I find it funny that we have never had this discussion, and I have  
been on this list for many years, and now 24 different RM's replied to  
this topic.  Doesn't that strike you as a new phenomena in the industry?

As companies pay ever closer attention to the bottom line they are  
finding scams that cause their costs to rise.  At the same time  
companies who perpetrate scams are constantly having to find new scams  
as the old ones are discovered.  At a recent conference, vendors were  
talking about new accounts they won and why.

So I pose the question "Do you even have any idea how many boxes you  
have?"  "Do you keep a running rate of how many you add and how many  
you shred?"

Boxes used to average 16 years on a shelf as their normal life  
according to industry standards.  And we never heard about re-boxing.   
Now with shredding, boxes are more likely to exist for 7 years and  
then go to a shredding company.  The box is shredded along with the  
files. If we are using boxes for a shorter period of time, why would  
they break down? Why is re-boxing an issue today?

Here is another conundrum:  Why do companies that audit their actual  
box and tape count each year to verify the actual tapes in storage see  
a re-calibration to correct number each year.  The reduction in volume  
is significant if they have not run an audit for several years. I  
would find it mighty uncomfortable to go into court with the task of  
explaining why the volume of tapes I have in storage and pay for each  
month is not the the volume I have for discovery by the opposing  
attorney.

I was surprised (shocked?) that the Chain of Custody issue was not  
talked about more.  In litigation, I think the fact that boxes are  
allowed to be re-boxed, resorted into larger and/or smaller boxes  
would be a cause for summary judgement as you cannot provide an  
accurate Data Map.  Certainly not in 99 days.  If files are to be re- 
boxed they should be done under your supervision. Isn't that what  
Chain of Custody is all about; proper supervision.  Unless you have an  
affidavit appointing some unknown warehouseman as your surrogate then  
your integrity is bogus.

This list argued for days on what is a record!  How about "What is a  
box of records?"  And who can open it, resort it, and review it and  
possibly remove items or lose them.  Years ago, the offsite storage  
contract had a clause giving the vendor the right to open a box and  
inspect it. That was removed so no right to open this box exists.

Maybe companies should attempt to bill their offsite storage company  
for disturbing the integrity of the records and voiding the Chain of  
Custody and billing them for the cost of inventorying the records and  
restoring the proper chain of custody.  Watch re-boxing fees go away!

I remember visiting a offsite company and witnessing a pallet of  
records coming in from a client.  The client had stacked the pallet  
too high and boxes burst.  They immediately took photos to protect  
themselves.  They had a shrink wrap unit that could wrap the whole  
pallet and they did so.  The client was then told to come immediately  
to re-box the records.  This was years ago before all these new laws  
creating CEO, CFO and even Board of Director liability.

Odd that re-boxing is worth $9.00 but if the box is destroyed along  
with all the documents it is only worth $1.00. So that must end our  
debate about what is a record? It is a record until you put it in a  
box.  Then it is nothing.  Actually it is less than nothing.  It is a  
negative $8.00.

Hugh Smith

List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]