National Project Management System Directive on Document Management for Real Property Projects

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1. Effective date

September 2013 (updated May 2019)

2. Authority

This directive is issued under the authority of the Director General (DG), Service Lead, Project Management, Real Property Services (RPS), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

3. Context

This directive shall be read in conjunction with the PSPC Policy on the National Project Management System (page available on Government of Canada network only) and the National Project Management System Directive for Real Property Projects.

4. Scope

This directive applies to all PSPC employees involved in the management of real property projects that follow the National Project Management System (NPMS).

5. Purpose

This directive describes the requirements for proper document management within the development process of real property NPMS projects, in order to ensure that information on a project is readily and easily available during the development of the project.

6. Details of the directive

6.1 Document management process

As early as possible within the NPMS project inception stage, the Project Leader or Project Manager shall begin the document management process by requesting the latest Electronic Project Filing Structure (EPFS) from the Regional EPFS Administrator.

The EPFS allows for easy access to all project documents, including contracts and NPMS deliverables, while guiding electronic storage and facilitating quality control and project audits. Users of the EPFS must consult the EPFS User Manual for guidance on the implementation and population of the EPFS in relation to real property projects. This manual is provided within the folders of the EPFS, in the root directory of each project, and is also available from the Regional EPFS Administrator or by contacting scep.epfs@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. When the EPFS is updated, the EPFS User Manual is updated simultaneously, and the EPFS Administrator shall provide to the users the updated manual.

The EPFS for each NPMS project shall be hosted within a suitable deployment environment (media used to host the EPFS), which is either GCdocs or an approved web-based application:

During the course of the project, the Project Manager shall file all project-related documents within the EPFS outlined in Annex A: Electronic project filing structure v3.3. The Project Manager shall not wait until the end of the project to do the filing.

The EPFS is generic to support a variety of projects and, as such, not all folders will be required for all projects. However, there are numerous folders that are “mandatory” and must be used for all projects. These folders consist of:

For national filing consistency, the use of the Complete EPFS is highly recommended. However, since some groups could have unique document management needs (based on project complexity, technological limitations, etc.), a Basic EPFS, shown in Annex B: Basic electronic project filing structure v3.3, has been identified. The Basic EPFS is a subset of the Complete EPFS and represents the minimal organizational structure to support.

The Professional and Technical Services (P&TS) Regional Directors are responsible for determining the appropriate regional business rules for using the Basic EPFS, the Complete EPFS, or a hybrid between the Basic and Complete EPFS. The regional business rules must respect the following criteria:

6.2 Creation of a physical project file

Protected B documents may be stored in GCdocs. However, a physical project file is necessary to hold documents marked Protected C and above, as well as documents with signatures or hand notations that have to be kept in their original form for legal or audit reasons. When a physical project file is needed by the Project Leader or Project Manager, a request shall be sent to the lead for records management in the appropriate region.

6.3 Project close-out

Once a project is complete, the project data stored in the EPFS must be archived using the departmental document management tool (GCdocs) where it will remain accessible until it reaches the end of its assigned retention period.  The lead for records management in each region may be consulted for information on how to properly archive physical project files.

7. Responsibilities

The Project Leader is responsible for:

The Project Manager is responsible for:

Regional EPFS administrators are responsible for:

8. References

Treasury Board publications

Public Services and Procurement Canada publications

9. Attachment

10. Enquiries

Please direct enquiries about this directive to tpsgc.sngp-npms.pwgsc@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

For enquiries specific to the Electronic Project Filing Structure, please contact scep.epfs@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

Annex A: Electronic project filing structure v3.3

Root directory

A_NPMS
B_SERVICES
C_CONSTRUCTION
D_LEASE
E_GOODS
F_CLIENTS
G_COMMUNICATIONS AND MEETINGS
H_PROJECT MONITORING
I_SPECIALIZED AREAS
Z_BASE DATA

Annex B: Basic electronic project filing structure v3.3

Root directory

A_NPMS
B_SERVICES
C_CONSTRUCTION
D_LEASE
E_GOODS
F_CLIENTS
G_COMMUNICATIONS AND MEETINGS
H_PROJECT MONITORING
I_SPECIALIZED AREAS
Z_BASE DATA

Populate with documentation such as existing drawings, photos, reports and studies.

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