Hard copies from 10-20 years ago - Document Control and Retention Times question

V

vinqua

#1
We have hard copies of articles from 10-20 years ago. How long do we have to keep it before throwing out these articles, letter, etc?
 
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Stijloor

Staff member
Super Moderator
#2
Re: Relating to Document Control

We have hard copies of articles from 10-20 years ago. How long do we have to keep it before throwing out these articles, letter, etc?
What does your document control procedure say?
Are there any regulatory requirements?
The rest is up to you.

Stijloor.
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#4
Re: Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

Both Stijloor and Cliff have very valid points. There is a reason you've kept them, is it company policy, regulatory/legal requirements, or just plain lack of planning. Find out why they are there and then look at what is required. Make the two meet. It depends on you, your corp. requirements, and your industry requirements.
 
M

Mark R.

#5
Re: Question Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

I can't say much more than what's already been said; I agree with the above posts. You must consider corporate policy, and industry and regulatory requirements. Depending upon the industry you're involved with, and the type of record, some may have extremely long retention periods, or even lifetime* requirements (nuclear, aerospace, etc.).

Mark

*lifetime of the system/component
 
T

Talisman

#6
Re: Question Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

Just keep them for as long as they are useful. Articles are published material, therefore they are not records. Thus they are not retained for legal compliance and they do not carry historical value.:)
 

Caster

An Early Cover
Trusted Information Resource
#7
Re: Question Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

If you are automotive, TS16949 requires the eventual destruction of records (presumably for liability reasons).

Without specific customer requirements, the ISO 9000 systems I have seen use tax records to set the retention period in ISO systems, destroy records as soon as the tax man lets you.
 

Helmut Jilling

Auditor / Consultant
#8
Re: Question Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

...how about a humorous answer...if you wait long enough, they turn to dust and the problem solves itself...? :D


Your company has to determine what is appropriate and document it in your Control of records procedure (if you are ISO 9001). Perhaps your company attorney or accounting firm can provide some guidance appropriate for your industry. I think much of what you have probably can begin to be cleaned out, but it depends on your industry and needs.
 
A

akalbulus

#9
Re: Question Relating to Document Control and Retention Times

dear all quality person,

i have a question about controlling and uncontrolling documents. my company recently change our organizational structure and two departments were wipe out from our new organizational structure.

should i revise all my forms, documents and our quality manual?

thank you :confused:
 

Kevin Mader

One of THE Original Covers!
Staff member
Admin
#10
Note: you may have a contractual obligation to inform a customer of your plans to purge documents/records. Check to see if any exist. Some customers like to reserve the right to take control of records pertaining to them/their products and would rather have them on their docks instead of your trash bin.

Kev
 
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