Part8EDMguidancenote1BlackBook

rics.org

Electronic documentmanagement

RICS Practice Standards, UK

1st edition, guidance note

Electronic document management1st edition, guidance note

The volume and diversity of electronic information within theconstruction industry is constantly increasing.

The need to effectively manage this information is evident to mostbusinesses but the ability to do this using simple IT network systemsis becoming more and more difficult.

The application of a few basic principles can help with even the mostbasic of file systems and these have been identified within thisguidance. However, a well-chosen and configured ElectronicDocument Management system can significantly enhance the abilityof an organisation to store, find, repurpose, archive and generallymanage electronic files.

This guidance note aims to increase the level of understanding of whatsuch systems can offer and provide some tools to aid in the selectionof an appropriate system to suit any size of business.

Electronic document management

RICS guidance note

1st edition

Published by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

under the RICS Books imprint

Surveyor Court

Westwood Business Park

Coventry CV4 8JE

UK

www.ricsbooks.com

No responsibility for loss or damage caused to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the materialincluded in this publication can be accepted by the author or RICS.

ISBN 978 1 84219 562 8

© Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) October 2009. Copyright in all or part of this publication restswith RICS, and save by prior consent of RICS, no part or parts shall be reproduced by any means electronic,mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, now known or to be devised.

Typeset in Great Britain by Columns Design Ltd, Reading, Berks

Acknowledgments

RICS would like to thank the following for their contributions to this guidancenote:

Neil Cannon, Robinson Low Francis LLP

Peter Defoe, calfordseaden LLP

Steve Pittard, Causeway Technologies

Hugh Saunders, Fladgate LLP

Peter Sell, Davis Langdon

Erik Winterkorn, BCIS

ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT | iii

Contents

RICS guidance notes 1

Introduction 2

1 Typical electronic document lifecycle 3

2 What are the problems associated with managing documentselectronically?

5

2.1 Issues relating to the construction industry 52.2 Legal issues 62.3 Problems with basic system of shared network folders 7

3 Features of EDM systems which can address these problems 93.1 Overview of the three main categories of system 93.2 Complete feature list for EDM systems (by document

lifecycle)10

4 Items for consideration in using a basic EDMS comprisingstandard network shared folders

18

5 Further information 205.1 Legal issues 20

5.1.1 Document management legal admissibility guidance 205.1.2 Intellectual property and copyright 205.1.3 Confidentiality 215.1.4 The Data Protection Act 1998 215.1.5 The Freedom of Information Act 2000 22

5.2 Standards and published guidance 235.2.1 BS ISO/IEC 17799:2000, BS 7799-1:2000 – Information

security techniques. Code of practice for informationsecurity managers

23

5.2.2 BS 7799-2:2002 – Information security managementsystems. Specification with guidance for use

23

5.2.3 BS ISO 15489-1:2001 – Information and documentation.Records management

23

5.2.4 ISO 82045-5:2005 – Document management.Application of metadata for the construction and facilitymanagement sector

24

5.3 Practical considerations 24

5.3.1 Archiving 24

5.3.2 Implementing a new EDMS 24

Appendices1 EDMS key questions checklist 26

2 Glossary 30

iv | ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

RICS guidance notes

This is a guidance note. It provides advice to RICS members on aspects of theirpractice. Where procedures are recommended for specific professional tasks,these are intended to embody ‘best practice’, i.e. Procedures which in theopinion of RICS meet a high standard of professional competence.

Members are not required to follow the advice and recommendationscontained in the note. They should, however, note the following points.

When an allegation of professional negligence is made against a surveyor, thecourt is likely to take account of the contents of any relevant guidance notespublished by RICS in deciding whether or not the surveyor had acted withreasonable competence. In the opinion of RICS, a member conforming to thepractices recommended in this note should have at least a partial defence to anallegation of negligence by virtue of having followed those practices. However,members have responsibility of deciding when it is appropriate to follow theguidance.

On the other hand, it does not follow that a member will be adjudged negligentif he has not followed the practices recommended in this note. It is for eachsurveyor to decide on the appropriate procedure to follow in any professionaltask. However, where members depart from the practice recommended in thisnote, they should do so only for a good reason. In the event of litigation, thecourt may require them to explain why they decided not to adopt therecommended practice. Also, if you have not followed this guidance, and youractions are called into question in a RICS disciplinary case, you will be asked tojustify the steps you did take and this may be taken into account.

In addition, guidance notes are relevant to professional competence in thateach surveyor should be up-to-date and should have informed himself ofguidance notes within a reasonable time of their promulgation.

ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT | 1

Introduction

This guidance note has been prepared in response to the growth in electronicdocument exchange and storage. Without some form of structuredmethodology, the task of managing information through the traditionaldocument lifecycle is virtually impossible. While there are a number ofElectronic Document Management Systems (EDMS) providing the basis of astructured system, the question is, what form should this system take, andwhich system is best for you? While there is no single system, there are somegeneral recommendations as to what constitutes good practice.

This guidance note aims to offer advice on what constitutes this good practiceand to aid understanding of the issues associated with implementing anEDMS. It is not intended as a system review. However, you may find theguidance provided – and specifically the feature lists – helpful in selecting asuitable system for your business.

While this guidance covers many of the related issues around ElectronicDocument Management (EDM), it does not deal with any detail regardinggeneral email management. This is really a whole topic in its own right and youare, therefore, advised to seek separate guidance and advice.

To assist in guiding you to the most appropriate EDMS features to suit yourown business needs and requirements, this guidance note has classifiedexpected levels of sophistication and functionality under the broad headings ofBasic, Standard and Advanced. While there may be some overlap whenconsidering your own requirements, the aim is to illustrate the range offunctionality available.

In addition to highlighting the main problems associated with managingdocumentation in the construction industry, this guidance note providesgeneral advice to guide good practice when using the basic EDMS comprisingstandard network shared folders. A useful summary of the key legal issues andpractical considerations you should be aware of is also provided, together withreference to relevant standards and published guidance for further reading.

Finally, to assist in evaluating commercially available EDM systems, thisguidance note also provides a comprehensive features checklist.

2 | ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

1 Typical electronic document lifecycle

The following diagram and table identify the main stages that a document maygo through, although not all are applicable to every document.

Figure 1: Document lifecycle

Stage DescriptionCreate The making of a digital document within a

software program.Capture Converting or digitising physical or analogue

documents into digital format, usually by scanningand/or optical character recognition or receipt byemail or other electronic means.

Share, collaborate,control

Sharing, collaborating and modifying in a workgroup via real time and non real time methods.Controlling the process by which documents aredeveloped by defining set procedures.

Index Cataloguing process or creating metadata viamanual or automatic methods.

Manage, store Managing and storing documents for rapidaccessibility.

Access Searching processes to find documents usingclassifications, metadata, full text or other searchtechnologies.

Retrieve Viewing documents from search results.Distribute Publish documents to intended audience.


Repurpose Reusing and re-versioning documents for newproducts and/or cost savings throughstandardisation.

Archive Storing documents and associated data off-line atreduced cost.

Deletion Permanent deletion of documents and associateddata at the end of their useful life or to complywith client obligations.

Administer Managing users, resources, content types andstructures.

Migration Moving documents and associated data to a newsystem in a suitable format.


2 What are the problems associatedwith managing documentselectronically?

2.1 Issues relating to the construction industry

The nature of the construction industry presents a number of particularfactors which impact upon the management of electronic documentation.

