Posted By VF
This is not a particular recommendation as I cannot say whether your industry or company has particular document control or disposal standards. This would depend on the type of work you do and in what industry sector you do it in.

However, if your company does not have a document control policy/ procedure, it may be in your interest to keep any records for a minimum of three years - similar to the retention time dictated by the statutory accident book BI510 (retention from date of last entry).

Document retention can also be specified by Quality/ Environmental Management regimes, legislative requirements, etc

However, I am a little puzzzled by the question. It is as if your were requiring a document retention standard to impose on any contractor used by your company. This would require them, as a condition of being a supplier, to you, to maintain their documents for a time period specified by you - along with any other legal requirements for record keeping, i.e. accident records, statutory examinations, health surveillance, etc.

You could also check with your company insurers' for their record keeping requirements, in the event of a claim against your company, etc. There may also be contractual requirements specified in the initial contract for the work or specified by your contracts/ procurement section/ person

VF