The new Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) will be piloted at Head Office in coming months, heralding the start of improved document and records management that complies with the Public Records Act.
Selected groups will pilot the system before it is rolled out through Head Office and then throughout Corrections.
The Public Records Act 2005 requires all state sector organisations to create and maintain accurate records and establishes a consistent approach to recordkeeping. All public sector organisations must ensure records remain accessible until they are authorised to dispose of them by the Chief Archivist at Archives New Zealand.
Information Services Manager Nicola Gallacher says the Corrections' network currently houses over 500,000 electronic documents taking over 1,200 gigabytes of diskspace.
“The current structure of this information is difficult to navigate and finding the right files can be a challenge,” she says.
“EDRMS will standardise the way documents are categorised and stored and make it easier to share and find documents.
Document management will be improved, helping retention of corporate knowledge and security,” says Nicola.
The EDRMS file classification structure is a more logical way to store and retrieve documents.
“The new file classification structure represents Corrections' organisational functions rather than its organisational structure. Coupled with powerful search functions, it will be easier and quicker to find documents,” Nicola says.
EDRMS will become the repository for all electronic documents and records not already stored in IOMS and other key business systems and over time it will replace the common drives. It will also store information about physical files, and any paper documents people want to register and share.
A dedicated Document and Records Management team responsible for ensuring records in the EDRMS are appropriately managed has been also established.
A document is recorded information of any single type or form.
A document could be a letter, an email, an image, a report, a spreadsheet, a brochure, and so on. A document might be continually changing.
A record is information about events, transactions, or agreements.
A record can be a single document or a collection of documents.
A record, once created, does not change, for example a finalised document.
Got a story for Corrections News or want to request the print edition?
Email commdesk@corrections.govt.nz or phone (04) 460 3365.
ISSN 1178-8453