Reasons for retaining Obsolete Documents and Retention Time

T

Thoops76

#1
Hi All,
I am a newbie to the quality / ISO area as well as a newbie to the cove. I would appreciate your feedback on the following document control questions that i have?

What are the various reasons for retaining obsolete documents within an organisation?


How long should you retain the obsolete documents within your organisation?
 
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T

Ted Schmitt

#2
Re: Reasons for retaining obsolete documents

Hi All,
I am a newbie to the quality / ISO area as well as a newbie to the cove. I would appreciate your feedback on the following document control questions that i have?

What are the various reasons for retaining obsolete documents within an organisation?


How long should you retain the obsolete documents within your organisation?
Hi, Welcome to the Cove !

The main reason I guess would be for reference purposes... I guess it really would depend on what type of documents you are referring too. If they are purchase orders, obsolete standards, drawings, engineering docs etc... then you could categorize them under "for reference purposes only"...

As for how long, it is entirely up to your organization....

Do you have any mention of obsolete docs in your procedures?
 

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#3
Re: Reasons for retaining obsolete documents

List your documents, look at each individually and decide whether or not there will be a need to go back to it after it is superceded, decide how many revisions back you might need to go, document your results.

The biggest reason we've found to go back to look at things is to see what practice we were following at some given point and time (a lot of times to investigate a claim)
 
T

Thoops76

#4
Hi,
Thanks for your replies so far. I am asking these questions as I have recently started a course in TQM. The questions that i asked in my previous post "What are the various reasons for retaining obsolete documents within an organisation"? was asked as an exam question a few years ago.

I have been searching through doc control material on the web and in books however, I can not seem to get a comprehensive answer.

With regards to how long the documentation needs to be retained. I need to know if this is the organisations decision, legislative requiremnet or if ISO states how long documnets should be retained for.
 
T

Ted Schmitt

#5
With regards to how long the documentation needs to be retained. I need to know if this is the organisations decision, legislative requiremnet or if ISO states how long documnets should be retained for.
The standard (ISO 9001) does not stipulate the time... it´s entirely up to your organization to determine the time...
 
Last edited by a moderator:

SteelMaiden

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
#6
With regards to how long the documentation needs to be retained. I need to know if this is the organisations decision, legislative requiremnet or if ISO states how long documnets should be retained for.
Your company's requirements, your customers' requirements, legal/regulatory requirements. No ISO requirements for retention time.
 
T

Thoops76

#7
The way that i am viewing the reasons behind document retention is for the following reasons.. Please correct me if i am wrong.

1. If a customer complains about a product that was manufactured by an organisation about two or three years ago and the current spec for that product is only active for the last six months. Is it helpfull for the organisation to have a historical document to see how the unit was produced at the time of manufacturing?

2. It is helpfull to see how a document or product / service has evolved over time?

3. Document retention is seen as an aspect of continuous improvement as
specs, work instructions are being reviewed and updated to meet customers needs.
 
B

Bob the QE

#9
On the lines of investigation I have found as companies transform from management to management or people retire the obsolete may offer the new kid on the block some information or assuement of why things were done in a certain way. This is especially true of your customers as people move on with legacy or tribal knowledge you can help support them in there decision making task when it comes to your processes or products. But words of caution don't let the past get in way of the future and just because it was doesn't mean it has to be. I am trying real hard to remember that one and not become a pack rat.

Good luck
 

GStough

Staff member
Super Moderator
#10
In some cases, depending on the type of documents/records, there may be legal reasons for keeping obsolete documentation on a permanent basis. For example, a law suit for patent infringement may require documents that are decades old to either prove or disprove a competitor's claim to a patent.

This has been known to happen on occasion...
 
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