SAMPLE COMPANY                                        Page 1 of 3
SOP # 16-1  Revision: 0                Prepared by:             _
Effective Date:                        Approved by:             _


Title:         QUALITY RECORDS RETENTION AND STORAGE

Policy:   The company will retain quality records in an orderly
          fashion for time periods that comply with legal and
          regulatory requirements and as needed for general
          operation requirements.

Purpose:  To outline the methods for filing, retaining and
          purging quality records.

Scope:    This procedure applies to all quality records and
          documentation generated by the company.  However, this
          does not necessarily cover internal or certain day to
          day business correspondence.

Procedure:

1.0  Identification and  Filing System

1.1  Quality records are identified as those documents listed in
     the Master Product Record index and any records pertaining
     to the policies, procedures and forms listed in the Quality
     Manual and Standard Operating Procedure Manual.

1.2  To ensure efficient access, filing centers will be
     established in each department.  To reduce the amount of
     duplicate and unnecessary record retention, individual desk
     files should be avoided unless they are used in daily
     operations.  All other departmental or company records
     should be filed in the departmental central filing areas.

1.3  The following filing guidelines should be adhered to
     optimize filing efficiency and records access:

     a.  All file cabinets and files will follow recognized rules
     of order, such as Left to Right, Top to Bottom, Front to
     Back and in the case of chronological records, newest to
     oldest.

     b.  File markers or label headings will always be placed at
     the beginning or front of a file or group of files.

     c.  Alphabetical files should always be filed under broad
     topical categories.  Files  should never be filed under
     individual employee names (except personnel) to avoid
     confusion and refiling in the event of turnover.  Files
     should be always filed under the "proper" or company names
     whenever appropriate.
QUALITY RECORDS RETENTION AND STORAGE               Page 2 of 3

2.0  Record Retention and Long-Term Storage

2.1  Storage of archived records will be maintained in the locked
     storage area of the building.  Access to this area will be
     limited to the Quality Assurance Manager, officers of the
     company and the File Manager.

2.2  Non-permanent files will be stored in cardboard file boxes.
     Each file box will be labeled on the front with the
     contents, dates covered, and destruction date if applicable.
     Permanent records will be maintained in metal fire-resistant
     file cabinets.

2.3  Files should be stored only in boxes with similar items,
     dates and retention periods.  This will allow easier access
     and purging of records.  A general rule to keep in mind is
     that it is better to only half fill a file box than to file
     to dissimilar types of files in the same box.  The file
     manager will be responsible for categorizing and maintaining
     a listing of records maintained and the location (i.e. by
     wall unit and shelf row number).

2.4  These holding periods will be maintained for the document
     listed below.  Any questions regarding documents not listed
     should be directed to the File Manager.

          Document                           Holding Period in
                                   Years

          Accident Reports After Settlement            8
          Calibration Records                     3
          Contract Review Records                 6
          Corrective Action Requests                   3
          Claim Files (Against Us)                6
          Claim Files (By Us)                     3
          Contracts, Agreements & Leases after expiration
8
          Employee Records (Terminated)                6
          Engineering and Scientific Records           Permanent
          Inspection and Testing Records                    6
          Insurance Claims After Settlement            10
          Patents and licenses                         17
          Payroll Registers and Time Sheets            6
          Payments and Reports to Government Agencies       6
          Physical Inventory Records                   6
          Product Identification Records                    10
          Purchasing Records and Vendor Selection      6
          Quality Audit Reports                        3
          Sales Correspondence                         2
          Sales Invoices and Work Orders                    6
          Training Records                        3

QUALITY RECORDS RETENTION AND STORAGE               Page 3 of 3


3.0  Record Purging

3.1  Three to six months after each year-end, the file manager
     will proceed with destruction of all files that have
     exceeded their recognized holding period.

3.2  A listing of file categories to be destroyed will be
     circulated to all managers thirty days prior to destruction
     for review and comment.  The actual listing of records
     destroyed will be maintained permanently for future
     reference.

3.3  Destruction of the files will be performed by an
     independent, outside service for shredding and disposal.
     Disposal of records into the company's general trash service
     is not allowed.