×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

How long to you keep project archives??

How long to you keep project archives??

How long to you keep project archives??

(OP)
We're in the process of cleaning up our old project files and the question came up, "how long to we store these?".  We already store many hundreds of boxes offsite.  I'm wondering what is the legal requirement for storing project engineering records.  I'm looking into the professional registration law.  Has anyone done this and point me to the written statutes?  

thanks!!

RE: How long to you keep project archives??

Professional liability issues can be quite long lived.

Here in Canada the law is not clear. It has been interpreted as being 7 and 30 years from completion of work or from discovery for the fault.

That an engineering fault may not be discovered for a long time can make the engineering document retention time also very long.

I’d get legal advice on the applicable law in your jurisdiction.

Why not scan the stuff and place it on a couple DVD’s and get rid of the paper copies?

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion
www.kitsonengineering.com

RE: How long to you keep project archives??

I would also recommend that you consult your company lawyer, but also your company insurance agent.  Seems like the sort of question that they are getting paid to answer.

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources