Engineering Inc. - July/August 2014 - (Page 36)

Risk Management BY G L E N R . M A N G O L D A N D C H A R L E S W. KO P P L I N C onstruction is completed and the client has moved into its new facility. The last invoice has been paid and the project is ready for closeout. Finally. The design professional should breathe a sigh of relief, right? After all, successfully navigating all those risks wasn't an easy job. But don't exhale just yet. As most engineers know, liability does not end at project or report completion. That's why it's important to have a strong, enforceable document retention policy. Managing risks after the fact begins with closing out the project by culling the files and deciding what documents need to be retained. This applies to both hard copy and digital data. Do not under any circumstances throw your documents into a box, write them to electronic media and ship them off to a long-term storage facility. Your firm's written record retention policy provides good guidance on what to retain and what should be destroyed, provided that policy is enforced. The worst document retention policy a firm can have is one they do not follow. What to Keep? In deciding what documents to retain, the firm should first review its contract. The contract takes precedent over any firm policy and is a good starting point on deciding what to retain. A copy of all final documents including drawings, specifications, manuals and reports should be retained. It may be of value to retain copies of any documents generated for intermediate milestones such as a client's review or a permitting agency's review. Any documents that the design professional relied upon to perform their services should also be retained, such as land surveys, traffic studies, soils reports, and clientprovided information. Additionally, all contracts with the client and sub-consultants, along with any amendments, should also be retained. Written correspondence, such as letters, memos, transmittals, meeting minutes and emails should also be retained, but draft copies should be discarded. Written documentation confirming any directions or information given verbally such as during telephone calls should be saved. Maintaining written documentation of information provided and decisions made during the project could prove to be invaluable. It is so much better and more believable than relying on someone's memory. There is no need to keep every email written about a project. Only keep those emails that document an action was taken or something was sent, received or given. During the construction phase there are many documents generated that also need to be retained. These include shop draw- "The worst document rentention policy a firm can have is one they do not follow." 36 ENGINEERING INC. JULY / AUGUST 2014 ings or material samples submitted for approval along with logs showing dates they were received and returned. Reports documenting on-site observations and photographs should be kept, but not photographs that do not pertain to services provided. Because there is little initial cost to taking photographs, there is a tendency to take photographs of everything happening on a construction site. This could be problematic for the design professional, especially if a photo is taken of an unsafe condition and the person taking the photograph brings it to the attention of the site superintendent. When retaining digital data, consideration should be given to both the format of the data and the media on which it is stored. Ideally data should be stored in a format that is likely to be readable in the future, such as a PDF, and not in a format readable only by a specific software program. Even if the firm is still using the same software 10 years from now, it's likely to be several versions newer. Assuming the program can correctly read the file, can it be guaranteed that it will produce the same results? These same precautions apply to media on which digital data is stored. The risks associated with document retention when closing out a project need to be well managed. Staff that was assigned to the project most likely has been reassigned and are eager to clear their desks and take on the challenges of their next project. By having a written document retention policy and enforcing it, firms ensure that staff will be given the guidance on what is important to retain and what should be discarded. Such a policy streamlines the project closeout process and helps to better manage post-project risks. Glen R. Mangold is the managing director of the Architects/Engineers program for Markel Corporation, a provider of professional liability insurance. He can be reached at gmangold@MarkelCorp.com. Charles W. Kopplin has more than 40 years' experience as a consulting engineer, including 14 years as the risk manager for an ENR Top 500 Design Firm. He can be reached at cw.kopplin@gmail.com. The material in this article is provided for informational purposes only and is not to be regarded as a substitute for technical, legal or other professional advice. The reader seeking such advice is encouraged to confer with an appropriate professional consultant or attorney. IAN LISHMAN/GLOW IMAGES Strategic Document Retention for Effective Post-Project Risk Management

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Engineering Inc. - July/August 2014

Engineering Inc. - July/August 2014
Contents
From ACEC to You
Legislative Action
Market Watch
Staying on Mission
Public vs. Private
Meeting the Need
2014 Professional Liability Insurance Survey of Member Firms
Sustaining Industry Momentum
2014 Fall Conference
Risk Management
Business Insights
Members in the News
Mergers and Acquisitions

Engineering Inc. - July/August 2014