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Procedure · SOP-02

Control of Records and Technical Records

Identification, storage, protection, retention, amendment and disposal of quality and technical records.

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Purpose

To define how the Laboratory identifies, collects, indexes, accesses, stores, protects, backs up, archives, retrieves, amends, retains and disposes of quality records and technical records so that they remain legible, readily retrievable and secure for their retention period and allow any calibration to be reconstructed.

What is inside

10 sections, about 4 pages when printed.

  1. 1. Purpose
  2. 2. Scope
  3. 3. References
  4. 4. Definitions
  5. 5. Responsibilities
  6. 6. Procedure
  7. Records generated by this procedure
  8. Monitoring and performance indicators
  9. Assessment readiness notes
  10. Related documents

Records it generates

Applying this procedure produces the following records, which are the evidence an assessor samples.

  • –Records Retention Schedule and Disposal Log
  • –Job files (technical records)
  • –Backup and restoration test records
  • –Record amendment approvals after issue

What an assessor looks for

The document closes with these points, so you can check your own practice before someone else does.

  • –Selecting a certificate at random and asking to see the complete job file, then checking that every reference standard used, every raw reading, the environment and the calculation can be identified and that the calibration could be repeated.
  • –Checking that the person who made the observations, the person who checked them and the authorising signatory are identified and were authorised on the date of the work (FRM-16).
  • –Looking for corrections made with correction fluid, overwritten digits or undated changes.
  • –Verifying that electronic records (logger exports, spreadsheets) are the originals and that the audit trail or version history is intact.
  • –Confirming that backup restoration has actually been tested.

Before you use it

  • Replace every square-bracket token, starting with [LABORATORY NAME], [ADDRESS] and [EFFECTIVE DATE]. The full token list is in GD-01 Read Me First.
  • Have the content technically reviewed against how your laboratory actually works, then approved by the responsible manager before it becomes a controlled document.
  • Update the Word fields after editing so the table of contents and page numbers are correct: select all, then press F9.
  • Record the document in your own document register and set its review date.
  • Delete the assessment readiness notes if you do not want them in your controlled version; they are guidance for you, not requirements.

Related documents

This is an original template published by ValiTrac. It does not reproduce the text of ISO/IEC 17025 or of any accreditation body publication, and it does not by itself confer or guarantee accreditation. Customise, review and approve it before use.