Roger,
Adding additional files to the off site records facility should not bea problem if you track and index each file in all of the containerswith a good records management software suite. Storing the records incartons or on open shelving and then merging new files into them willcertainly be labor intensive, as would indexing each container offiles. With creating an index you have the extra advantage of creatinga detailed accurate inventory of every file in your possession.
Additionally, if you leave open space in cartons or on shelves forinterfiling, you are essentially wasting space and/or boxes whilewaiting for the new files to be sent over and interfiled. Withindexing you can maximize storage density in your facility.
Indexing also allows you to find the file everytime, regardless offiling errors. If they are filed alphabetically and John Smith isfiled in the Johnson-Jones box, you will still be able to find it usingyour index. You probably couldn't by just merging and interfiling newfiles.
As far as your limited budget and labor are concerned, most softwarepackages allow multiple remote users. This could allow you to put theresponsibility for creating the index for each carton on the HRdepartment.
In my opinion, indexing is preferable to interfiling.
Wm. Scott Hambrick
President
Data Storage, Inc
www.datastorageinc.com
7370 E 38th St
Tulsa, OK 74145
918-664-6164
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Roger Hamperian [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: Monday, July 24, 2006 02:24 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: active personnel files
>
>Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Roger Hamperian and I am the Senior
>Records Manager for the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government in
>Lexington, KY. I am relatively new to RM having made a career change last
>fall after working 4 years at the Univ. of Kentucky as a reformatting
>librarian and archivist. I have been monitoring the listserv for about 5
>months. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn about RM, but the listserv
>has been very helpful in giving me a jumpstart.
>
>
>
>My first query to the listserv pertains to personnel records. I should begin
>by saying Lexington employs approx. 3,500 people and maintains its own
>off-site storage facility for inactive records. Recently I was informed by
>Human Resources that they were beginning a scanning project to digitize all
>of their active personnel files. They want to send all of these active files
>to the Records Center after they have been scanned. To this point I didn't
>foresee any problems. Wrong! I have since learned that HR expects to be able
>to send additional documents to the Records Center after they are scanned to
>be added to the files already in storage. This seems unfeasible to me given
>the amount of documentation created by HR. Even if the files are boxed so as
>to allow room for future expansion, it seems inevitable that at some point
>they will reach their capacity and need to be reboxed. This would no doubt
>require a great deal of time and effort with the actual files as well as
>revising the inventory, not to mention the additional labor required to
>continually add documents to these files. I find these expectations
>unrealistic given our current budget and staffing (1.5 FTE in addition to
>myself).
>
>
>
>Has anyone out there faced a similar situation? Any suggestions on how to
>respond? Thanks.
>
>
>
>
>
>Roger Hamperian
>
>Records Management Analyst Sr.
>
>L.F.U.C.G. Records Center and Archives
>
>1306 Versailles Road
>
>Suite 180
>
>Lexington, KY 40508
>
>
>
>859/425-2071
>
>859/425-2073 fax
>
>
>
>
>List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
>Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
>
List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
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