Document Storage Vs. Self Storage
Posted on June 22, 2010 Filed Under Document Management Solutions, Document Storage, Records Management | Leave a Comment
It seems that you cant turn around these day without seeing or hearing an advertisement for a self storage warehouse. Its big business with many many players in the market – and for good reason. With some service providers charging to to $40.00 per square metre it can be a major money spinner!
We often come across clients that are storing their records in a self storage facility. They are usually doing so as their office space was filled to the max, and they had to make a decision quickly as to where to house their records. As a short term solution this can work well – however long term it can be very costly. There are many reasons for this – but the main one is that you are usually paying to store air!
With a records management storage company you only pay a per box rate. That means that you aren’t paying for storage in terms of volume, but rather per item. This can mean huge savings over the life of your records and archives. For example:
- Cost to Hire a 2.25M x 2.25M x 2M Unit = $1440.00 + GST Per Year
Total Number of Boxes That Can Be Stored and still be accessible: 80
- Cost for 80 Boxes in a document storage company = $600.00 + GST Per Year
When it comes to a comparison of a dedicated document storage service supplier versus self storage you just can’t beat the later for cost effectiveness, convenience and scalability!
DMS (Document Managment Systems) and You
Posted on April 29, 2010 Filed Under Document Management Solutions, Records Management, Scanning | Leave a Comment
We have been chasing the ultimate document management system for quite some time, and are yet to find one that fits the bill. With such a huge choice out there that might seem implausible. But what we have come to realize is that no DMS can really be perfect in every situation. As such, we have decided that the best move idea is to recommend a number of products based on a clients needs.
That being said, some products that we really like include:
- box.net
- docuvantage
- GoogleDocs (of course!)
We have found these to be cheap, reliable and very feature rich (while still being simple to use).
To see how a document management system can help your business drop us a line.
Guess whose back?
Posted on March 4, 2010 Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Just a quick post to say that we are still alive and well. Its been a busy year in records management and we have some big ideas for the future.
Stay tuned – we will be back soon!
Scanning Documents & Digital Preservation
Posted on October 14, 2009 Filed Under Document Management Solutions, Scanning | Leave a Comment
So you have decided to scan your documents. You have obviously created a good business case for it, sold it to the powers that be and are halfway through implementing for document scanning solution (if you haven’t done any of these yet, here is a great checklist that helps you understand the outcomes of scanning initiates: http://www.archives.mcgill.ca/dp/practices/scan_checklist.htm).
However, one issue that tends to escape the attention of most people is that of digital preservation. Believe it or not, digital documents are quite fragile. Whether it be threats from data loss due to system failure, gradual degradation of digital backup media over time (VHS tapes anyone?), technological obsolesces of either media (think 5 1/4 Inch Diskettes) or file format there is a lot that can go horribly wrong.
So, what can be done about this onslaught of digital destruction monsters? Luckily The Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) has an interesting and informative website that deals directly with these issues. Go here to check it out.
That’s it for this post. Hope your document scanning is coming along nicely!
Document Scanning – Dive in, or just dip a toe?
Posted on September 9, 2009 Filed Under Document Storage, Records Management, Scanning, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
More and more customers ask if we can provide them with a scanning solution to satisfy their records management / document storage needs. I usually give a little smile, take a deep breath and then break into a song and dance about how great the digital revolution is, and how special that feeling you get deep inside from knowing that you run a paperless office.
However, the reality is usually quite different. Is going paperless, scanning and implementing a document management system (DMS) the way to go? As per usual the answer is complicated and depends on a wide variety of factors. For 95% small to medium enterprises the decision will usually come down to whether a good business case can be made for the expense, while the other 5% can generally justify it through increased productivity and wage savings. Other more specific factors that should be considered include the legality of disposing of paper records, whether or not your staff will cope with the massive change that going digital brings and whether or not your IT infrastructure can handle it.
I think the most sensible approach to migrating to a digital document management system is to take it slow; adopt a staged approach (ie. Sales first, then accounts, then admin), or just move one process to digital and see how it goes. This should give you a good idea of cost / benefit, staff adoption of the new processes and whether or not its worth tkaing the dive. Good luck, and happy scanning!
Oils Ain’t Oils And Neither are Archive Boxes!
Posted on July 29, 2009 Filed Under File Storage, Records Management, Storage Systems | Leave a Comment
Ok, so today’s title isn’t the wittiest of all time but it’s the best I could think of! I suppose the important ‘attention grabbing’ point that the title attempts to communicate is the fact that archive boxes aren’t created equal. In fact there is more to the humble archive box than meets the eye.
So, what makes a good box? Quite a bit actually, and it isn’t all related to price.
Box Design
I’m sure that anyone who has ever handled an archive box has had the unfortunate sinking sensation when the bottom of the box randomly falls out. In the ensuing flutter of paper and muttered expletives you find yourself thinking – damn, that’s a poorly designed box.
Firstly – a either a solid one piece double based box is essential. It puts and end to those moments described above, and allows the box to take a much heaver load.
Secondly, it is ESSENTIAL that the box is doubled walled on either the long or short side. This is so that the box can literally ’stand up’ to a vertical load and wont collapse in on it self (and in the process bring down whatever is on top of it!). It is preferable that the short handle side be double walled to give extra strength when pulling or carrying a box so the handle doesn’t rip out.