Project-basedinformation

Information is primarily centred aroundindividual projects rather than in a staticbusiness structure. This greatly increases themanagement and control necessary to maintainnetwork folders and email public folders.

Collaboration withcontacts both internaland external to theorganisation

There are large information flows – both in andout of the organisation to many differentexternal organisations. These vary from projectto project. Control of receipt and issue ofdocumentation is complex.

Electronic tendering Specific sets of documents are routinely issued tomultiple tenderers requiring close process controlof versions, amendments and receipt of tenders.

Drawings and models Electronic drawing and model files poseparticular problems of size, linked files and theimportance of version control.

Document retentionrequirements

Documents may need to be retained for 12 yearsor more, depending on contract requirementsand liabilities. Accurate archive records areessential.


2.2 Legal issues

The law imposes numerous requirements and responsibilities upon people andorganisations that control information in whatever form it is held. Many of therisks stem from the problems inherent in the absence of a proper system ofdocument control – not knowing what data is held, and not being able tolocate the data that is stored – either efficiently or at all. In such circumstances,breaches of the law may well be inadvertent, but this will not provide anydefence and is unlikely to be accepted as a mitigating factor.

Copyright Many documents and images are subject tocopyright. Electronic storage of documents makes iteasier to disseminate copyrighted material on alarger scale than ever before. In a basic systemwhere control and prevention of the issue andpublication of copyright material relies on a manualprocess for accountability, there is the risk ofbreaching copyright belonging to another, oraccidentally sending out valuable proprietaryinformation.

Controlling access/security/confidentiality

Lack of proper access control makes it difficult orimpossible to ensure that sensitive data is availableonly to those authorised to access it, leading to risksof inadvertent disclosure of propriety informationor confidential client information.

Data Protection Act1998

Any organisation processing personal data is subjectto the Act. Management and discovery of personaldata in disparate locations is difficult and timeconsuming.

Rules of disclosure The ability to locate with certainty alldocumentation on a particular project is limited,there is a risk that all applicable documentation isnot disclosed and the process of disclosure is mademore time consuming and expensive.

Freedom ofInformation Act2000

Particularly relevant for public organisations whohave a responsibility to locate and make availabledocuments on demand and to those who holdinformation on their behalf. More informationabout the Act can be found in section 5.1, ‘Legalissues’.

Storage andarchiving

Organisations may have a contractual obligation toretain information for periods after completion of aproject. It is difficult to know if all relevantdocumentation has been collated and archived, andthe archiving process is made more time consumingand expensive.

Further information on these topics can be found in section 5.1, ‘Legal issues’.


2.3 Problems with basic system of shared network folders

The majority of organisations currently employ a system of shared networkfolders for project and administrative documentation. In addition they mighttypically have a separate email system with public folders for each project. Sucha system presents a number of issues when trying to manage electronicdocuments effectively. The following table identifies some of these for eachstage of the document cycle.

Create and capture

Document receipt No record of where documents originate unless amanual record is kept separately.

Share, collaborate, control

Documentavailability

Direct network connectivity required. Remoteaccess requires complex solutions.

Versioning Only the latest version is kept by default in a givenlocation – earlier versions are generally overwrittenwithout record. Only a closely controlled policy ofdocument version naming and storage location canaddress this.

Documentduplication

Multiple copies of documents can exist in differentfile locations and email attachments. There is nocontrol of which is the latest and correct one.

Index, manage, store

Document location Usually, no standard filing structure is enforced.Even if a standard project folder hierarchy is used,this is expandable without control. Documentlocation is then at the whim of each user.

Expandingdocument or filesize

File sizes are increasing without control to theextent that some become unusable, particularlywhen accessing remotely.

Access, retrieve, distribute

Document search Basic filename and date search are possible butslow, particularly as document stores grow.

Security Control of access is complex. Cannot control atdocument level.

Publication No record of publication and the relevant revision.Manual recording system is required.

Repurpose

Qualitymanagement

Relies on manual procedures for use of standarddocuments, approval and issue.

Archive, delete

Archiving Archived files are moved to alternative media andleave no record of their existence. Manualreferencing is required and is subject to error. (Seesection 5.3, ‘Practical considerations’.)

Document deletion Deletion is possible without any record of the filehaving existed.


email + email is generally held in a separate system andcannot be related to associated documents innetwork folders.

+ Project emails can end up in a mixture ofpersonal folders, user mailboxes and publicfolders.

+ If emails are saved as documents, email chainsare lost and searching is difficult without thefacilities of the email application.

Business continuity Without strict control and intervention electronicdocuments end up in a variety of locations on avariety of machines, all of which must be backedup and available for restore in the event of adisaster. This problem is exacerbated in multi-sitebusinesses.


3 EDMS features which can addressthese problems

3.1 Overview of the three main categories of the system

The following table lists document management system features grouped bythe document lifecycle stages identified above. In addition to a briefdescription of each feature there is a commentary which is intended toelaborate on where and how this feature might be relevant to a business.

Some features are common to even the most basic of systems (includingstandard network file sharing environments). Others are only available in themost advanced EDM systems. The table below identifies the level of systemwhere you might expect to find them.

Basic This equates to a standard network file sharingenvironment using shared folders and some sort ofstandard folder structure for project and administrationdocuments. The vast majority of businesses alreadypossess this environment although they vary enormouslywith no standard methodology.

Standard This represents a minimum feature set for a commercialEDMS.

Advanced In addition to standard features, most commerciallyavailable EDM systems will have some more advancedfeatures although few (if any) will have all of the featureslisted.


3.2

Com

plet

efe

atur

elis

tfo

rE

DM

syst

ems

(by

docu

men

tlif

ecyc

le)

Cat

egor

yan

dfe

atu

reD

escr

ipti

onC

omm

ent

Pro

ble

mad

dre

ssed

Leve

l(b

asic

,st

and

ard

,ad

van

ced

)

Doc

um

ent

crea

tion

Doc

um

ent

tem

plat

esSt

anda

rddo

cum

ent

tem

plat

esu

sed

for

the

crea

tion

ofn

ewdo

cum

ents

wit

hau

tom

atic

impo

rtof

rele

van

tm

etad

ata.

Of

part

icu

lar

ben

efit

for

com

plia

nce

wit

hap

prov

edpr

oced

ure

s.Q

ual

ity

man

agem

ent

S

Of

part

icu

lar

ben

efit

wit

hm

etad

ata

from

proj

ects

and

con

tact

sto

impr

ove

effi

cien

cyof

docu

men

tcr

eati

on.

Qu

alit

ym

anag

emen

tA

Doc

um

ent

cap

ture

Scan

nin

gm

anag

emen

tT

he

abili

tyto

auto

mat

eth

epr

oces

sin

gof

scan

ned

docu

men

ts.

Scan

ned

docu

men

tsca

nbe

auto

mat

ical

lyst

ored

inth

eco

rrec

tlo

cati

onan

d/or

sen

tto

the

corr

ect

reci

pien

tfo

rpr

oces

sin

g.M

ayre

quir

ea

spec

ific

scan

nin

gte

chn

olog

y.

