Essential Records Session 1 Handout 1.1 Handout 1.1 Essential Records PRIORITY FOR ACCESS* Priority 1: First 1 12 hours Could be either Priority 1 or Priority 2 Priority 2: First 12 72 hours Priority 2 or Priority 3 Priority 3: After first 72 hours ESSENTIAL RECORDS ARE RECORDS THAT: Are necessary for emergency response Are necessary to resume or continue operations Protect the health, safety, property, and rights of residents Would require massive resources to reconstruct Document the history of communities and families EXAMPLES INCLUDE: Copy of emergency and/or Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan Infrastructure and utility plans Maps and building plans Emergency contact information Delegations of authority Contracts and leases Payroll Prison, jail, and parole records Insurance records Deeds, mortgages, land records Birth and marriage records Medical records Active court proceedings Education and military service records Voting records Professional licenses Geographic information systems data Tax records Historical documents Photographs Identity records Only a small percentage (typically, less than five percent) of all Government records are essential Value during an emergency makes a record essential As disruption time increases, more records become essential Records can be in many different formats, including paper or electronic * See Handout 4.1 Access Priorities Table for details on what is covered in each of these priority categories.
Access Priorities Table Session 4 Handout 4.1 Handout 4.1 Access Priorities Table Table 1: Access Priorities Table LEVEL DEFINITION ACCESS EXAMPLES Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Records essential for response and emergency operations and therefore needed immediately Records essential for quick resumption and continuation of business following an emergency Records needed to continue essential functions if normal agency information were unavailable for a prolonged period Physical protective storage is close to disaster response site for immediate access. Electronic replication methods are available for immediate access of information. Physical protective storage is close to disaster recovery site for quick business resumption. Electronic methods are quickly accessible, and backups can be quickly restored. Physical protective storage is accessible and outside of the disaster area. Emergency action plan Business continuity plan Vital records manual Current facility drawings Personnel security clearance files Current client files In-progress Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable Research documentation Current contracts and agreements Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable files Existing contracts and agreements Unaudited financial records TIMEFRAME FOR ACCESS Within the first 0 12 hours Within the first 12 72 hours After the first 72 hours This chart is based in part on ARMA International, ANSI-ARMA 5 2003 Vital Records: Identifying, Managing, and Recovering Business-Critical Records.
Session 1 Potential Candidates for Essential Records Status Handout 1.3 Handout 1.3 Potential Candidates for Essential Records Status Table 1: Potential Candidates for Essential Records Status by Category CATEGORIES SPECIFIC RECORDS 1. Proof of ownership by the agency Property and equipment inventories; real estate records (titles, deeds); Accounts Receivable 2. Proof of monies owed to the organization Accounts Receivable, contracts, leases 3. Fiscal obligations of organization Accounts Payable, loans, and other fiscal obligations 4. Employee compensation and benefits Labor contracts, payroll registers, insurance, and retirement plans 5. Records regarding physical plant Engineering drawings, building plans or blueprints, equipment specifications, hardware inventories, civil defense plans, hazardous material inventories, etc. 6. Records relating to production or work product Product processes, formulae designs, warehouse inventories, inventory controls lists, process specifications 7. Operating policies and procedures Orders of succession, delegations of authority, staffing assignments, task specifications, policies and procedures manuals, directives 8. Records regarding computer infrastructure System documentation and backups, software documentation manuals 9. Future directions Strategic plans, forecasts 10. Past management Board and executive meetings, reports, and official statements 11. Research findings and product development Formulae, patent authorizations, product development plans, research and development (R & D) records, baseline data, specifications 12. Location of records Essential records inventory lists; file plans and retention schedules 13. Records regarding the maintenance of public health, safety, and order in emergency 14. Records needed to protect the rights and interests of individual residents or associations of residents Emergency procedures, emergency contact lists, computer program documentation, disaster and emergency plans Legal records, identity documentation, voting registration lists, property titles, education transcripts, etc.
Session 1 Examples of Information/Records, by Function That Might Be Designated as Essential Handout 1.4 Handout 1.4 Examples of Information/Records, by Function, That Might Be Designated as Essential Note: Many of these records may exist in more than one format e.g., paper, microfilm, electronic versions, etc. Table 1: Key to Designations ESSENTIAL RECORDS 1 = Emergency response; health, and safety of staff 2 = Necessary to resume or continue operations 3 = Health, safety, property, and rights of residents and the government 4 = Require massive resources to reconstruct 5 = Document the history of communities or families OTHER RECORDS, NON-ESSENTIAL 6 = Important (30-year-plus retention) 7 = Useful (10 30-year retention) 8 = Dispensable (less than 10-year retention) Table 2: Examples of Information/Records by Function and Designation(s) ESSENTIAL RECORD TYPE DESIGNATION ADMINISTRATION Payroll 2 Correspondence of policy-level content by heads of major departments 5 Correspondence of transmittal, of thanks, information requests 8 Purchase orders 8 Insurance 2 Delegation of authority 2 Current ordinances, laws, policies, directives 2 Taxes (paid, unpaid, pending, abated, liens) 3, 4 Property value assessing 3 Computer program documentation 2 Computer system documentation, unpublished manuals 2 Office equipment inventory/repair records 6 Forms for applications, licenses, permits, tax payments 2 Annual reports summarizing the government s activity 5 Published manuals, procedures, reference material 7
