Guideline document:
Retention of Documents and Records
Purpose:
With SARMA having its SHREQ Audit which requires documented proof as well as the SARMA QMS policy and
documents, SARMA hereby advises members on legal and practical requirements for the retention of Documents
and Records.
Introduction:
Many SARMA members have faced the problem of document retention and with the tendency of customers,
clients and contractors taking legal action against a supplier when a problem does arise, it can only be wise to
consider this guideline in a serious light. Storage is a problem, but on the other hand the legal implications if
documents are not available, indicate retention of everything.
To keep documents for ever is not always practical, but in a recent case where a road was built and some 20
years later a dispute arose, the company could prove, by producing its documents that it had complied. The
insurance industry on the side of Consulting Engineers is acting against suppliers who don’t comply to
specifications.
Legislative and Legal Requirements:
The Engineering Profession Act 46 of 2000: Board Notice 15 of 2006 – Rules of Conduct for Registered
Persons:
Section 4 (a) of the Rules of Conduct provides that:
“A registered person may not without satisfactory reasons destroy or dispose of, or knowingly allow any other
person to destroy or dispose of any information within a period of 10 years after completion of the work
concerned.”
The Electronic Communications and Transaction Act of 2000 (The” Act”).
Fortunately the Act provides a welcome alternative to retention of records in the traditional hard copy format. The
Act provides for acceptance of data messages as legally acceptable original records including scanned
documents and drawings.
It is important to remember that the Electronic Communications and Transaction Act does not override provisions
in other laws where electronic retention is specifically excluded or where specific requirements for retention are
prescribed.
Destruction of Documentation:
Insurers and legal advisers would advise that should documentation be destroyed, the readymix supplier might be
required to supply the court with “just-cause” (satisfactory reason) for the destruction of any document. It must
therefore be noted that reasons relating to economic consideration (cost of storage space) would not be regarded
as justifying the destruction of documents and records.
Guideline Document: Retention of Documents & Records
Guidelines for retention of records and drawings
In view of the above discussions and as a guideline, it is suggested that correspondence, drawings and other
documents be retained for the following periods; insurers have advised that these recommendations apply equally
to any modern form of alternative storage:
`
1.
Project correspondence, documents and records
1.1 All correspondence, designs, drawings, etc. to be filled and stored until 100% completion stage is
reached.
1.2 At the 100% completion stage, all obviously unnecessary material, i.e. second copies of minutes,
suspended calculations and documents and like material, may be destroyed. The remaining
correspondence which should include the records, final calculations and any other contract
documents may then be copied using microfilm, computer disks, or other similar process. Two such
copies should be procured of each document and it is considered advisable that these be filed in
different buildings.
1.3 On completion of the project and issuing of the final payment certificate/completion certificate and full
acceptance by the client and contractor, all documents which have not been microfilmed, may be
relegated to storage/archives and retained for a period of 10 years. Microfilms or disks of drawings
and documents should be retained in safe and easily accessible archives.
1.4 After 10 years, the calculation sheets which show the basic assumptions and design philosophies as
well as the electrically stored drawings only, should be retained. All the remaining material and
documents may be discarded.
2.
General correspondence
2.1 The above should be retained in the author’s office whilst in current use.
2.2 After retention for a period of one year, the author or responsible official should carefully assess the
merits of further retention. This review should be done annually and after 3 years they may be destroyed
unless the author specifically instructs otherwise.
3.
Other documentation
This guideline applies to documentation relevant to readymix producers who are SARMA members. It does
not apply to the retention of documentation relating to the financial and business operations of the business
and the SARMA members should consult financial advisors or auditors on retention requirements applying
to such documents.
Appendix A: The Electronic Communications and Transaction Act of 2000 (The “Act).
1.
Legal status of data messages
Sec 11 (1) of the act states that:
“Information is not without legal force and effect merely on the grounds that it is wholly or partly in the form
of a data message”
The definition of “data message” is data generated, sent, received or stored by electronic means and
includes a stored record. The act gives data messages the same legal status as information generated
conventionally on paper,
2.
Original
Sec 14 (1) states that:
“Were a law requires information to be presented or retained in its original form, that requirement is met by
a data message if the integrity of the information from the time when it was first generated in its final form
as a data message or otherwise has passed assessment in terms of subsection 2, and that information is
capable of being displayed or produced to the person to whom it is presented.
Sec 14 (2) states that:
“For the purpose of subsection 1 (a), the integrity must be assessed; by considering whether the
information has remained complete and unaltered, except for the addition of any endorsement and any
change which arises in the normal course of communication, storage and display; in the light of the
purpose for which the information was generated; and having regard to all other relevant circumstances.”
Guideline Document: Retention of Documents & Records
For the purpose of this provision it is important to note that the data message in its electronic form is the
original, and not a paper printout thereof.
3.
Evidence and data message
Sec 15 of the Act states that:
“In any legal proceedings, the rules of evidence must not be applied to deny the admissibility of a data
message, in evidence on the mere grounds that it is constituted by a data message, or if it is the best
evidence that the person adducting it could reasonably be expected to obtain, on the grounds that it is not
in its original form; information in the form of a data message must be given due evidential weight.
In
assessing the evidential weight of a data message, regard must be had to;
 The reliability of the manner in which the data message was generated, stored or communicated;
 The reliability of the manner in which the integrity of the data message was maintained;
 The manner in which its originator was identified; and
 Any other relevant factor.
4.
Retention
Section 16 (1) of the Act states that:
Where a law requires information to be retained, the requirement is met by retaining such information in the
form of a data message.
5.
Production of records
Section 17 of the Act states that:
Where the law requires a person to produce a document for information, that requirement is met if the
person produces, by means of a data message, an electronic form of that document of information, and if
certain other requirements, including the integrity of the information, are met.
6.
Document imaging and the evidential weight of electronic records
Document imaging involves the storage and management of electronic records which is mainly achieved
through the scanning of documents. Imaged documents can be used as evidence in terms of Sec 15 of the
Act; however the court has discretion to decide what evidential weight the document will have.
The evidential weight will be affected by a number of factors, including the policies, procedures that were in
place to ensure that the procedures are trustworthy and that integrity of the original document was
maintained. The Act does not provide guidelines on how this can be achieved however the following South
African Standards provide best practice guidelines to ensure that legal admissibility of imaged records:

SANS 15801: 2005 Electronic Imaging – information stored electronically – recommendations for
trustworthiness and reliability; and

SANS 15489: Information and Documentation – Records Management.
www.sarma.co.za
P O Box 1983
Ruimsig
1732
email: office@sarma.co.za
Tel: 011 791 3327
October 2012