Built on Collaboration

In an early planning meeting, someone on a project we're working on requested a 65 digit number for a document! This code wasn't just numbers, it included letters and symbols as well. There's no doubt that this system was super-organized, but is it practical? It's worth remembering that the doc number has to be understood by everyone, including external suppliers and subcontractors. Plus the longer the number, the greater the risk of human error.

Whether they are paper or electronic, documents are the foundation of a construction project. Clear labeling is essential, both for initial storage and later retrieval. But using a document number of 50+ characters really isn't necessary. Most of the information contained in the doc number is in the document itself - which the user will read anyway - or in the attached metadata.

A concise numbering protocol can contain all of the required project information, and can be more than adequate for search, retrieval and reporting purposes.

So how long should a doc number be? There's no hard & fast rule, but a document number can be as short as 5 digits, with a simple discipline descriptor and a sequential number assigned to certain project elements. Most projects can benefit from a numbering protocol that is under 15 digits in length. When broken down, it only needs to hold Author-Discipline-Project Location-Sequence. This is far easier to understand for everyone on the project and, most importantly, its simplicity means there's less chance of someone, somewhere, making a mistake.

Labels: Good practice