Records Management in the Formerly Used Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP)
- Dynamac Corporation, 2275 Research Boulevard, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20850 (United States)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE's) performance of site investigation and remediation under the Formerly Used Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) requires the use of a records management system in order to effectively capture and manage data, document the decision making process, and allow communication of project information to regulators, congress, and the public. The USACE faces many challenges in managing the vast amount of data, correspondence, and reports generated under this program, including: management of data and reports in a variety of paper, electronic, and microfilm formats; incorporation of records generated by the Department of Energy (DOE) prior to 1997; ensuring smooth flow of information among numerous internal Project Managers and regulators; and facilitating public access to information through the development of CERCLA Administrative Records and response to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. In 2004-2005, the USACE Buffalo District contracted with Dynamac Corporation to adapt the records management system developed for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program to the records for the Luckey and Painesville FUSRAP sites. The system, known as the FUDS Information Improvement Plan (FIIP), was jointly developed by the USACE Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Center of Expertise (HTRW-CX), USACE Rock Island District, and several FUDS contractors (including Dynamac Corporation) in 2003. The primary components of the FIIP which address the challenges faced by the FUSRAP Program include: the development of a standardized document organization system; the standardization of electronic conversion processes; the standardization of file naming conventions; and the development of an automated data capture system to speed the process and reduce errors in indexing. The document organization system allows for the assignment of each individual document to one of approximately 150 categories. The categories are based upon a combination of the USACE site approval process and the CERCLA process. Documents are assigned to categories based on their relevance to the approval of the site, historical or reference content, and generation during a phase of the investigation and remediation process. Within each category relevant to a CERCLA phase, sub-categories exist to allow for the organization of correspondence, data, work plans, contracting information, technical reports, decision documents, and other associated documentation. The electronic conversion system was developed by USACE to standardize the types of electronic files maintained on the USACE Project Information Retrieval System (PIRS). Prior to standardization, PIRS had been populated with hundreds of thousands of electronic files of various incompatible types, making systematic search and retrieval impossible. By dictating the use of PDF files with standardized specifications, USACE ensured that all files were in the same format, and that the format is universally searchable and retrievable by probable users of the system. Similarly, the implementation of standardized file names, based on a combination of the site name, organization category, and a unique sequence number, facilitates linking of the individual files to indexing and search functions. To automate the entire process, Dynamac developed a Document Management Database, which was adapted to the FUSRAP Program for the Luckey and Painesville sites. Prior to the use of a database, capture of document titles, authors, dates, organization category, and other information was done manually, taking substantial time and leading to numerous errors. The database, developed in Microsoft Access format, facilitates the speed of the data entry and reduces errors by building drop-down menus during the data entry process. For instance, once an author and their affiliation are entered once, the name and affiliation can be retrieved by entering the beginning of the character string, or choosing the name from the drop-down list. For projects involving the management of tens of thousands of documents, these functions can reduce the time needed for indexing by an order of magnitude. The database also speeds the process and reduces errors in several output functions of the system. Once document information is entered, the database is able to automatically generate document file names, document labels, a document index, and document cover pages in seconds. Without the use of an automated system, each of these must be developed manually, taking days, with the corresponding possibility of errors. The automation of the system not only eliminates errors, but ensures 100% correspondence of information between the PDF files, the index, the labels, and the cover pages. A substantial advantage of the database, which contributed to its selection as the standard for the FUSRAP Program, was its development within Microsoft Access. Numerous off-the-shelf records management systems exist, with varying levels of functionality and ease of use. However, each of these requires separate purchase and training for the user. The choice of a Microsoft-based system for the FUSRAP Program allows the system to be operated without the purchase of additional software, and without substantial additional training for personnel. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 13023, Tucson, AZ, 85732-3023 (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 21208610
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-09-WM-06105; TRN: US09V0921079397
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Waste Management 2006 Symposium - WM'06 - Global Accomplishments in Environmental and Radioactive Waste Management: Education and Opportunity for the Next Generation of Waste Management Professionals, Tucson, AZ (United States), 26 Feb - 2 Mar 2006; Other Information: Country of input: France
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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