Doc

um

ent

rece

ipt

A

Opt

ical

char

acte

rre

cogn

itio

n(O

CR

)T

he

conv

ersi

onof

scan

ned

text

tose

arch

able

text

.E

ssen

tial

tope

rmit

the

re-u

seof

text

from

scan

ned

docu

men

ts.T

he

orig

inal

and

OC

Rve

rsio

ns

are

both

hel

dag

ain

stth

edo

cum

ent

reco

rd.

Doc

um

ent

rece

ipt

A

emai

lin

tegr

atio

nan

dm

anag

emen

tT

he

abili

tyto

stor

eem

ailw

ith

inth

eE

DM

Sin

the

sam

em

ann

eras

any

oth

erdo

cum

ent.

Of

part

icu

lar

ben

efit

for

proj

ect-

rela

ted

orga

nis

atio

ns

wh

ere

allp

roje

ctda

taan

ddo

cum

enta

tion

shou

ldid

eally

bein

one

plac

e.

emai

lA

Doc

um

ent

capt

ure

byem

ail

Th

eab

ility

toau

tom

atic

ally

extr

act

docu

men

tsfr

omat

tach

men

tsto

emai

lsfo

rpu

blis

hin

gto

the

ED

MS.

Hel

psto

ensu

redo

cum

ents

are

corr

ectl

yve

rsio

ned

and

sear

chab

le.

emai

lA

Man

agem

ent

ofn

on-e

lect

ron

icdo

cum

ents

Th

eab

ility

tore

cord

the

deta

ilsof

har

d-co

pydo

cum

ents

.T

he

met

adat

ais

equ

ally

rele

van

tan

dse

arch

able

,wh

eth

eror

not

the

docu

men

tit

self

isel

ectr

onic

.

Doc

um

ent

rece

ipt

Doc

um

ent

loca

tion

Doc

um

ent

dele

tion

,arc

hiv

ing

A


Shar

ean

dco

llab

orat

e

Doc

um

ent

wor

kflo

w(c

han

ge,r

evie

wan

dap

prov

al)

Th

eab

ility

tode

fin

ein

adva

nce

the

rou

teby

wh

ich

part

icu

lar

type

sof

docu

men

tar

ecr

eate

d,re

view

edan

dap

prov

edpr

ior

tois

sue.

Of

part

icu

lar

ben

efit

for

adh

eren

ceto

com

plia

nce

proc

edu

res.

Qu

alit

ym

anag

emen

tA

Doc

um

ent

mar

k-u

pT

he

abili

tyto

ann

otat

edo

cum

ents

and

redl

ine

draw

ings

wit

hou

taf

fect

ing

the

orig

inal

.

Som

eap

plic

atio

ns,

such

asM

icro

soft

Wor

d,in

clu

defe

atu

res

that

trac

kch

ange

sto

ado

cum

ent.

How

ever

,th

ese

usu

ally

alte

rth

eba

sedo

cum

ent.

Inan

ED

MS

this

isan

addi

tion

alfe

atu

reto

docu

men

tvi

ewin

gal

low

ing

com

men

tari

esw

ith

out

chan

gin

gth

eba

sedo

cum

ent.

Use

fulf

orco

llabo

rati

ondu

rin

gdo

cum

ent

deve

lopm

ent.

Part

icu

larl

yu

sefu

lfor

draw

ing

revi

ewpr

ior

tofi

nal

issu

e.M

ult

iple

redl

ine

laye

rsar

ese

para

tely

inde

xed

byau

thor

.

Col

labo

rati

onA

Doc

um

ent

com

men

tary

and

rati

ng

Th

eab

ility

for

feed

back

byu

sers

ondo

cum

ents

.Pa

rtic

ula

rly

use

fulf

orst

anda

rdte

mpl

ates

,pr

oced

ura

lan

dte

chn

ical

docu

men

tsfo

rmin

gpa

rtof

akn

owle

dge

base

.

Qu

alit

ym

anag

emen

tC

olla

bora

tion

A

Doc

um

ent

ind

exin

g

Doc

um

ent

nu

mbe

rin

g/ID

Def

ined

docu

men

tid

enti

fica

tion

syst

em.

Usu

ally

requ

ired

wh

ere

anab

solu

tere

fere

nce

nu

mbe

rm

ust

beas

sign

edto

ever

ydo

cum

ent.

Qu

alit

ym

anag

emen

tS

Th

ism

ayn

eed

tobe

sepa

rate

lyde

fin

edby

proj

ect.

Qu

alit

ym

anag

emen

tA

Lin

ked

and

com

pou

nd

docu

men

tsT

he

abili

tyto

link

rela

ted

docu

men

tsin

the

ED

MS

and

trea

tth

emas

one

ifn

eces

sary

.

Of

part

icu

lar

use

wit

hdr

awin

gsw

hic

hh

ave

X-r

efs

and

linke

dO

ffic

edo

cum

ents

usi

ng

OL

Ean

dO

pen

Doc

tech

nol

ogie

s.Fi

lelo

cati

ons

inba

sic

syst

emm

ust

bem

anag

edm

anu

ally

and

links

can

easi

lybr

eak.

Dra

win

gm

anag

emen

tB

Lin

ksin

adva

nce

dsy

stem

sar

em

anag

edby

the

syst

em.

Dra

win

gm

anag

emen

tA


Man

age

doc

um

ents

Doc

um

ent

vers

ion

con

trol

Th

eab

ility

tode

fin

eh

owve

rsio

nn

um

beri

ng

ofdo

cum

ents

will

oper

ate

for

any

part

icu

lar

docu

men

t.

All

vers

ion

sof

ado

cum

ent

are

save

dan

dsu

bseq

uen

tly

avai

labl

efo

rvi

ewin

g,w

ith

only

the

late

stve

rsio

ndi

spla

yed

byde

fau

lt.

Ver

sion

ing

Dra

win

gsS

Dra

win

gm

anag

emen

tT

he

abili

tyto

deal

wit

hth

eco

mpl

exit

ies

ofdr

awin

gsw

ith

inth

eE

DM

S.

Ele

ctro

nic

draw

ings

hav

epa

rtic

ula

rpr

oble

ms

ofsi

ze,l

inke

dfi

les,

vers

ion

con

trol

and

issu

eco

ntr

olw

hic

hca

npr

esen

tpr

oble

ms

for

man

yE

DM

Ssy

stem

s.

Dra

win

gm

anag

emen

tA

Imag

em

anag

emen

tT

he

abili

tyto

deal

wit

him

ages

succ

essf

ully

.A

lth

ough

imag

esar

eju

stan

oth

erty

pe

offi

le,

they

pose

addi

tion

alpr

oble

ms

due

toth

ew

ayth

eyte

nd

tobe

view

ed,g

rou

ped

and

use

din

the

crea

tion

ofn

ewdo

cum

ents

.

Exp

andi

ng

docu

men

tfi

lesi

zeA

Au

dio

and

vide

om

anag

emen

tT

he

abili

tyto

save

and

man

age

and

deliv

erau

dio

and

vide

ofi

les.

Th

ese

can

beve

ryla

rge

file

sw

hic

hre

quir

efa

cilit

ies

for

stre

amin

gra

ther

than

sim

ply

dow

nlo

adin

gco

mpl

ete

file

s.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

Exp

andi

ng

docu

men

tfi

lesi

zeA

Acc

ess

doc

um

ents

Doc

um

ent

sear

chT

he

abili

tyto

sear

chth

em

etad

ata

ofth

edo

cum

ent

inad

diti

onto

its

titl

e.

