RMS Glossary: RMS-Wor

RMS Project - Workflow

Glossary Sections

Archive Records - Business Filing Systems
Business Process Consulting - Case File Management
Chain of Custody - Digital Records Management
Document Access - Document Workflow
Electronic Chain of Custody - Evidence Software
Federal Recordkeeping - Information Lifecycle Management
Law Enforcement Management - Police Records Software
Property and Evidence - Records Destruction
Records Information Management - Retention Software
RMS Project - Workflow

RMS Project
An undertaking to select, implement, configure and put into use a system to manage business or government files and documents. See also Records Management System and Records Management Consulting.

RMS Risk Management
Processes designed to assess, prioritize and mitigate dangers to important information within an enterprise. Risks can include damage, theft, loss or destruction of records due to intentional or unintentional human actions, natural disasters, accidents, fire or other causes. A records management system (RMS) risk management process helps to identify various sources of threats to records integrity, prioritize these risks based on their likely seriousness or probability of occurrence, and implement measures to protect records such as waterless fire protection systems, fire-proof storage, electronic and physical security systems, and redundant offsite digital storage for electronic documents. A records management consulting or risk management expert can assist businesses and government agencies in the RMS risk management process.

Safety Recordkeeping
The maintenance and management of information, forms and files pertaining to employee accidents and injuries. This is normally a function of human resources records management and is subject to strict requirements governed by OSHA. In some situations, IRS and Department of Labor regulations may apply as well. Because there can be substantial penalties imposed for improper safety recordkeeping, most organizations rely on some type of records management system or software to help assure records compliance.

Vital Records Management
Control and administration throughout the information lifecycle of "life and death" documents and files, including birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce records, medical files, disaster recovery plans, employee safety reports and critical financial information. In many cases, such documents are required by regulatory records compliance or records retention policy to be retained indefinitely. See also Records Management, Archive Records and Record Retention Schedule.

Workflow
A process or defined sequence of operations, performed by one or more individuals and often involving technology or tools, to accomplish a specified task or series of tasks. Electronic workflow refers to a set of operations performed by an individual on a computer or group of interconnected people or roles within an operational process each contributing to the completed process of completing work. Software workflow is an even more specific variant, referring to a sequence of operations performed by an individual or group and guided by a computer application. A records management system includes a number of different workflows; for example, "declare a record, print a color-coded label with a bar code, apply the label to a folder, scan the document, index the metadata for that document of record, submit it to the records management system, place the specified physical document inside the folder, and store the folder in a particular cabinet and drawer with its location provided by the records management system" would be the workflow for entering a document into record inventory and storing it in a predefined location.