saving calculations

huangyhg

saving calculations
how long do you save your calculations?
what are the legal requirements in your state to do so?

mike mccann
mmc engineering

i believe that we are keeping our calcs for about 10 years. i have seen drawings from the 60's in our plan room, for any future reference.  the business is located in wisconsin, by the way.
joel berg
i don't reside in a state, mike but my calculations from 1969, the year i started my practice, are still in my files.  how long they will remain there after i have shuffled off this mortal coil...remains to be seen.
so far as i am aware, there are no legal requirements in the province of alberta about how long calculations should be kept.  i started with a firm in toronto, ontario whose files dated back to the beginning of their practice which i believe was about 1940.  the firm is still going strong even though the original principals are deceased.  i am sure those files remain intact today.  they called it "dead file storage".  everything was neatly folded up and stored in metal boxes.   
ba
including the retired principals?
mike mccann
mmc engineering
part of the reason i ask, is that there is a 6 year statute of limitations in washington regarding the professional liability of structural engineers, but the guidance from the state board to save files ad infinitum.  to me, this is inconsistent.
this virus is taking over my garage...literally...and i am looking for an excuse to get rid of some of the older ones.  not the drawings, just the calcs.  i am thinking of investing in a goat and turning him "accidentally" on purpose loose in the garage.
mike mccann
mmc engineering
floor live files - 5 years for general project, 10 years for special/extreme important project, from the date of project completion (construction). then move to dead storage for as long as the media can survive.  
calculations do not take up very much space.  i don't know what your problem is.  how much filing space can a few calculations take?  engineering drawings and shop drawings take more space than your calculations, don't they?  if not, perhaps your calculations are too long winded.
only a six year statute of limitations?  you are bloody lucky.  until recently, we had no statute of limitations.  now, we have a ten year limit, but it doesn't seem to work too well because i am now being sued for a report i did in 1994.
ba
need any help with that?  i have lots of time on my hands.
did you ask your lawyer how they can sue past the statute? is there another issue involved that has a longer statute?
mike mccann
mmc engineering
mike,
let us say there is a 10 year statute of limitations.  this is currently the case in the province of alberta.  it was enacted in 1999.  prior to 1999, there was no statute of limitations, so contractors, engineers, architects and others were liable for consequences of their errors for life and even beyond.
now, in the new scenario, let us say that party 'a' sues party 'b' within the 10 year limit, say in 9 years and 10 months after the last involvement of party 'b' in the project.  
party 'b' consults with his lawyer and determines that he relied on the report of party 'c' to take the actions for which he is being sued by party 'a'.  
party 'b' and his lawyer dither about for five more years and eventually decide to involve party 'c', so they third party him fifteen years after he wrote his report.
and that, sir, is the situation in which i find myself now.
ba
boy that's close.  
hi msquared48
you could free up some garage space by having some of the old paper calculation files scanned onto a computor disc.
that way you still have a record of the calculations should you need them.
desertfox