Met

adat

ais

inde

xed

inth

eda

taba

sem

akin

gse

arch

mu

chfa

ster

than

usi

ng

the

Win

dow

sE

xplo

rer

sear

ch.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chS

Adv

ance

din

dexi

ng

and

sear

chin

gD

ocu

men

tco

nte

nt

isin

dexe

dan

dse

arch

able

.In

addi

tion

tost

anda

rdm

etad

ata,

the

enti

reco

nte

nt

ofdo

cum

ents

can

bese

arch

edfo

rke

yw

ords

and

phra

ses.

Inth

em

ost

adva

nce

dsy

stem

s,th

ese

can

beco

nte

xtse

nsi

tive

depe

ndi

ng

onth

eop

erat

ors

use

d.C

ompl

exse

arch

crit

eria

can

besa

ved

for

futu

reu

se.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chA

Doc

um

ent

view

ing

Th

eab

ility

tovi

ewan

ydo

cum

ent

inth

esy

stem

wit

hou

tn

eedi

ng

the

orig

inal

appl

icat

ion

that

prod

uce

dit

.

Part

icu

larl

yu

sefu

lfor

draw

ings

,pro

gram

mes

and

oth

erfi

les

prod

uce

dby

spec

ialis

tso

ftw

are.

Ifth

evi

ewis

ren

dere

dby

the

serv

erth

ere

quir

emen

tfo

rfa

stn

etw

ork

orre

mot

elin

ksis

redu

ced.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Bro

wsi

ng

byth

um

bnai

lT

he

abili

tyto

view

mu

ltip

ledo

cum

ents

byre

pres

enta

tive

imag

es.

Impo

rtan

tfo

rdr

awin

gsor

phot

om

anag

emen

t.D

esir

able

for

corr

espo

nde

nce

tode

term

ine

the

prec

ise

docu

men

tre

quir

ed–

brow

sin

gm

ult

iple

page

sis

desi

rabl

efo

rth

is.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chA


Ret

riev

ed

ocu

men

ts

emai

ldoc

um

ents

toan

dfr

omth

edo

cum

ent

stor

eT

he

abili

tyto

emai

lado

cum

ent

dire

ctly

from

the

ED

MS

orin

toth

eE

DM

Svi

aa

fold

erem

ail

addr

ess.

Of

part

icu

lar

rele

van

cew

her

eth

eco

nta

ctda

taba

seis

avai

labl

ew

ith

inth

eE

DM

S.U

sefu

lfo

rpu

blic

atio

nof

docu

men

tsw

hen

no

oth

erm

ean

sof

acce

ssto

syst

ems

isav

aila

ble.

Doc

um

ent

rece

ipt

Pu

blic

atio

nem

ailm

anag

emen

t

A

Dis

trib

ute

doc

um

ents

Doc

um

ent

issu

eco

ntr

olT

he

abili

tyto

con

trol

and

reco

rdth

eis

sue

ofdo

cum

ents

from

the

syst

em.

Of

part

icu

lar

ben

efit

wh

ere

the

con

tact

,or

gan

isat

ion

and

proj

ect

data

base

sar

eav

aila

ble

wit

hin

the

ED

MS.

Of

part

icu

lar

use

indr

awin

gis

sue

orte

nde

rdo

cum

enta

tion

issu

e.

Pu

blic

atio

nQ

ual

ity

man

agem

ent

A

Rep

urp

ose

doc

um

ents

Doc

um

ent

tem

plat

ing

Use

ofon

edo

cum

ent

aste

mpl

ate

for

anot

her

.T

imes

avin

gth

rou

ghre

-use

wit

hou

taf

fect

ing

orig

inal

.S

Arc

hiv

e

Doc

um

ent

arch

ivin

gT

he

abili

tyto

take

offl

ine

toar

chiv

ebo

thda

taan

ddo

cum

ents

.U

sefu

lto

save

spac

e,pr

ovid

eto

thir

dpa

rtie

sor

disp

ose

ofw

hen

redu

nda

nt.

Arc

hiv

ing

con

trol

S

Del

ete

Doc

um

ent

dele

tion

Perm

anen

tre

mov

alof

docu

men

tsan

das

soci

ated

data

.To

save

spac

e.To

com

ply

wit

hda

tapr

otec

tion

orsp

ecif

iccl

ien

tre

quir

emen

ts.B

asic

file

shar

espe

rmit

dele

tion

but

wit

hn

ore

cord

.

Del

etio

nco

ntr

olB

Wh

ere

proo

fof

dest

ruct

ion

isre

quir

ed,

adva

nce

dsy

stem

sm

ain

tain

aba

sic

reco

rdof

the

dele

tion

ofda

ta.

Del

etio

nco

ntr

olA

Ad

min

iste

rd

ocu

men

ts

Ch

ange

docu

men

tpr

oper

ties

Th

eab

ility

toed

itth

em

etad

ata

ofex

isti

ng

docu

men

ts.

Ess

enti

alto

corr

ect

mis

take

sin

the

filin

gof

docu

men

ts.A

llch

ange

sar

ere

cord

ed.

Qu

alit

yM

anag

emen

tS

Au

dit

trai

lsR

ecor

dsal

lact

ivit

yis

resp

ect

ofdo

cum

ents

wit

hin

the

ED

Ms.

Ess

enti

alto

know

wh

och

ange

dw

hat

and

wh

enor

wh

ore

adw

hat

and

wh

en.

Secu

rity

Qu

alit

yM

anag

emen

tLe

gala

dmis

sibi

lity

S

App

lies

not

only

toth

edo

cum

ent

itse

lfbu

tth

em

etad

ata

asso

ciat

edw

ith

it.

A

Doc

um

ent

usa

gere

port

sSt

anda

rdre

port

sde

fin

edto

repo

rton

alla

spec

tsof

syst

emu

sage

.S


Mig

rati

on

Exp

ort

Doc

um

ents

and

Dat

aTr

ansf

erof

info

rmat

ion

from

one

syst

emto

anot

her

inco

mm

onfo

rmat

.

Ess

enti

alw

hen

upg

radi

ng

toa

new

syst

em.

Req

uir

esbo

thsy

stem

sto

com

ply

wit

ha

stan

dard

form

atfo

rda

ta.

A

Syst

emar

chit

ectu

re

Web

-bas

edan

dre

mot

eac

cess

Acc

ess

the

full

faci

litie

sof

the

ED

MS

from

aw

ebbr

owse

r.Pe

rmit

sac

cess

toth

esy

stem

from

any

inte

rnet

con

nec

tion

.Th

isis

are

quir

emen

tfo

rco

llabo

rati

vew

orki

ng

soth

atre

mot

eu

sers

are

not

relia

nt

upo

nin

stal

ling

besp

oke

soft

war

e.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Des

ktop

-bas

edac

cess

Acc

ess

the

full

faci

litie

sof

the

ED

MS

thro

ugh

apr

ogra

min

terf

ace

run

nin

gon

each

pers

onal

com

pute

r.

Th

isn

orm

ally

requ

ires

the

ED

MS

serv

erto

beav

aila

ble

loca

llyon

the

sam

en

etw

ork

(un

less

fast

inte

r-of

fice

con

nec

tion

sar

eav

aila

ble)

.It

isu

sual

lya

requ

irem

ent

for

dire

ctac

cess

toth

eE

DM

Sfr

omco

mm

onap

plic

atio

ns

(see

belo

w).