Lastly the lid should be durable and snugly fitting. It is preferable to have a double layered lid lip so as to strengthen the torque characteristics of the box (think twisting the box like wringing out a towel).
Box Material
So what is a good box made of? The answer is usually a corrugated cardboard product that is strengthened by a liner that is more often than not printed on. There are a number of different grades of corrugation (such as K, E etc.); as long as its recycled and of at least K grade, you should be fine. There are some super strong plastic products on the market at the moment but these are just overkill. And besides, who wants to pay $16.00 for a box?
So that’s it in a very small nutshell. In my next post I will review an archive box using the above as criteria. Feel free to contact for more information on what makes a good box.
Document Storage and the Importance of being an Individual
Posted on July 8, 2009 Filed Under Document Storage, File Storage, Storage Systems | Leave a Comment
Time and time again we receive new document storage customers and immediately come across a common problem: customers have duplicated box numbers. Whatever the reason may be – the archives don’t all fit in one box, forgetting what the next box number is – duplicating carton numbers immediately corrupts the integrity of the archives. How? Lets say that a customer wants a record that is in carton number 32. However, there are three cartons labeled 32. Which one contains the document? It’s anyones guess. While these problems are not insurmountable in jobs that only contain a few hundred cartons (which typically only have a few duplicates), larger jobs of thousands of cartons exponentially magnify the problem and usually requires hundreds of hours of labor to rectify.
However there are a few simple steps that will ensure that each carton is labeled uniquely. Firstly, keep a register of which carton has which box number. This way, whenever you go to add new archives you will know which cartons have been used.
Secondly – even though it feels o’ so right – don’t be tempted to duplicate carton numbers because the documents don’t fit in one box. Even though it may seem like the right thing to do, it will cause major problems down the track.
Of course once you become a customer and these initial issues are sorted, our quality control systems ensure that you will never have a duplicate carton number again. We keep track of what you have used and will only ever issue you with unique barcode identifiers. But then again document storage is what we live and breathe.
Until next time…
Document Storage and Historical Archives
Posted on June 11, 2009 Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
A customer recently approached us to sort, cull, catalog and eventually provide document storage for their precious paperwork. During this process our staff found a number of VERY old documents dating from 1850 onwards. Our dilemma – should we archive them in a standard fashion, or implement some historical document processing protocols to ensure the longevity of the documents?
Luckily, the client agreed to the latter and we went about processing these documents. The process included using cotton gloves to handle documents (protection from harmful skin oils), sheathing photographs and the like in non-reactive polyethylene plastic, bubble wrapping important paper documents to reduce buffeting and of course providing acid free, PH treated cartons for the storage of these precious documents.
We believe that these measures have substantially increased the life of these documents. While some water damage had already been sustained this process has eliminated further weathering, and their storage in our secure document storage facility will ensure there viability for the future.
By the way, if you want advice on how to handle / preserve historical documents please feel free to contact us.
Storage System VS. Filing System
Posted on May 21, 2009 Filed Under Storage Systems | Leave a Comment
A customer who has our SmartStack archive storage system had me come out to look at the problems that they were having with their in-office system (or lack thereof!). They were facing a number of problems:
1. Each employee was responsible for their own filing.
2. There was no central repository for current files.
3. There was no clear retention guidelines (ie. How long to keep a type of document).
4. There were no clear processes for staff handover.
With this in mind, I set about outlining the best way to file current documents. What follows is the brief that I delivered:
- Step 1. Create a clear organizational document taxonomy
Before you can start filing you need to know WHAT you are filing. A good starting point is your organizational chart: use this as a basis for creating departments or your first level. Within each department, list all of the areas that produce documents: this is your second level. Now, within each area create a list of specific documents that are produced. (ie. Finance->Accounts Payable->Cheque Vouchers). Remember, this list needs to exhaustive.
- Step 2. Create a retention schedule
So you now know what documents your organisation creates. But how long should you keep them for? Based on the taxonomy you just created you now need to make some tough decisions about how long to keep each document for. Jot down next to each document type the number of years it needs to be kept. In deciding the retention periods try to keep in mind the following: legal, historical and corporate/organizational identity.
- Step 3. Create a document-type numbering system
Your document taxonomy list is starting to look like the real deal. You know what documents your organisation creates, and how long to keep them. Now, how do we tie it all together? A numbering system! Start by assigning your departments at number (ie. Finance = 1, Administration =2). Then assign each area within each department a sub decimal number. Lastly give another sub-decimal to the specific document type. So for example a Cheque Voucher would have a document number of 1.1.1.
Once you have numbered each document, all that’s left to do is setup a filing system that is reflective of your new document structure. A filing cabinet full of numbered lateral files or a compactus with manila folders will suffice as a central storage system. Now all you need to do is convince your staff to file their documents according to your new structure!
Document Storage and Smart Storage Group
Posted on May 11, 2009 Filed Under Document Storage | Leave a Comment
I just realized today that I have been blogging about document storage, and haven’t even introduced our storage company (at least not directly). Smart Storage Group is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Moorabbin to be exact). We have been in operation for around 10 years and are proud to be finally entering the blogosphere to talk about document storage.
Over the coming weeks I’ll be blogging about how we organise our warehouse to provide our clients with close to 100% retrieval accuracy; that is, when they request a document / carton they get the right one. It’s one of the cornerstones of any document storage company – after all, who would want to pay for a service and get the wrong documents delivered!!
If you want more information about our business please vist us at our document storage website.
keep looking »
