Advanced Document Control and Records Management Training Course – London, 3–14 May 2027

Document Control and Records Management is a 2-week advanced training course for document controllers, records managers and information governance leads, in which each participant designs a Document and Records Control Framework that links live project documents to the records an organisation must keep. Disputes, audits and handovers now depend on proving which revision was issued, to whom and when. Jupiter Prime Training delivers this course for experienced information practitioners.

Why Document Control and Records Management Matters Now

Three forces are reshaping the field. Engineering and construction projects exchange thousands of drawings and submittals through shared environments, so a missed transmittal can put an obsolete revision on site. Auditors, insurers and courts expect records that are authentic, reliable and retrievable years after a project closes. And growing digital volumes make it costly to keep everything, yet risky to destroy too early. Organisations that control documents well defend claims and hand over assets cleanly; those that do not lose evidence and rework. The course rests on ISO 15489-1 for records principles, ISO 16175 for records software requirements and ISO 19650 for project information exchange.

Who Gains Most from Document Control and Records Management

• Practitioners who register, number and issue controlled documents on capital projects
• Specialists who classify records and apply retention and disposal rules
• Leads who set information policy and answer to audit and legal teams
• Administrators who configure repositories, metadata and access rights
• Coordinators who assemble handover dossiers for operations and maintenance

A project or asset owner organisation gains most when its document control office and its corporate records unit attend together and leave applying one numbering logic, one status scheme and one retention schedule.

Document Control and Records Management Capabilities

The outcomes trace a single drawing or letter from first issue to final disposition, and show who relies on the evidence at each stage.

• Design numbering, metadata and status codes for controlled documents — the project director and engineering leads
• Apply revision, review and transmittal controls that prevent superseded issues — site managers and contractors
• Build a classification scheme and file plan aligned to business functions — records owners and department heads
• Specify retention periods, legal holds and disposal authorisations — legal counsel and the audit committee
• Test registers and repositories through records audits — internal audit and quality managers
• Communicate the control framework to users through procedures and training — information governance boards

Key Document Control and Records Management Terms

• Transmittal — a formal record of documents sent between parties, listing each item, revision and purpose of issue.
• Master document register — the controlled list of every project document with its number, title, revision and status.
• Revision control — the rules for identifying, approving and superseding versions so only the current issue is used.
• Retention schedule — an authorised list stating how long each class of record is kept and what happens afterwards.
• File plan — a structure of record classes based on business functions and activities, used to organise and retrieve records.
• Disposition — the final action on a record at the end of retention, such as destruction, transfer or permanent keeping.

Document Control and Records Management Day by Day

Day 1: The Information Landscape of Projects and Organisations

• Document Versus Record Distinctions — Where Control Ends and Keeping Begins
• Information Lifecycle From Creation to Disposition — Assigning Ownership at Each Stage
• Records Principles in ISO 15489-1 — Authenticity, Reliability, Integrity and Usability
• Project Information Exchange Under ISO 19650 — Status, Suitability and Shared Environments
• Current-State Maturity Scan — Gaps Between Policy and Practice

Day 2: Numbering, Metadata and Registers

• Document Numbering Conventions — Originator, Discipline, Type and Sequence Codes
• Mandatory Metadata Sets — Fields That Make Documents Findable
• Master Document Register Design — Columns, Status and Ownership
• Vendor Document Registers — Tracking Supplier Submittals and Due Dates
• Register Data Quality Checks — Catching Duplicates and Orphans

Day 3: Revision, Review and Approval Control

• Revision Coding Schemes — Alphabetic Drafts Versus Numeric Issues
• Review Cycles and Comment Sheets — Closing Out Reviewer Remarks
• Approval Codes and Return Statuses — Accepting, Rejecting or Resubmitting
• Superseded Copy Withdrawal — Removing Obsolete Prints From Site
• Change Requests and Impact Notes — Linking Revisions to Decisions