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

S

Som

esy

stem

sca

nta

kepa

rts

ofth

esy

stem

offl

ine

(e.g

.aw

hol

epr

ojec

t)fo

rw

orki

ng

away

from

the

offi

ce.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Mu

ltip

lecl

ien

tpl

atfo

rmsu

ppor

tU

sem

ore

than

one

typ

eof

clie

nt

oper

atin

gsy

stem

toac

cess

the

ED

MS.

Th

em

ajor

ity

ofsy

stem

sar

ede

sign

edfo

ra

sin

gle

type

ofcl

ien

t(u

sual

lyw

indo

ws

run

nin

gIn

tern

etE

xplo

rer)

.In

am

ixed

clie

nt

envi

ron

men

t(W

indo

ws,

Mac

,Lin

ux

etc.

)it

ises

sen

tial

toso

urc

ean

appr

opri

ate

solu

tion

.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Wor

kdi

rect

lyfr

omco

mm

onap

plic

atio

ns

Load

and

save

docu

men

tsto

and

from

the

ED

MS

usi

ng

the

stan

dard

com

man

dsw

ith

inap

plic

atio

ns

such

asw

ord

proc

esso

rsan

dsp

read

shee

ts.

For

basi

cn

etw

ork

shar

esth

isis

the

only

met

hod

ofac

cess

tofi

les.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

B

For

anE

DM

Sth

isis

inad

diti

onto

web

-bas

edor

desk

top

acce

ss.T

his

nor

mal

lyre

quir

esth

eE

DM

Sse

rver

tobe

avai

labl

elo

cally

(un

less

fast

WA

Nco

nn

ecti

ons

are

avai

labl

e)

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Web

publ

ish

ing

Form

atti

ng

and

publ

ish

ing

ofce

rtai

nda

taan

ddo

cum

enta

tion

aspa

rtof

intr

anet

orw

ebsi

te.

May

beu

sed

toin

tegr

ate

wit

hco

mpa

nyin

tran

etan

d/or

web

site

.D

ocu

men

tav

aila

bilit

yA


Ext

ran

etP

rovi

sion

ofsy

stem

toex

tern

alu

sers

for

inte

r-co

mpa

nypr

ojec

tco

llabo

rati

on.

Th

eab

ility

tou

seth

ein

tern

alsy

stem

for

proj

ect

extr

anet

sin

lieu

ofan

exte

rnal

lyh

oste

dsy

stem

.Usu

ally

only

asu

bset

ofth

ein

tern

alsy

stem

fun

ctio

nal

ity

ism

ade

avai

labl

eto

exte

rnal

use

rsan

dlim

ited

byse

curi

tyfe

atu

res.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

Pu

blic

atio

nco

ntr

olC

olla

bora

tion

A

Port

alto

oth

ersy

stem

sFl

exib

lest

anda

rds-

base

dte

chn

olog

ype

rmit

spr

esen

tati

onof

data

from

oth

erda

taba

sesy

stem

sth

rou

ghu

nif

ied

fron

ten

d.

Nor

mal

lyre

quir

esin

dust

ryst

anda

rdda

taba

seas

the

basi

sof

the

ED

MS.

A

Clie

nt-

serv

erda

taba

seA

net

wor

ked

serv

erpr

oces

sin

gda

taan

ddo

cum

ent

requ

ests

.P

rovi

des

effi

cien

tpr

oces

sin

gof

syst

emre

ques

tsan

dm

inim

ises

net

wor

ktr

affi

c.A

Sin

gle

serv

erpr

ovid

esm

anag

emen

tsi

mpl

icit

ybu

tm

ayn

otpr

ovid

eth

ere

quir

edle

velo

fp

erfo

rman

cean

dfl

exib

ility

ina

mu

lti-

loca

tion

envi

ron

men

t.A

cen

tral

data

base

and

docu

men

tst

ore

sim

plif

ies

back

up

and

reco

very

inth

eev

ent

ofa

disa

ster

.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

Bu

sin

ess

con

tin

uit

yS

Mu

ltip

leda

taba

sean

ddo

cum

ent

serv

ers

Sepa

rate

serv

ers

inm

ult

iple

offi

celo

cati

ons.

Pro

vide

ssy

stem

scal

abili

tybu

tre

quir

esre

plic

atio

nbe

twee

nda

taba

ses

toen

sure

con

sist

ency

and

docu

men

tav

aila

bilit

y.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

A

Cac

hin

gof

docu

men

tsD

ocu

men

tsdo

wn

load

edor

upl

oade

dat

rem

ote

site

sar

eco

pied

and

stor

edlo

cally

for

fast

acce

ss.

Th

isis

anes

sen

tial

feat

ure

for

orga

nis

atio

ns

wit

hm

ult

iple

site

su

nle

ssfa

stW

AN

links

betw

een

them

are

avai

labl

eor

mu

ltip

lese

rver

sar

esu

ppor

ted.

Th

esu

bseq

uen

ttr

ansf

erof

cach

eddo

cum

ents

back

toth

em

ain

ED

MS

site

can

take

plac

edu

rin

gpe

riod

sof

low

acti

vity

.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

Exp

andi

ng

docu

men

tfi

lesi

zeA

Hos

ted

solu

tion

Inst

ead

ofm

ain

tain

ing

serv

ers

wit

hin

the

com

pany

net

wor

k,th

esy

stem

ish

oste

dan

dm

ain

tain

edex

tern

ally

bya

data

cen

tre

serv

ice

prov

ider

.

Th

isu

sual

lypr

ovid

esa

hig

hde

gree

ofpr

otec

tion

agai

nst

disa

ster

.Su

chsy

stem

sar

ege

ner

ally

web

-bas

ed.T

hey

may

,how

ever

,be

less

flex

ible

inin

tegr

atin

gw

ith

oth

erco

mpa

nysy

stem

s.

Doc

um

ent

avai

labi

lity

Bu

sin

ess

con

tin

uit

yA


En

cryp

tion

ofst

ored

docu

men

tsT

he

phys

ical

stor

age

ofdo

cum

ents

inth

ece

ntr

alre

posi

tory

inan

encr

ypte

dfo

rmat

topr

even

tu

nau

thor

ised

acce

ss.

Doc

um

ents

are

nor

mal

lyac

cess

ible

only

thro

ugh

the

stan

dard

fron

t-en

din

terf

ace.

Th

eu

ser

nee

dn

otkn

oww

her

eth

eac

tual

file

resi

des.

Secu

rity

S

Secu

rity

cou

ldbe

com

prom

ised

ifth

eac

tual

file

repo

sito

ryis

sepa

rate

lyac

cess

ible

,usu

ally

thro

ugh

back

up

proc

edu

res.

En

cryp

tion

ofst

ored

file

spr

even

tsth

isan

dis

invi

sibl

eto

the

use

r.

Secu

rity

A

Syst

emd

ata

stru

ctu

res

Flex

ible

fold

erst

ruct

ure

Th

edo

cum

ent

fold

erst

ruct

ure

can

beam

ende

dat

will

tosu

itth

een

d-u

ser.

Th

isca

npr

ovid

ead

van

tage

sof

flex

ibili

tyan

ddi

sadv

anta

ges

from

lack

ofco

ntr

ol.S

ome

syst

ems

can

prov

ide

for

limit

edfl

exib

ility

wit

hin

afi

xed

over

alls

tru

ctu

re.

