1. Mary McIntosh BC Ministry of Health mary.mcintosh@moh.hnet.bc.ca
The Development of ARCS/ORCS for Integrated Record Keeping in the Government of British Columbia, Canada
Mary McIntosh
BC Ministry of Health

2. ARCS/ORCS as a Case Study
Overview of British Columbia’s legal and management framework for record-keeping
Features of ARCS/ORCS
Integrating electronic records into the framework
Challenges
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

3. Overview: British Columbia
Population ~4 million
Area 945,000 square kilometers
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

4. Overview: Ministry of Health
$8 billion (~35% of provincial budget)
3,282 staff in 15 headquarters offices and 150 sub-offices
Administers 45 acts in 20 programs
Provides public health, vital statistics, ambulance, health insurance to all citizens
Funds and monitors the health system
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

5. Overview: Electronic Service Delivery
InfoSmart
24/7 electronic service delivery to meet public expectations & level distances
streamline services - sharing information rather than duplicating it
leverage common IT infrastructure
improve G2G and G2C communication
Where does records management fit???
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

6. Overview: Records Management
Document Disposal Act (1936)
no destruction without authority
Treasury Board Policy
establishes accountability for RM
Central Agency
establishes standards for government
Ministries
staff, resources, internal policies
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

7. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
ARCS/ORCS
Administrative /Operational Records Classification System
...a combined records classification and scheduling system that facilitates the efficient and systematic organization, retrieval, storage, destruction or permanent retention of the government’s records...
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

8. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Why ARCS and ORCS
ARCS is developed and maintained centrally
ARCS covers records relating to administrative functions common to all government agencies
ORCS are developed by ministries and relate to Ministry-specific records
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

9. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Features of ARCS/ORCS
Combined classification and disposition schedule
Includes records in all media
Office of Primary Responsibility designation
Archival appraisal
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

11. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Development of ORCS
Based on an evaluation of all records and activities of an agency
Performed by Ministry staff or by contractors
Reviewed by central agency for adherence to standards and for archival appraisal
Takes years to complete
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

12. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Development of ORCS
Classification
based on programs
hierarchical
for the purpose of disposition scheduling
medium doesn’t matter
Retention scheduling
based on users’ needs, legal requirements and risk management
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

13. Integration of Electronic Records
As information technology becomes more sophisticated, the need for information management becomes more apparent
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

14. Electronic Records in ARCS/ORCS
Databases
when to get rid of records
classification the key to finding anything
Word processing, spreadsheets, etc.
mapping network drives according to classification scheme
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

15. Electronic Records in ARCS/ORCS
InfoSmart projects
ARCS On-line
Database versions of ARCS/ORCS
Corporate EDMS/ERMS requirements being defined
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

16. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Challenges
Building RM into the systems development life-cycle
Forced classification or the Educated user?
Ability of RM to respond quickly to changing needs
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy

17. Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy
Conclusions
ARCS and ORCS more than ever is putting the “management” into records management
2001/03/13
Third Global Forum, Naples, Italy