The long wait for another inspection of the Defense Logistics Agency’s Records Management Program ends this month, when officials from the National Archives and Records Administration visit two DLA sites.
NARA is the regulatory agency for the management of federal records. The inspection, scheduled for mid-May through June, will focus on DLA Headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and Battle Creek, Michigan. It’s been 28 years since NARA last visited DLA.
“As part of DoD’s multi-year inspection plan, DLA was selected by the DoD records officer, Patti Benner, to be inspected,” said Cecilia Wiker, DLA’s records officer. “She felt DLA would be a great representative of DoD to show NARA that we understand the importance of a quality records-management program.”
The inspection will find how well the agency implements its RM program and if it complies with the Federal Records Act and RM regulations (36 CFR Chapter XII, Subchapter B). An inspection focuses on one or more specific elements of the agency's RM program, which may include the following:
- Agency RM standards; communication, training, policies, procedures and practices across the enterprise.
- Internal controls to mitigate risk to records and information, and implementation of policies and procedures.
- Electronic records management for structured and unstructured records.
- Email management.
RM, no longer paper and manila folders handled by administrative staff, has evolved into records and information management. RIM is the management of physical (hardcopy) and electronic records and information (also called non-records) created by all federal employees and contractors.
Government employees and contractors are responsible for the proper handling and safeguarding of records from creation, maintenance, and disposition in accordance with federal regulations and agency policy. Federal records include emails and digitized images; letters and memorandums; completed forms; statistical and narrative reports; maps; architectural, engineering and other drawings; photographs and negatives (digital or physical); motion picture films; graphics; and audio and video recordings.
The DLA RIM program office falls under DLA Information Operations and consists of the RIM program manager, agency records officer, supervisors, and component records officers. The RIM staff is available to answer questions and help offices manage their agency records.
Employees can visit the DLA Records Management Program page on eWorkplace (this is a Common Access Card-enabled link limited to DLA employees) to find DLA RIM information, policy, procedures and training material. A quick guide for a successful RM inspection includes questions and a checklist to assist in preparing for the NARA inspection.