Tracking and documenting changes for audit purposes in mining technical documentation projects using DITA is essential for ensuring compliance with industry standards, safety regulations, and environmental requirements. This process involves maintaining a detailed record of content revisions, approvals, and contributors.

Version Control

DITA allows mining organizations to implement version control mechanisms for their technical documentation. Each topic or document can include metadata such as version numbers, creation dates, and modification histories. Here’s an example of how version control information can be structured in DITA:

<topic id="equipment_specifications">
  <title>Equipment Specifications</title>
  <version>2.1</version>
  <created-date>2023-03-01</created-date>
  <modified-date>2023-06-15</modified-date>
  <modified-by>Alice Johnson</modified-by>
  <content>...
</topic>

Audit Trails

Maintaining an audit trail is crucial for tracking changes. This involves recording every modification made to the documentation, including who made the change, when it was made, and what the change entailed. Here’s an example of how an audit trail can be implemented in DITA:

<topic id="geological_report">
  <title>Geological Report</title>
  <version>3.0</version>
  <created-date>2023-02-10</created-date>
  <content>...
  <modification-history>
    <modification date="2023-06-20" author="John Smith">Updated geological data.</modification>
    <modification date="2023-08-05" author="Alice Johnson">Incorporated safety recommendations.</modification>
  </modification-history>

By maintaining such records, mining organizations can demonstrate compliance with industry regulations and ensure that their technical documentation aligns with the latest standards.