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Series VPRS
8948
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Central Registry Correspondence Files, Single Number System
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| Date Range: |
Series |
1987 - Circa 1994 |
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Series in Custody |
By 1987 - 1994 |
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Contents |
By 1940 - 1994 |
| Public Access: |
Part Open |
| Location: |
North Melbourne |
| Format of Records: |
Physical |
  | Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series |
| Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series |
| Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series |
- How to use the Records
The consignment details for this series include file numbers and file titles. Two versions of the records description lists have been printed. The first is in unit number and file number order. Those lists may be useful for researchers who know a file number or wish simply to browse through file titles. The second version has been sorted alphabetically by file title. These lists may be useful if researchers are seeking files relating to particular subjects, transactions or correspondents or if a file title is known.
Researchers may wish to refer to VPRS 9955 RMS Thesaurus (Central Registry Correspondence), a thesaurus which was used by the Central Registry to apply standardised terms to classify and file correspondence. It may assist the user to identify the term(s) used to classify correspondence of interest.
- Function / Content
This series consists of correspondence files created under a single number file registration system developed and implemented with the introduction in 1987 of an automated records management system to the State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) known as RMS. RMS was introduced into the Central Records Registry of the SECV replacing the multiple number filing system (VPRS 8897) which had been in operation since 1971. The RMS system and the single number system were progressively employed by other records centres throughout SECV.
This series contains files created and maintained by the Central Registry. Following the break-up of the SECV into separate businesses in 1994 the Central Registry became the registry for National Electricity and continued to be responsible for the majority of corporate files of the former SECV. Records management in the new businesses was not the responsibility of the Central Registry and any files that had been held in the Central Registry that were required by the new businesses were transferred to them. The RMS system continued as the records management system used by the National Electricity registry. Copies of relevant RMS data were provided to the separate business enterprises for their reference.
RMS was an automated system designed to streamline the identification, location and tracing of files and documents using Status software, a free text indexing and retrieval software package, which provided free text search and retrieval facilities. Effectively, separate databases were created in RMS for each registry in the SECV that used the system. The file numbering system (see below) allowed up to ninety-nine department codes each of which, generally, applied to a single registry. By 1994 there were thirty-five department codes in use. Central registry had, or acquired, responsibility for files created in only four departments with the codes 13 (personnel or human resources directorate), 30 (treasury group), 31 (general finance) and the core corporate records with code 33 (general management records or corporate files).
It should be noted that not all files with these codes have been transferred to PROV. Some have been retained by National Electricity for ongoing reference and others were transferred to the new businesses for their use.
Note that no complete RMS database has been transferred to PROV. Partial data relating to the records in this series was downloaded and used to produce the consignment details.
- Recordkeeping System
The general correspondence file registration system developed was a single number system. It required each new file created in a registry or filing centre to be allocated the next sequential number, irrespective of its subject content or relationship to other files. The system allowed registration of files and of documents in relation to files. In the Central Registry the use of the document registration facility of RMS was rarely used, although other registry centres may have used the facility (by 1994 over 28,000 files were registered in Central registry, with fewer than 500 individual documents / folios registered). In the Central Registry the use of document registration was used to track documents not attached to files. While a document was circulating the RMS database described it as a document. Once attached to a file the description was altered to folio.
On the top right corner of each file a self adhesive label was affixed showing the file number and a bar-code representing the number. Along a bottom edge of the file cover colour coded labels showing the file number were affixed, with different colours for different characters in the number. These numbers were designed to be visible when the files were stored on shelves enabling easy identification of files by range of numbers. The colour coding also made it easy to identify files improperly placed on the shelves.
The registration numbers comprised either:
eight characters for a file eg. 44AA3322
or
eleven characters for a document eg. 44AA3322111
The above examples illustrate the structure of the registration numbers. The first part of the number, 44, is the administration location code of the department that the file belonged to from a possible range of codes from 01 to 99. The second part of the number, AA33, is the sequential number allocated to a particular file. The sequence numbers could be in the range from AA01 to ZZ99 (that is, AA01, AA02,AA99, AB99, ZZ99). Each subsequent file registered was allocated the next available number. This number system permitted almost 67,000 files to be created for each department code. The third part of the registration number, 22, allowed for part-files to be created ranging from part 01 to part 99 for each file. All files registered had a part 01 whether or not subsequent parts were created. The final component of the registration number related to the folio number of a document on a part-file ranging from folio 001 to folio 999.
As a further example, 33 AA01 01 would be Part one (01) of the first file (AA01) belonging to Secretarial Department (33) and 33 AA01 01 001 would identify the first document, folio 001, on that file.
This numbering system was required to be used for all general correspondence systems operating on the Central Registry computer based records management system. The numbering system was also recommended to be adopted by all manual systems operating in the Commission. This numbering system was not, however, used for contract files or personal case files such as worker's compensation claims. The contract files continued to be created under a multiple number filing system (refer to VPRS 8897).
VPRS 9955 RMS Thesaurus (Central Registry Correspondence) was another element in the recordkeeping system for central correspondence files between 1987 and circa 1993. The thesaurus is a structured list of controlled terms arranged in alphabetical order. Both preferred and non-preferred terms are included. Correspondence was classified by the use of standardised terms or keywords as described in the thesaurus. The use of keywords facilitated searches on the RMS database.
Previous series
Prior to the introduction of the single number system in 1987, Central Registry operated a multiple number system of file control. Files from that system have been transferred in VPRS 8897.
Personnel registry correspondence files formerly created in an annual single number sequence in VPRS 8916 commenced to be created in the single number system in this series from 1991. Personnel correspondence files in this series have the department code of 13.
Finance branch also operated a separate registry using an annual single number system, files for which are in VPRS 8924, but commenced using the RMS registered single number system in 1987.
Consignment details: P1, P2 and P3 consignments
The consignment details for this series were created by down-loading data from the RMS database. The barcode labels on the files in each consignment were scanned when the files were boxed for transfer to PROV. The scanned information allowed the database entries for the relevant files to be modified to show PROV as the location of the files. Data from the RMS database was then down-loaded as text files which PROV converted to wordprocessing files (Microsoft Word for Windows version 6.0). The alphabetical sorts of the lists were done using the Table-Sort utility of the wordprocessing software.
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