8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

1/12

E G I S T E R F O R D I S P A T C HN D D O C U M E N T S

Kevin George 9013

Kiran S 9014

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

2/12

Files and Records A systematic approach to filing is essential if an

.office is to run smoothly and efficiently It isimportant to set up a filing system that will serve

the practice over a long period and can be expanded as.its workload grows

Administrative -Administrative documents are typically produced in house

,and will be mainly to do with practice organisation, ,finance staff matters publicity and premises

.management There will be a wide range of miscellaneoustopics and related paperwork which may need temporaryfiling and which should be ruthlessly pruned out of

.the system if and when it becomes redundant

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

3/12

roject records Project records usually consist of paper items

( , , , ,correspondence contract documents forms reports) , .instructions and drawings photographs and models

/Some of these items are bulky and or need special,storage and Figure 24 demonstrates a classified

arrangement of project files that takes account of.this Many disputes arise simply because there are

. ,inadequate written records Good records ,systematically stored and easily retrievable are an.essential part of risk management Records should be

,made and kept of all meetings the advice given by,consultants including

,the architect and of the considerations which

influenced the many decisions taken during the design.process Architects constantly have to make difficult,judgements and consider compromise solutions and must

be able to justify their decisions on the basis of.contemporary records Job and office diaries should be

compiled legibly and systematically and kept with other

project records for as long as the practice retains any

.liability for a project

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

4/12

Databases

-In house computer databases for the storage andretrieval of information are widely used for job, , ,lists job records lists of clients lists of

, ( , ),contractors indexes of reports files library, .catalogue etc They may be part of an integratedmanagement information system but it must be made

clear who is responsible for their compilation.and maintenance External databases can be-accessed via various commercial on line services

- .or purchased CD ROMs Reference databases include,bibliographic information sometimes with

,abstracts catalogues of library stock or library

, , . .network and directory information e g names and.addresses of organisations Source databases-contain the original source material in machine

, . . ,readable form e g newspaper stories statistical.surveys and company annual reports

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

5/12

romotional material

,In a small practice responsibility for publicity and PR will need.to be designated and may be included as part of library duties

, Whatever the arrangement there should be a separate budget, - .allocation and cost effectiveness should be kept under review

Archives The storage of records that are no longer active needs special

.consideration A policy should be developed as to how this is to

,be done and for what time period and who is to be responsible.for making such decisions Some may need to be kept for a;specified period for reasons of liability some may be

.intrinsically valuable and need carefully preserving ,Storage is always a problem for architects because each project

-generates a large quantity of documentation drawings in, .particular which are large and unwieldy Most practices are

,short of storage space and consideration may need to be given

, .to storage out of house or on computer or microfilm There are,many specialist firms offering secure storage although they. ,tend to be expensive Storage on computer will suit some items

,but duplicate hard copies will often be needed and should be- .stored well away from the computer area in a fire proof From

,the management point of view it is essential that archivedmaterial can be accessed without difficulty when and if it is

.needed This means developing clear procedures for indexing and

.the accessing and return of material

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

6/12

COMMUNICATION hannels of communication ,In offices oral and written communications

often have to pass through various people and,processes and can easily become distorted in

.transit If they are not clearly formulated at,source and properly directed they will have

little chance of being received and, .understood let alone acted upon In,management it is essential to be certain of

:the following ;what information is needed ;who needs it ;what form it should take .that it will be understood

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

7/12

, -elephones faxes and e mails

A record should be made of all telephone calls thatrelate to the administration of projects within the,office and of most other calls which relate to

. ,business or professional matters With projects thesimplest method is to make a note of the date and time

,of the call the person to whom the call was made or, ,from whom it was received and the main points agreed

.and to file this in the job file for the project If,important matters were discussed these should be.confirmed by letter

Some office management packages for computers have,direct dialling facilities which allow the user

to search for the number in the computer's files.and then use it to dial out The call will then be

,logged and there may be provision for noting the.details of the conversation These should be

.transferred to the job file on a regular basisCareful thought should always be given to whether

the telephone is the best means of communicationin any situation

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

8/12

Faxes are invaluable for sending information that is needed very, .urgently for example for sending drawings to site A computer

package which sends and receives faxes direct is a great help,as it avoids paper copies and fax machine breakdowns and it