Doc

um

ent

loca

tion

A

Mu

ltip

leta

xon

omie

sT

he

abili

tyto

defi

ne

virt

ual

fold

erst

ruct

ure

sfo

rdi

ffer

ent

purp

oses

allo

win

ga

sin

gle

docu

men

tto

appe

arin

mor

eth

anon

efo

lder

.

Th

isn

orm

ally

requ

ires

afi

xed

fold

erst

ruct

ure

tobe

defi

ned

.D

ocu

men

tlo

cati

onD

ocu

men

tse

arch

S

Acc

ess

con

trol

Ase

curi

tyst

ruct

ure

isde

fin

edw

hic

hde

term

ines

wh

oh

asac

cess

tow

hat

.

Bas

icfi

lesh

ares

can

beco

nfi

gure

dfo

rac

cess

righ

tsbu

tm

anag

emen

tbe

com

esco

mpl

exas

the

nu

mbe

rof

proj

ects

and

fold

ers

incr

ease

.

Secu

rity

B

Nor

mal

lyba

sed

upo

na

com

bin

atio

nof

grou

pan

din

divi

dual

use

rri

ghts

wh

ich

are

appl

icab

leac

ross

proj

ects

atth

efo

lder

leve

lor

wh

ich

can

vary

betw

een

proj

ects

.

Secu

rity

S

Adv

ance

dsy

stem

sp

erm

itco

ntr

olat

the

docu

men

tle

vel,

not

just

the

fold

erle

vel.

Secu

rity

A

Cu

stom

met

adat

aT

he

abili

tyto

defi

ne

and

link

addi

tion

alda

tafi

elds

todo

cum

ents

toai

din

sear

chan

dan

alys

is.

Th

epr

imar

yfe

atu

rew

hic

hse

tsa

ED

MS

apar

tfr

oman

yfo

lder

-bas

edst

orag

esy

stem

.It

isn

otju

stth

edo

cum

ent

that

issa

ved,

but

the

rele

van

tda

taas

soci

ated

wit

hit

.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chD

ata

prot

ecti

onD

iscl

osu

reFr

eedo

mof

info

rmat

ion

S


Pro

ject

data

base

Th

eex

ten

sion

ofm

etad

ata

toa

com

plet

epr

ojec

tda

taba

sefo

rth

ebu

sin

ess.

For

the

con

stru

ctio

nin

dust

ry,a

nes

sen

tial

feat

ure

top

erm

itpr

ojec

t-ce

ntr

edst

orag

e,se

arch

and

anal

ysis

ofdo

cum

ents

.Th

ism

aybe

ach

ieve

dby

linki

ng

toa

thir

dpa

rty

proj

ect

data

base

–se

e‘P

orta

l’ab

ove.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chD

ata

prot

ecti

onD

iscl

osu

reFr

eedo

mof

info

rmat

ion

Pro

ject

-bas

edin

form

atio

n

S

Con

tact

data

base

Th

ein

corp

orat

ion

ofco

nta

ctda

taas

met

adat

afo

rdo

cum

ents

and

proj

ects

.

Alo

gica

lext

ensi

onof

the

proj

ect

data

base

tope

rmit

anin

tegr

ated

view

ofal

lpro

ject

and

con

tact

–rel

ated

data

and

docu

men

ts.T

his

may

beac

hie

ved

bylin

kin

gto

ath

ird

part

yco

nta

ctor

CR

Mda

taba

se–

see

‘Por

tal’

abov

e.

Doc

um

ent

sear

chD

ata

prot

ecti

onD

iscl

osu

reFr

eedo

mof

info

rmat

ion

A


4 Items for consideration in using abasic EDMS comprising standardnetwork shared folders

This document focuses primarily on how a commercial electronic documentmanagement system might benefit your business. There are, however, somebasic principles that should be considered when dealing with electronicdocuments in a standard network shared folder environment, which can beconsidered as the most basic form of EDMS.

Stage and feature Recommendation

Document creation

+ Templates + Create a set of standard templates for commonprocesses.

+ Ensure the IT policy is updated to mandate the useof standard templates unless an alternative isauthorised.

+ Referencing + Establish a document referencing system to includelocation in document store (including project ifappropriate), author, publisher, date, version.

Document capture

+ email attachments + email attachments should be saved separately asdocuments in addition to maintaining the originalemail.

+ The attachment name should reference the email bydate.

Document sharing

+ Access control + Determine appropriate security levels, define usergroups and apply to folders using standard networkaccess controls of groups, read only and read/write.

Document collaboration

+ Document security + Protect sensitive documents by encryption and/orstrong password.

Document control

+ Versioning + Ensure that any version of a document that must bekept has its properties set to Read Only to preventaccidental deletion.

Document indexing

Document storage

+ Document naming + Create a standard naming convention fordocuments to aid in search.

+ Document name should reflect content, date,version and origin (if applicable).

+ Standard folder structure + Create a standard folder structure for all areas of thebusiness.

+ If possible this should be in a single location or bereplicated for separate offices if fast WAN links areunavailable.

+ Project folder structure should be standard at toplevel, even if sub-folders are allowed, to ensureconsistency and aid in search.


+ email folders + Where email is held in a separate system, publicfolders should match those in the document store asclosely as possible.

+ Document access + Determine access requirements to folders and applyappropriate network security.

Document retrieval

Document distribution

+ Document issue + A record should be kept of the issue of anydocument, including version, by project or otherbusiness area.

Document re-purposing

+ Document as templates + Copies should be taken of documents for use onnew projects, leaving originals unaltered.

Document archive

+ Project archive + Chose appropriate archive system and media to suitfile type and archive duration.

+ Maintain a log of all projects which have beenarchived identifying the location of archive media.

Document deletion

+ Project deletion + Maintain a log of all projects which have beendeleted including the destroy date

Administration

+ Business continuity + All data should be backed up regularly


5 Further information

5.1 Legal issues

5.1.1 Document management legal admissibility guidance

The same rules of disclosure apply to documents held electronically as tonormal paper documentation. Where a large number of documents is to bedisclosed or the electronic files are very big (for example, CAD drawings), it isentirely appropriate for disclosure to be done via a CD-ROM or DVD, or evena hard disk drive.

Typically, electronic documents will have the same evidential weight as originalpaper documents. It is unusual for there to be a challenge to the provenance ofsuch documents, however, it may occasionally be necessary to prove theauthenticity of an electronic document. By following the advice given in theBSI Code of Practice (BIP 0008), the risk of not being able to demonstrateauthenticity is significantly reduced.

The rules of disclosure are complicated and can be difficult to interpret. Theconsequences of failing to comply properly with the rules can be significantand you should obviously take legal advice if you find yourself requested todisclose documents in legal proceedings.

There are a number of BSI standards and associated guidance that may assistwith setting up a document management system that is capable of effectivelysupporting the disclosure process if necessary:

BIP 0008-1:2004 covers electronic storage of documents

BIP 0008-2:2005 covers documents communicated electronically (includingemail)

BIP 0008-3:2005 covers the linking of identity to an electronic document

BSI PD 0009-1,2,3 – Compliance Workbooks. These publications helpdemonstrate compliance with BIP 0008, by providing checklists of whichcontrols from BIP 0008 have been implemented within the system. TheWorkbooks also assist in keeping a record of the documentation required bythe Code of Practice. There are three Compliance Workbooks corresponding tothe three sections of BIP 0008.

