In 2021, I was working closely with a compliance officer named Mark, who had been given the job of implementing an ISO management system at his company. Mark was eager to learn and get things right, but he was relatively new to the world of ISO standards.
One day, we created an internal audit record—a document that was supposed to capture the findings of a recent audit, serving as a snapshot in time. It was meant to document what was observed during the audit and remain unchanged as a historical record.
A few weeks later, I noticed something strange when reviewing the audit records. The original document had been altered. Mark, in his efforts to be thorough, had gone back and edited the audit record to include the corrective actions his team had taken. In doing so, he unintentionally erased the original findings, making it impossible to see the issues that had initially been identified.
When I asked Mark about the changes, he explained that he thought he was supposed to update the record with the latest information. He was surprised when I explained that an audit record is meant to be a static snapshot of what happened at a specific point in time. The corrective actions should have been recorded in a separate document—one that tracks the ongoing status of those actions, essentially a living record.
Mark’s misunderstanding didn’t stop there. In another instance, he decided to embed a living record—a constantly updated risk register—directly into one of the company’s procedures. As a result, the procedure itself needed to be continually revised to reflect the changes in the risk register. This not only complicated the management of the procedure but also led to confusion among staff who had to follow it.
Through these challenges, Mark learned the importance of distinguishing between different types of records. He realized that trying to mix snapshots in time with living records could lead to loss of vital historical information and create unnecessary complexity in the management system. We worked together to separate these elements, ensuring that the management system was both conforming and easier to maintain.
This is much like what we do as parents. We take photos of our children - first steps, birthdays, graduations. Each photo is a snapshot, capturing a moment as it was. You wouldn’t edit these photos later because their value lies in preserving that specific snapshot in time.
Then we might also keep a diary or journal, updating it with our children’s thoughts, feelings, and milestones. This diary evolves as your child grows, reflecting the ongoing journey.
In an ISO management system, snapshots in time are like the photos—unchanging records of specific events. Living records, like the diary, are meant to be continually updated. Mixing these up can lead to confusion and loss of important context. Each has its own role in capturing the past and guiding the future.
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