. ,also keeps a record of transmissions Nevertheless faxes should,always be followed by a copy sent by post as it is likely thatthe fax will not be accepted as evidence of the communication

.for legal purposes Some practices tend to send everything by.fax with a copy by post This should be avoided because of

.the duplication of paperwork and possible confusions that could,arise and it is generally better to keep faxes for matters of

.real urgency

-E mail is undoubtedly the most exciting recent development in.communication It is possible to send very large amounts of

,information virtually instantaneously and to send it.simultaneously to many recipients The information can be in

,a very wide variety of formats and can include text and.drawings Thought should be given before sending as to

whether the sender wishes the receiver to be able to alter. ,the document Sometimes this is acceptable but if this isnot the case there are now a variety of ways of 'fixing' the,information such as the formation of 'pdf files from

.drawings It appears that in the near future the developmentof 'electronic

signatures' may make the need for posting hard copies,redundant as the transmission will be accepted as evidence in

,court but in the meantime all documents should also be sent.by 'snail mail'

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

9/12

ealing with the post

.It is important for this to be handled systematically One

person only should open all the post and deal with it as.appropriate There should be a set of procedures drawn up

for receipt and distribution and these should be complied.with by all staff They should be set out in the office or

,quality management manual and regularly audited to make( ).sure they remain effective see Figure 27

,In small practices a principal usually opens the post but inlarger practices the task may be delegated to a practice

.administrator Whoever is responsible must be capable ofidentifying important and urgent items that need immediate

.attention Professional practices get inundated with letters, ,and literature of all kinds much of it speculative and it

is important that whoever deals with the daily post is not-side tracked by irrelevant items and can be relied upon to

- .discard time wasting rubbish , - ,An incoming letter should be read initialled and date stamped

,and a decision made whether it needs immediate action, .whether it can or should wait or whether it can be filed

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

10/12

( )Figure 27 Dealing with incoming and outgoing mail Incoming :Procedures should be put in place to ensure that

, , , , - , ;letters packets parcels etc are opened date stamped and recorded

;items are marked for action and distributed as appropriate ;drawings received are entered in the appropriate register , ,courier deliveries are signed for and logged with receipts retained and recipients

alerted ;about arrival ;faxes are photocopied and the originals destroyed ,items marked 'personal' or 'confidential' are given unopened to addressees but are

returned , - ;for logging etc if practice related .invoices are passed promptly to accounting staff

Outgoing :Procedures for controlling outgoing mail should ensure that items

;are checked and signed by originators ;have the right enclosures or attachments ;are correctly franked or stamped ;are collected for postal or courier transmittal as appropriate ,achieve intended delivery dates and times .are logged as despatched in the correct list or register

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

11/12

riting letters Check through the letters after typing or processing and

make sure that all enclosures or attachments have been,prepared for posting and appropriate copies made and. .marked up Figure 29 is a checklist A compliments slip

with the name of the intended recipient should beattached to copies that do not show the office address

.and other details Note that compliments slips should not,be used where transmittal needs to be recorded

. ,particularly in the case of drawings The issuedescription and despatch of drawings should be carefully

.recorded in the appropriate register After signing the, .letter initial all the copies including the file copy

This is always advisable with formal correspondence andis a good habit to cultivate as a matter of risk

.management The writer's name and status should be typed. ,under his or her signature Lastly read through the

letter and consider it from the recipient's point of.view Is its purpose clear? Is it well expressed? , , Will they know what action if any they should now

take?

8/14/2019 Register for Dispatch and Documents 07

12/12

-igure 29 Checklist before despatch of letter . Does it include , ,correct title name address of recipient ( )references theirs and yours

,job number date?

. Is the mode correct /formal informal? . Have I referred correctly to their letter ,date heading? . ,Have I said what I wanted to say clearly concisely and appropriately? ill they know what I am talking about? what they have to do now? , ,whether I expect a response and if so when? . Should I remind or reassure them about anything before I sign off? s the final greeting correct and appropriate? ave the proper enclosures been added? as the letter been copied to the right people?

at the right addresses? . Has the letter been properly laid out? Is it pleasing to look at? Has the spelling been checked? Have necessary corrections been made? . Is the file copy exactly the same as the despatched version? . Have I signed the letter and initialled the copies?