Session 1 Examples of Information/Records, by Function That Might Be Designated as Essential Handout 1.4 Table 2: Examples of Information/Records by Function and Designation(s), continued ESSENTIAL RECORD TYPE DESIGNATION COUNTY, CITY, TOWN CLERKS/REGISTRARS Minutes of meetings 2, 5 Birth and death certificates, burial permits, marriage licenses 3 Voter registration lists 3 Deeds, mortgages, land records 3 Licenses, permits issued/applications 3 Case files 3 Adoptions 3 Changes of name 3 Decedents estates 3 FINANCE, TREASURY, ACCOUNTING Accounts payable and receivable 2 Bonds, notes 2 Capital assets 3 Audit reports 5 Audit, internal (working papers) 6 Budget, final official document 4 Budget, working files 6 FACILITIES, PUBLIC WORKS Building plans, existing buildings 1 Building plans, no longer owned 8 Infrastructure and utility plans 1 Maps (e.g., tax, roads, subdivisions, hazards) 1 EMERGENCY SERVICES Emergency Management Plan 1 Continuity of Operations Plan (contingency plan) 1 Essential records plans, locations of records 1 Emergency delegations of authority 1 Emergency contact information 1 E911 addressing data 1 HUMAN RESOURCES/PERSONNEL Employee contracts, status, benefits, retirement 2 Wage rates 2 Applications for employment, position pending 2 Applications for employment, position filled 8 Final, July 2010 2
Essential Records Questionnaire Session 1 Handout 1.5 Handout 1.5 Essential Records Questionnaire PART I INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Date: Interviewer: Office/Location (Building/Room): Office Contact Name & Number: 1. In layman s terms, please tell me what your office does. 2. Is there anything that your office does that you would consider to be critical to your agency? That is, if your operation were shut down because of some emergency, how greatly would it affect the rest of your agency? Other organizations or agencies? The public? (Specify mission-critical processes. There may be none.) 3. Briefly describe the types of records or other information this office creates. 4. Do you consider any of these records to be essential? That is, if one or more of the types of records or information sets you create were lost because of an emergency or were unavailable during an emergency, would there be any dramatic effect on the rest of your agency s operation? Other agencies? The public? If any records are essential, please provide the record series title below and complete an Essential Records Profile (see Part II Essential Records Information) for each essential record: 1. Record series title: 2. Record series title: 3. Record series title: 4. Record series title: 5. Record series title: 6. Record series title: 7. Record series title: 8. Record series title: 9. Record series title: 10. Record series title: 5. Other Comments
Essential Records Questionnaire Session 1 Handout 1.5 Essential Records Profile PART II ESSENTIAL RECORD INFORMATION For each essential record listed in Section 4 of Part I, provide the following information (you may duplicate this page as many times as needed): Record series title: Records Retention Schedule number, if available: Media: How soon would you need access to the record after an emergency (hours, days, or weeks)? Why is the record deemed to be essential? (Select all that apply.) Necessary for emergency response. If so, how used? Protects the health, safety, property, and rights of residents. If so, how used? Necessary to resume or continue operations. If so, how used? Would require massive resources to reconstruct. If so, how used? Documents the history of communities and families. If so, how used? 5. Are you protecting this essential record? If so, how? Final, July 2010 2
Session 2 Risk Assessment Sample Hazards Inspection Checklist Handout 2.1 Handout 2.1 Risk Assessment Sample Hazards Inspection Checklist Used for prioritizing the needs of equipment and supplies Used as an assessment tool for future budget plan Used to inform first responders (especially fire) about building condition Update information at least once a year Table 1: Evaluation of Current Building Condition BUILDING FACTORS CONDITION/LOCATION POSSIBLE HAZARDS Where is the Building Situated? Surrounding Area Location of Records Security Environmental Stability in the Building Structural Stability Roof Type Building is located at north end of Federal Complex, at the corner of 1 st Ave. and Main. Other federal office buildings are located to the west and south. A large parking lot lies to the east. A road is north of the building Route 66, located about 1/8 th mile north of the building. Records are stored in decentralized file locations throughout the building. Nine staff members have keys to the building. One records area the technical library and archives is temperature- and humidity-controlled. Brick structure. Building was constructed in phases: 1942, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Last addition, completed in 1973, includes the new front office areas. Metal roof with tar and gravel covering. Library stack area roof is reinforced with special roofing materials. Holding pond, north of North Ave. Vulnerability to Hazmat incidents on Route 66. Risk of collateral effects of emergencies at nearby buildings. One file station is in a basement, vulnerable to water drainage in a major storm or leak. Possible hazard. Lost or stolen keys present security risk. Minimal hazard Minimal hazard Moderate. Older parts of the building are still vulnerable to roof leak around drains. Drainage/Sprinkler System Wet pipe sprinkler system Minimal hazard Fire Protection System Fire alarms, sprinkler alarms activated by Minimal hazard heat-sensing sprinkler heads. Fire extinguishers are present. Hazardous Materials On Small amounts of paint and other Minimal hazard Site or Near Site substances are maintained in the dock in a locking cabinet. Chemical* Location/Amount Possible hazards *Inventory of dangerous chemicals stored on site
Possible Hazards Session 2 Handout 2.2 Handout 2.2 Possible Hazards Use the following list of possible hazards as a tool to start identifying the risks to your essential records. Of course, when identifying risks, it s important to be realistic and focus on those risks that are likely to happen in your state or locality and or circumstances. In other words, don t be concerned about a tsunami if you live in Iowa. For more information on the hazards relevant to your state or locality, visit the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) Resource Center. Table 1: List of Possible Hazards by Type TYPE Natural Hazards Human-Caused Hazards HAZARDS Hurricane Tornado Severe storm Winter storm Flooding Fire, wild Lightning damage Water damage Disease Earthquake, other seismic event Volcanic eruption Tsunami Fire, structure/arson Plumbing failure Structural failure Power failure Telecommunications failure Computer network failure Building access/closing Transportation disruption Medical emergency Hazardous materials incident Disgruntled employee/sabotage Bomb or bomb threats Airplane crash Nuclear plant meltdown Terrorism Civil unrest