Generally Manager level access is required for the Report module to work with the Records Management Workflow. Reviewer level access will permit you to Approve a Disposition only (see Access Levels).
See here for how to check your current access level. See here for how to apply for a change in access level.
Disposition of a Report is irreversible! Make sure you understand the implications before proceeding.
If you accidentally Dispose of data, contact the System Administrator immediately.
By default all Reports, including PDF Report Records and Certificates if uploaded, are stored on GDMS indefinitely.
The Records Management Workflow may be applied by exception, and on the advice of National Highways. This is predominantly applied when Reports are no longer relevant, or no longer required on the system for other reasons. It ensures that the disposal is controlled and that they can be found again should this become necessary in the future.
The Records Management Workflow includes the following steps, discussed individually in the following sections:
Decision to adopt the Records Management Workflow - By National Highways.
Review - Decide whether the Report should be Retained for the time being or disposed of.
Approve Disposition - Disposition requires Approval by National Highways.
Disposition
Each stage will be recorded in the Audit Log, and the version of the Report can be viewed before and after.
National Highways will decide which Reports will adopt the Records Management Workflow and when.
This would typically be when a Report is no longer relevant to GDMS, or expected to become irrelevant in the future. Examples may be if a Geotechnical Asset is decommissioned or its management is transferred to another organisation.
To Review a Report, first navigate to the details page of the Report, which must be Approved.
Click Review on the Command Bar, and you will be asked to select one of the following. Guidance specific to each review type can be found within the drop down text (click to expand).
Retention - Retain the Report as is on the system for a stated period. Specific guidance herehere.
You will be asked to complete the following:
Retention Start Date - The date from which the Retention Period begun.
Retention Period (in years) - How long the Report should be retained for in years.
Legal Hold - Identfies that National Highways have a legal obligation to keep the Report. You will not be able to Remove or Dispose of a Report until this hold is removed during another Review.
Legal Hold Reason - Select the reason from the list.
Legal Hold Notes - Optional free text notes. Could include for example a reference to the contract or other document which necessitates a Legal Hold.
Record Management Notes - Optional free text notes. Could include for example the reason why the Report needs to be retained.
The Report should be reviewed again before the Retention Period elapses, and this is highlighted on the Dashboard.
Nothing will happen automatically however, even if the Review becomes overdue.
Migration - Used if a Report has been manually copied (via an offline process) to another NH management system and there is a need to record the new location and remove the duplicate from GDMS. Specific guidance herehere.
You will be asked to complete the following:
Disposition Report Owner - The name of the recieving organisation. This should always be for Migrated Reports. Select Transfer if to another organisation.
Disposition Report Owner System - The name of the NH system where the report has been migrated to (free text).
Disposition Report Owner ID - The unique ID of the report on the new system (not guaranteed to be the same as in GDMS).
Records Management Notes - Optional free text notes. Could include for example the reason why the Report is being Migrated.
Transfer - Used if a Report has been manually copied (via an offline process) to the management system of another organisation (e.g. a Local Authority) and there is a need to record the new location and remove the duplicate from GDMS. Specific guidance herehere.
You will be asked to complete the following:
Disposition Report Owner - The name of the recieving organisation. Select Migrate if this is National Highways.
Disposition Report Owner System - The name of the system where the report has been migrated to (free text).
Disposition Report Owner ID - The unique ID of the report on the new system.
Records Management Notes - Optional free text notes. Could include for example the reason why the Report is being Transferred.
Destruction - Disposition by deleting a Report, without transferring it to another system.
Be careful not to confuse Disposition as part of the Records Management Workflow and Removing a Report.
Removing a Report is intended for duplicate, test or otherwise erroneous information.
Disposition is intended for valid Reports which are no longer relevant to GDMS for one reason or another.
You should complete the Review and Disposition on GDMS after the Report has been successfully Migrated or Transferred so that at any point there is a full record on at least one of the systems.
National Highways must Approve a Disposition (whether Migration, Transfer or Destruction) before it is undertaken.
To record the Approval of a Disposition, first navigate to the details page of the Report.
Click Approve Disposition on the Command Bar, then select either Accept or Reject on the Command Bar.
The free-text Records Management Notes is editable and you can use it to record the reason for your approval/rejection.
If the Disposition is approved it is processed immediately.
If the Disposition is rejected this is recorded in the Records Management Status field and another Review will be needed.
The Disposition must be approved by a representative of National Highways.
Notwithstanding this, all users with Manager permissions to the Reports module have permission to approve because most National Highways Reviewers (for example National Highways Geotechnical Advisors) will need the full Manager level access anyway.
Whilst discouraged, this also allows a Manager to record the decision on GDMS on behalf of the National Highways approver. In this case the the name of the actual National Highways approver should be recorded in the Records Management Notes field.
Following approval, the Report will be disposed of immediately. This will mean:
You can still view the GDMS Report object, although the status will be updated.
The PDF Report Record and Certificate are permanently deleted.
You can not make any further modifications, whether edit, remove, define location, review etc.
The Report no longer appears in some Dashboard and Reporting outputs.
Any Exploratory Locations linked to the Report will not be affected by Disposal. Generally it is encouraged to leave these on the system, as they may still be useful, however if this would be inappropriate you will need to remove them separately. See here for guidance on removing Exploratory Locations.