Engineering claim records can be critical when a Professional Indemnity allegation arises years after a project has been completed.
Engineering firms should consider retaining relevant:
- engagement agreements
- scopes of services
- contracts and variations
- drawings
- calculations
- specifications
- reports
- certificates
- design review records
- emails and correspondence
- meeting notes
- site inspection records
- photographs
- subcontractor and consultant information
Records should show not only what the engineer produced, but also what they were engaged to do and the information available to them at the time.
Where a dispute arises several years later, staff involved in the project may no longer be with the business and memories may be unreliable.
A consistent document-retention process can therefore be an important part of Professional Indemnity risk management.
Engineers Australia also provides broader Professional Indemnity and risk-management resources for engineering practices. See its Professional Indemnity Insurance resources.
