Secure Document Destruction

Every document has a lifecycle, from origination to active to inactive to deep storage to eventual destruction. Destruction of business information is usually mandated by an industry regulation or local law. With the influx of regulatory requirements in the last few years, staying informed of new regulations and developing a retention and destruction schedule is critical. In some cases, retaining documents may even increase your personal and business liability. Many businesses rely on professional records management companies to assist them with their retention schedules and overall records management policies.

At Crown, Account Managers help define these policies while technology is used to implement them. Using the bar code system, Crown’s software can be set up to alert you when a record is approaching the end of its lifecyle. It sends an automatic reminder that it is time to destroy obsolete records. The alert can be sent to Crown’s Account Manager or directly to the client.

Following the alert, Crown will await further instructions from the client. At that point, the client will authorize Crown in writing to implement the destruction. There are several methods for destruction including recycling, shredding or burning of hard copies, disks and microfilm, and electronic data.

Shredding and destruction services are not only used for statutory compliance, but also to safeguard your oganization against identity theft. Some business information accelerates through the business lifeycle, skipping the deep storage and going straight from the “active” stage to the “destruction” stage. For records that are being held at your office, a Crown driver can retrieve the files, destroy them and provide the necessary documentation.

Regardless of the method, all destructions will be documented with a “Certificate of Destruction” to help clients provide substantiation and adhere to their regulatory requirements.