5.1.2 Intellectual property and copyright

Copyright is the right to control the use of original works and automaticallycomes into existence upon the creation of the work in question. There is noneed for the creator of a work to register his copyright, nor is it necessary forthere to be a copyright statement or for the familiar ‘©’ symbol to be used. A‘work’ can be any document at all. Copyright in work created by an employeeusually belongs to his or her employer. It is common in construction contractsfor the client to be granted a licence to use and reproduce copyright materialproduced in the course of a project. It is important to be able to locate suchmaterial and also to be able to specify what the client is entitled to use andwhat remains under the control of your organisation, which may well bevaluable and reusable.


It is also important to know what material your organisation does and does nothave the right to use and reproduce. It is very easy to assume that a documentthat has been received electronically, perhaps via email or on a CD-ROM, fromanother member of the project team is free to be used in the furtherance of theproject. Although the client may well have a licence to reproduce copyrightedmaterial in the course of the project, it does not automatically follow that yourorganisation will have permission to do so (although many licences granted toclients permit them to grant sub-licences in the same terms to others). Yourdocument management process should provide means to ensure that thecopyright owner can be identified and users should be aware that the fact thatmaterial is held electronically does not in itself mean that it can be freely used,altered or disseminated to others.

A breach of copyright may lead to a claim for damages, or the aggrieved partymay seek an injunction to prevent the use of the copyrighted material which, ifgranted, may cause a project to be halted altogether while a licence is obtainedfrom the copyright holder.

5.1.3 Confidentiality

Information provided to your organisation may be subject to an obligation ofconfidence either under your professional obligation to a client, under theterms of your appointment or, in unusual cases, under the general law. It isvery important, therefore, that your system of document managementprovides controls over who can access electronic data to reduce the risk ofaccidental or malicious disclosure of confidential information. You should alsobe aware of the danger of re-using documents that were originally producedfor different clients, since the electronic files may contain ‘metadata’ identifyingthe original client or containing their confidential information.

A failure to protect confidential information may leave you open to being suedby the party that owns the information in question.

5.1.4 The Data Protection Act 1998

Personal information for business use needs to comply with the rules of theData Protection Act 1998, regardless of the ‘system’ of document management –manual or electronic. A breach of the Act is a criminal offence. Although itmight be expected that HR departments would be the repository for ‘personaldata’, the definition is very widely defined and interpreted and can include (forexample) contact information for project team members that is stored on aproject website.

The Act enshrines eight principles:

+ Personal data shall be processed fairly and lawfully.

+ Personal data shall be obtained only for one or more specified and lawfulpurposes, and shall not be further processed in any manner incompatiblewith that purpose or those purposes.

+ Personal data shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to thepurpose or purposes for which they are processed.

+ Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.

+ Personal data processed for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept forlonger than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.


+ Personal data shall be processed in accordance with the rights of datasubjects under this Act.

+ Appropriate technical and organisational measures shall be taken againstunauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and againstaccidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.

+ Personal data shall not be transferred to a country or territory outside theEuropean Economic Area unless that country or territory ensures anadequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of data subjects inrelation to the processing of personal data.

A secure and well ordered information management system can help withcompliance as for personal and confidential data, as it reduces the opportunityfor theft or accidental loss, both of which are breaches of the Act, which mayresult in prosecution. It can also ensure that the management of subject accessrequests for such data can be effected in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Any organisation that processes personal data for business use is required toregister as a data controller with the Information Commissioner. TheInformation Commissioner’s website (www.ico.gov.uk) contains guidance onhow to register, along with information about the responsibilities that affectedorganisations have.

5.1.5 The Freedom of Information Act 2000

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (or the Freedom of Information (Scotland)Act 2002) was fully implemented on 1 January 2005. It was implemented aspart of the ‘Open Government’ initiative, and requires public bodies to respondpositively to requests for information from individuals. The Act specifies themaximum time that the public body has to respond to a request (typically 20working days) and also sets out a charging mechanism. There is no restrictionon who may apply for information to be disclosed: requests may come fromprivate individuals or companies, and from anywhere in the world.

While it might appear that the Act is only relevant to public authorities, privatecompanies may also be affected, because the Act states that information is heldby a public authority if:

+ it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person, or

+ it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Public sector organisations must be able to respond promptly to requests forinformation, have procedures in place for applying the exemptions (ifapplicable) in an appropriate manner on a case by case basis, and have acomplaints procedure in place. They must also be able to quickly locateinformation that is held on their behalf by private sector third parties. Requestsfor disclosure cannot be made directly to private organisations, but must comethrough the relevant public authority. It is therefore important for privatecompanies that deal with public authorities to be able to locate informationrequested by the authority in good time when a request is received. This maybe a contractual obligation incorporated into the appointment between theauthority and the consultant.

Although the Act is concerned with the disclosure of information, however, itdoes not automatically follow that all information held in relation to a projectthat involves a public authority is necessarily to be disclosed – informationbelonging to other third parties may either fall outside of the ambit of the Act,


or be covered by an exemption. A well implemented document control systemwill make it easier to discern which category information falls into.

The Act is ‘policed’ by the Information Commissioner and can be found on theCommissioner’s website (www.ico.gov.uk).

5.2 Standards and published guidance

5.2.1 BS ISO/IEC 27002:2005 – Security techniques. Code of practice forinformation security management

Information security applies to all business information and most particularlyto documented information. This international standard covers the productionof a security policy, organisation and personnel security, access controls andbusiness continuity requirements, as well as compliance with legalrequirements including intellectual property rights and those areas mentionedelsewhere in this document.

5.2.2 BS 7799-2:2002 – Information security management systems. Specificationwith guidance for use

Provides guidance to businesses on setting up an effective information securitymanagement system.

5.2.3 BS ISO 15489-1:2001 – Information and documentation. Recordsmanagement.

Most EDM systems incorporate data records (projects, organisation, contactsetc.) in addition to documents. These should be managed correctly.

This International Standard was developed to standardise international bestpractice in records management. It provides guidance on managing records oforiginating organisations, public or private, for internal and external clients.

By implementing the International Standard, organisations will ensure that theappropriate attention and protection is given to all their records, and that theevidence and information they contain can be retrieved more efficiently andeffectively, using standard practices and procedures. This will also support aquality process framework to comply with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

The International Standard is published in two parts. The first part providesgeneral guidance on managing records of organisations. The second part is animplementation guide to the first part, and includes a methodology (Designand Implementation of Records Systems (DIRS)) which will facilitate theimplementation of the first part.

It should be noted that BS ISO 15489 can be applied equally to records of allformats, including paper and electronic forms.

To assist with the understanding and implementation of the InternationalStandard, BSI has also published:

+ BIP 0025-1 Effective Records Management – A management guide to thevalue of BS ISO 15489;

+ BIP 0025-2 Effective Records Management – Practical implementation of BSISO 15489;

+ BIP 0025-3 Effective Records Management – Performance management forBSD ISO 15489.


5.2.4 ISO 82045-5:2005 – Document management. Application of metadata forthe construction and facility management sector

This standard covers the specification and exchange of metadata associatedwith electronic documents. There are three parts relevant to construction:

+ Part 1 – Principles and methods for use of metadata;

+ Part 2 – Collection of metadata;

+ Part 5 – Application of metadata for construction and facility management.

