statutes of Limitations
To protect your firm against claims and damage, ensure that information is available within the limits of your state’s statute of limitations. If your engineering firm conducts business in multiple states, each state’s specific requirements for information retention must be considered for best protection in the event of legal proceedings.
Consider Audit and Destruction Protocols
When destroying physical or electronic records, it is essential to keep a log that provides the date and manner of destruction for each file. A document management system offers audits and reports and can even help your firm track who accessed, changed, or destroyed each file — an important feature for compliance, tracking, and overall record keeping.
Blue Technologies’ Document Management Solutions Can Keep Your Firm Compliant
At Blue Technologies, we have a full-service suite of document management software and solutions that target the specific needs of professional services such as engineering and construction firms. First, we offer data capture services that can help you turn your physical documents into easily searchable — and storable — electronic documents, with full-spectrum security to assist in protecting vital data.
Then, we make finding and accessing project specific or other necessary business information lightning fast with one of our many workflow automation sources, allowing your team to bypass tedious manual searches and providing an auditable record of file searches, changes, edits, and lifecycle management. And finally, our systems can easily dovetail with your company’s proscribed document retention and destruction protocols, offering compliance with the appropriate regulatory requirements and statutes of limitations for safety and peace of mind.
Protect your business and increase productivity with the same powerful, cost-effective tool. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant to learn how our document management solutions can help your firm develop a robust, protective document retention program.