On Nov 16, 2007, at 12:00 AM, RECMGMT-L automatic digest system wrote:
> From:    "Jones, Virginia" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: What should the Owner of the Computer Tapes do if a  
> third of their tapes are missing?

Ginny,

You outlined a very sold procedure for keeping track of tapes and  
monitoring your vendor. I also know you moved through a few vendors  
until you created the relationship you felt was best for your  
organization.  You have also been heavily involved in several  
Standards development programs. Between you and Larry there is a very  
strong experience level on developing protocols.

Would you outline exactly the procedure you would want followed if  
your vendor delivered tapes that belonged to Virginia Employees  
Credit Union to your door.

Or, if you received a call from the Law firm down the street saying  
that they had tapes that appeared to belong to you that were  
mistakenly dropped at their door.

Or upon changing vendors, the offsite storage company discovers a  
number of tapes from various clients mixed in with your collection  
during the transfer.

Not all situations are the same. Or are they treated the same?

I know of one instance where a large processing house who did Data  
Processing for the large department store, the MasterCard Bank in  
that region, and First National Bank.  As they rotated tapes offsite  
from a collection of 150,000 pieces of media, the vendor on seeing  
the clients names on the cases would mistakenly deliver them to the  
companies being processed rather than back to the storage facility.   
First National would then be confused because tapes that were sent to  
the processor for action were now coming back to them.  This  
embarrassed the processing company because it kept occurring and they  
changed vendors.  So it is not always a simple situation of just one  
tape showing up in the mix.

This situation was just an incompetent driver taking the simple  
approach of seeing a name on a case and delivering it. But this also  
occurs due to offsite storage companies renting transfer cases.   
Sometimes a client writes their name on the container with indelible  
ink.  The vault custodian grabs the case, at random, loads it with  
tapes and sticks a delivery tag on it.  The driver upon seeing the  
name on the case can easily make the mistake.  After all the client  
signs the receipt without looking at what they have received.  I  
could provide a hundred scenarios of how the client is careless.

But nonetheless, what should the scenario be?  If you have the wrong  
tapes and you just hand them to your vendor are you aiding and  
abetting? Are you potentially transferring stolen property?  Rick  
feel free to enter in at any time.

But I believe that tapes showing up where they don't belong is a  
serious matter.  We live in a more dangerous world.  The value of the  
collection is too great.  The penalties are harsh for management for  
spoliation or loss in any manner.

If you outline how you would handle discrepancies, I bet that a solid  
basis of a protocol would exist.  Rick could then lay in the legal  
issues.

Gerard I think you are being harsh to PRISM. It was PRISM that  
developed the "Media Vault Guide" to provide criteria to clients  
attempting to select the best vendor.  They later added John Ulmer's   
"Media Vault Operations Guideline."  But PRISM is a Trade Association  
and similar to ARMA they cannot dictate what their members do.  They  
can merely advance Guidelines.  In fact PRISM has participated in  
many ARMA Task Forces.

Let us be proactive here and look to solutions. What we discover here  
can protect clients but it also provides protection for the offsite  
media vaulting company who wished to avoid liability by following a  
precise protocol.

So what say you Ginny, what is your idea on this issue?

Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
[log in to unmask]
(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM





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