Permit and other document storage

[Darren Emery]

Hey all -

Our city is growing fast, and we're getting over-run with documents. Many that should be kept indefinitely.

How do you store old permits, inspection reports, and correspondance? Anyone gone digital? Microfilm? Or just good old fashioned file cabinets?

 

[FM William Burns]

We scan them into computer files and are saved in electronic storage in three separate server locations, been working great for years. Inspection reports and correspondence are all electronic also.

 

[mark handler]

Some Cities are requiring Me, an Architect, to provide a CD or DVD, with the Drawings, While others are charging a fee, per sheet for scanning

 

[Darren Emery]

We scan them into computer files and are saved in electronic storage in three separate server locations, been working great for years. Inspection reports and correspondence are all electronic also.

Interesting - so, no hard copies at all?

Do you use a proprietary software for storage? We got burned a while back, and we now have about 2 years of digital data that is next to impossible to retrieve.

 

[vegas paul]

Darren, down here in Salina, we scan them, and they are retrievable online from the computer. No need to dig through old files, rolls, etc. Learned the lesson after the building basement flooded many years ago, and lots of documents were lost.

 

[FM William Burns]

DE,

No hard copies at all anymore for the FD and still trying to convince the BD to get into the 21 century. We also accept CD and DVD like MH has to do which works great for our CAD software for cuttting and pasting (after un-necessary layer removal) and importing in to our Pre Incident Survey building plans for properties. Our city has their own software our engineering and IT dept. develoed and I scammed a compatible program for the inspection reports that uses an Access database format that is compatible with the BD third party software when I convert to (*pdf) and save into their files for our folders on their software. Being a firefighter we have to improvise and try to make stuff work for little $$ so this works great for us and it was free.

 

[peach]

slowly, slowly.. we crawl into the 21st century.

Worst case hire a storage facility... don't try to keep the records on premises.

 

[Daddy-0-]

We trash plans after the required three years of storage. Everything else is stored digitally. Works great for us. We also have all of the inspection data and notes accessible back to 2003 or so and lots of older info that was hand entered. It is very helpful when you can look up old permit and inspection data on your computer.

 

[peach]

not so great if someone needs to see the plans..

Case in point: 1987 Palm Bay, FL.. gunman (William Bryant, I think) holding hostages at a Winn Dixie.. without the plans being available, neither the police or fire could manage the crisis. I remember it because I lived (and worked as a plans examiner) in Palm Bay in 1987, walked thru that shopping center before all H*ll broke loose, with my 4 YO son.. the guy killed 2 cops and held several EMS personnel at bay for hours. The fire inspectors were able to locate the plans for (as it turns out 2) shopping centers. He's in prison. More than the police died.. 6 I think in total.

Hang on to the plans

 

[north star]

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"Hang on to the plans" for how long? What is the "required" amount

of time hard copy storage for Residential and Commercial plans?

Our AHJ has not crawled in to the 21st century yet! We are still

finding our way through the 19th & 20th centuries. You may laugh,

but at times, this seems to be so true.

Dang peach, how do you remember 1987? I have trouble with

yesterday...

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