Day 4: Transmittals and Controlled Distribution

• Transmittal Forms and Purpose-of-Issue Codes — Recording What Was Sent and Why
• Distribution Matrices — Who Receives Which Discipline Documents
• Incoming Correspondence Logging — Registering Letters, Notices and Queries
• Technical Query and RFI Tracking — Measuring Response Times
• Interface Documents Between Contractors — Avoiding Gaps at Boundaries

Day 5: Classification Schemes and File Plans

• Functional Analysis of Business Activities — Basis for Record Classes
• Business Classification Scheme Construction — Levels, Terms and Codes
• File Plan Mapping to Repositories — Folders, Libraries and Containers
• Controlled Vocabularies and Thesauri — Consistent Titling and Search
• Access and Security Classification — Sensitivity Markings and Permissions

Day 6: Retention, Holds and Disposition

• Retention Schedule Drafting — Triggers, Periods and Final Actions
• Appraisal of Record Value — Operational, Legal and Historical Worth
• Legal Hold Procedures — Suspending Destruction During Disputes
• Disposal Authorisation and Certificates — Evidence of Lawful Destruction
• Vital Records Identification — Protecting What the Organisation Cannot Lose

Day 7: Electronic Repositories and Records Software

• Functional Requirements From ISO 16175 — Specifying Records Capabilities
• Declaring Records in Collaboration Platforms — Locking Final Versions
• Audit Trails and Event Histories — Proving Who Did What
• Email and Messaging Capture — Keeping Business Conversations as Records
• Hybrid Paper and Digital Holdings — Scanning Standards and Indexing

Day 8: Handover, Closeout and Long-Term Keeping

• As-Built and Record Drawings — Verifying Final Field Changes
• Operations and Maintenance Manual Assembly — Asset Data for Owners
• Handover Dossier Checklists — Completeness Before Acceptance
• Digital Preservation Formats — Readability Over Decades
• Transfer to Archives — Packaging Records for Permanent Custody

Day 9: Auditing and Improving Records Practice

• Records Audit Planning — Scope, Sampling and Criteria
• Register-to-Repository Reconciliation — Finding Missing or Mismatched Files
• Retrieval Time Testing — Evidence Availability for Claims
• Nonconformity Reporting and Corrective Actions — Closing Control Gaps
• Performance Indicators for Document Control — Turnaround, Backlog and Accuracy

Day 10: Practising the Document and Records Control Framework

• Numbering and Register Rebuild — Applying Day Two Conventions to a Live Project
• Transmittal and Revision Drill — Applying Review Controls to a Drawing Package
• Retention and Hold Exercise — Applying the Schedule to a Disputed Contract File
• Audit Walk-Through — Testing the Framework Against Sampled Records
• Document and Records Control Framework — Policy, Procedures, Registers and Schedule

Applying Document Control and Records Management After the Course

• Reconcile the master document register of one active project against its repository and correct every revision, status and metadata mismatch found.
• Draft retention rules for one business function using the file plan method and submit them to legal and audit owners for authorisation.

Document Control and Records Management Questions (FAQ)

What is document control and records management and why does it matter now?

Document control and records management is the discipline of issuing, revising and keeping documents so the right version is used and evidence survives. It matters now because projects share information digitally at scale and disputes depend on proving what was issued.

Which roles gain most from document control and records management training?

Document controllers, records managers and information governance leads gain most. Controllers strengthen numbering, transmittals and revisions, records specialists improve classification and retention, and governance leads gain a framework that satisfies audit and legal teams.

How does a document control and records management course differ from an EDMS software course?

A document control and records management course sets the rules: numbering, revisions, classification, retention and audit. An EDMS course teaches how to configure and operate a particular system; this course defines what any system must enforce.

What do you bring back from document control and records management training?

You bring back a control framework with numbering rules, registers, a file plan, a retention schedule and audit tests. You also gain tested methods for transmittals, legal holds and handover dossiers.

Document Control and Records Management: The Way Forward

The Document and Records Control Framework sets numbering, revision, classification, retention and audit rules in one place. Its first use is the decision on how the next project issues and registers documents, taken by the document control lead with the project director. Revisit its retention and handover sections after the first closeout, when real requests show which records were hard to find.