5.3 Practical considerations

5.3.1 Archiving

The technical issues relating to the long-term archiving of electronicdocuments are outside the scope of this section. However, consideration to thefollowing should be given:

+ storage time – how long is it necessary to keep the electronic files?

+ accessibility – is the archive storage method capable of retrieving a file inthe required time?

+ file format

– will the file type be readable by any software during the requiredstorage time?

– Will the software necessary to read the file be supported on anoperating system and hardware combination that is still available?

Consideration should be given to use of alternative open-standard fileformats which might provide greater longevity than proprietary softwareformats.

+ storage media – will the media be readable by a suitable device after therequired storage time? Is the media designed to last for the required periodwithout deterioration?

5.3.2 Implementing a new EDMS

The issues concerned with the implementation of a new EDMS fall outside thescope of this section but recognition of the following is required:

+ timescale – determine your deadline for implementation – this may wellaffect system choice and your overall approach;

+ senior management support – essential for a successful implementation;

+ supplier selection – is the system based upon proprietary technology andwill the system supplier be around in five years time to support you?

+ outsourcing – your legal and contractual obligations to your clients fordata storage and retrieval must be reflected in your contracts foroutsourced data management (if applicable);

+ representation for all affected parties in the system design solution toensure buy-in;

+ testing – time and resource requirements;

+ data migration – how will existing data be imported into the system and towhat extent must it be cleansed first?

+ change management – sell benefits of solution to all those affected toensure take-up;


+ training – do not underestimate the requirement for both initial andongoing training;

+ policies and procedures – ensure the data and operational requirements ofthe EDMS are enshrined in your IT policies;

+ ongoing support – internal and external;

+ ongoing development – EDM systems are rarely static and will evolve asbusiness needs change.


Appendix 1: EDMS key questions checklist

For use in evaluating commercial EDM systems. Basic features have beenignored.

Standard EDMSfeature

Brief description Featurerequired

Featureincluded

Document creation

Document templates For the creation of new documentswith automatic import of relevantmedia

Document indexing

Documentnumbering/ID

Defined document identificationsystem

Manage documents

Document VersionControl

Define version numbering ofdocuments

Access documents

Document search Search document title and metadata

Repurpose documents

Document templates Use of one document as template foranother

Archive

Document archiving Archive both data and documents

Administer documents

Change documentproperties

Edit metadata of existing documents

Audit trails Records all activity in respect ofdocuments within the EDMS

Document usagereports

Standard reports on system usage

System architecture

Single client platform Typically Windows-based PCenvironment

Client-serverdatabase

Networked server processing dataand document requests

Encryption of storeddocuments

To prevent unauthorised access

System data structures

Access control System and folder security structure

Custom Metadata Define and link additional data fieldsto documents

Project database The extension of metadata to projectdata


Advanced EDMSfeature

Brief description Featurerequired

Featureincluded

Document creation

Document templates Standard document templates withautomatic import of project andcontact metadata

Document capture

Scanningmanagement

Automated processing of scanneddocuments

Optical characterrecognition

Conversion of scanned text tosearchable text

email integration andmanagement

Store emails within the EDMS

Document capture byemail

Extract documents from emails

Management of non-electronic documents

Record details of hard copydocuments

Share and collaborate

Document workflow Document creation, review andapproval routes

Document mark-up Annotate documents forcollaboration

Documentcommentary andrating

Document feedback by users

Document indexing

Documentnumbering/ID

Defined document identificationsystem by project

Linked andcompounddocuments

Link related documents in the EDMSand process as one

Manage documents

Drawingmanagement

Deal with drawings within EDMS

Image management Deal with images within EDMS

Audio and videomanagement

Save, manage and deliver audio andvideo files

Access documents

Advanced indexingand searching

Document content indexed andsearchable

Document viewing View any document without originalapplication

Browsing bythumbnail

View any document by representativeimages

Retrieve documents

email documents toand from thedocument store

email a document directly fromEDMS or into the EDMS via a folderemail address

Distribute documents

Document issuecontrol

Control and record the issue ofdocuments

Delete

Document deletion Permanent removal of documentsand data with record


Administer documents

Audit trails Records all activity in respect of bothdocuments and associated metadatawithin the EDMS

Migration

Export documentsand data

Transfer of information from onesystem to another in common format

System architecture

Web-based andremote access

Access full system from web browser

Desktop-based access Access the full system from desktopprogram including offline mode

Multiple platformclient

Support for more than one clientoperating system (Windows, Mac,Linux) and/or more than onebrowser

Work directly fromcommon applications

Access EDMS files from withinapplications

Web publishing Integrate with intranet or website

Extranet Use for external collaboration

Portal to othersystems

Can link to other systems

Multiple databaseand documentservers

Separate servers in multiple officelocations

Caching ofdocuments

Cached at remote sites for fast access

Hosted solution System hosted and maintainedexternally

System data structures

Flexible folderstructure

Folder structure can be amended tosuit end user

Multiple taxonomies Virtual folder structures for differentpurposes

Access controldocuments

Security structure extended toindividual document level

Contact database Extension of metadata to contactdata


Other considerations Description Answer

Business requirements What are the key businessdrivers that the project isaddressing?

Technology infrastructure What is the infrastructurerequired by the systemunder consideration andwhat upgrades would berequired to the currentinfrastructure to support it?e.g.+ servers+ storage+ networking+ wide area networking+ backup

Time What is the timescalerequired to implement thesolution and what is therealistic timescale that thesystem supplier canachieve?

Resources What are the internalresources in staff and timenecessary to define, developand test the systemsolution?

Cost What is the budget for theproject and what are theprojected implementationcosts including:+ infrastructure upgrade+ system cost (hardware

& software)+ design and

implementationconsultancy

+ internal team costs+ training+ ongoing support and

maintenance


Appendix 2: Glossary

BSI British Standards InstitutionCaching Temporary copy of document and/or data for fast

accessCAD Computer Aided DesignCRM Customer Relationship ManagementDocument For the purpose of this guidance note this means any

electronic file. This can include drawings, images,programmes, presentations and any other file capableof being stored and read electronically.

EDMS Electronic Document Management SystemISO International Organisation for StandardizationMetadata The additional data associated with a document

which defines its characteristics and allows it to becategorised correctly and searched within an EDMS

OLE Object Linking and Embedding – a technology usedto link data from separate documents

WAN Wide Area Network – used in connecting togetherthe local networks of separate branches of anorganisation to provide a single overall network,usually with slower speed connections than the localnetwork

X-Ref A common data file which is referred by a drawingfile and which is necessary to present the completeinformation for the drawing


rics.org

Electronic documentmanagement

RICS Practice Standards, UK

1st edition, guidance note

Electronic document management1st edition, guidance note

The volume and diversity of electronic information within theconstruction industry is constantly increasing.

The need to effectively manage this information is evident to mostbusinesses but the ability to do this using simple IT network systemsis becoming more and more difficult.

The application of a few basic principles can help with even the mostbasic of file systems and these have been identified within thisguidance. However, a well-chosen and configured ElectronicDocument Management system can significantly enhance the abilityof an organisation to store, find, repurpose, archive and generallymanage electronic files.

This guidance note aims to increase the level of understanding of whatsuch systems can offer and provide some tools to aid in the selectionof an appropriate system to suit any size of business.

Date post:	21-Jul-2016
Category:	Documents
Upload:	chrisadgonzales
View:	48 times
Download:	1 times