COMMERCIAL RECORD CENTER

Abstract

Commercial records center (CRC) business has evolved from what began as a repository of mostly inactive, records into a much more interactive, high technology relationship with its client. With latest technologies, CRC now offer very sophisticated computer-base indexing, disaster recovery and etc. this article will elaborate about how commercial records center will benefit an organization in their business.

Keyword: Commercial record center, business records, management, storage

Introduction

Records are an essential tool of good business and efficient administration. They will provide information for planning and decision making also the evidence of government accountability (National Archive Australia). Records management is known for professional practice as it is managing the records of organizations using the records life-cycle from the process of creation to disposal. This life-cycle includes identifying, classifying, storing, securing, retrieving, tracking and destroying or permanently preserved the records. The purpose of records management is part of an organization’s function and primarily concerned with the managing of the evidence of an organization’s activities as well as the reduction of risk associated with it.

A record can represents as a proof of the existence. It is either created or received by an organization in pursuance or in agreement with legal obligations, or in the transaction of business. Records can be either tangible such as paper documents like birth certificates, physical medical x-ray or digital information such as electronic office document, data in database, e-mail and etc. Records may be covered by access controls to regulate who can access them and under what circumstances.

Record center is an organization that can store and manage all records such as financial, legal and business documents. Record center usually will manage and support the whole records management process, from records collection through records management to records disposition. Commercial record centers are facilities which provide services for the storage for paper records for organizations. In some cases, they also offer storage for records maintained in electronic formats. Commercial records centers provide storage for paper records and some offer average temperature controlled storage for sensitive non-paper and vital paper media. There is a skill organization for commercial records centers.   

Benefits of Commercial Record Center

It is undeniable fact that there is a business records that need to be retained for legal, administrative and operational and there is no need getting around for storage. There are several reasons that exist for value in using commercial record center. The several benefits why organization should store their records in a commercial record center are:

·         Space Cost Saving

Office space will be expensive and fills up quickly when it is used to store paper document. However, a commercial record center will offers more economical solution for storing records. By storing records, an organization can be able to eliminate real estate leased and cost.

·         Authorized and Secure Destruction

In commercial record center, they will have procedures in place to ensure the records are systematically destroyed and only with appropriate authorization reducing the chance of reckless, selective and personal destruction of records. Commercial record center will ensure the organization’s records will not be destroyed prematurely or retained longer than needed. They also will protect the information from unauthorized access and physical damage from fires, floods, and natural disasters (Podraza, 2014).

·         Optimal Retention Management

According to Richards Office Records Management, 2016, knowing how long to retaining records is important as keeping them safe from disaster and unauthorized access. A commercial records center is staffed by records management professionals who categorize and index your files according to the business and industry’s document retention requirements. A commercial records center will ensures the business documents are always safe, secure, properly managed, and easily accessible.

·         Facilities and Service Capabilities

Commercial record center will provide a level of protection that hard to find in other storage facilities. Most facilities are designed and dedicated to records management.  Thus, fire prevention, climate controls and security are of utmost concern. Most commercial records centers offer much more than simply storage. Mostly they will offer full suite of records management services, including storage, pickup and retrieval, scanning, records destruction, media storage and media destruction.

Function of Commercial Record Center

·         Authorize records disposal schedules for the organization that keep records after consulting in commercial record center.

·         Approve disposal of the records, in consultation with the client/organization of the commercial record center where necessary.

·         Provide centralized intermediate storage for their client to keep the records.

Challenges

·         Organizational and Personnel Problem

Record center must ensure their staff to have passable academic qualification and experience that combines skills of information technology and also in information management, business system analysis and any skills that related. Record overload becoming worse as registries in the public sector attempted to deal with excessive quantities of paper which could be destroyed or sent to centers designed for the storage of inactive records or to the National Archives.

·         Technology

There are some important decision-support documents are in the form of multimedia presentations and spreadsheets which have assumptions that embedded within the electronic version that are not easily willing to print out. The problems related to saving such important types of records are typically not addressed, and so the records are lost. There are also new formats of record material including computer generated, motion picture and television films which all requiring skills, procedures and storage environment in a part of the world where there are extreme variations in temperature and humidity.

·         Level of Risk

In developing the records disaster recovery plan, record center should assess the changeable force of each risk to which their records may be subject. Risks may range from minor flooding affecting perhaps only one or two offices in a facility to a major fire that may cause major damage to the entire facility and its contents (Barry, 2003). Generally, water, fire, and smoke damage should receive particular attention as they are the likely the main problem that will damage records stored in an agency facility. If chemical agents are either stored in the building or are contained in its operating systems, the potential damage these might cause should also be addressed during the planning.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, commercial record center is important and reliable for any organization to keep their records without having any problem in managing their records. With commercial record center, an organization can have benefits that can help them in organizing all of their business records effectively. An organization or individual do not have to worry about their records because in commercial records center will have qualified staff to handle all of the records using the right method which is the record life-cycle.

References

Barry, R. (2003, June 9). Record challenges. Retrieved September 22, 2006, from the World            Wide Web: http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles

Burlington Massachusetts. (n.d). Functions and services. Retrieved June 14, 2016 from             http://www.burlington.org/residents/archives_services.php

Faber, M. J. (2001). The evolving commercial records center industry. Information Management            Journal, 35(3), 4-9.

Podraza, A. (2014). Benefits of using a commercial records center. Retrieved June 14, 2016 from            https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140425163840-46254388-benefits-of-using-a-           commercial-records-center

Richards Records Management. (n.d) You have to store your records in a commercial records            center: here’s why. Retrieved June 14, 2016 from            http://www.richardsandrichards.com/you-have-to-store-your-records-in-a-commercial-           records-center-heres-why/