Planning for and managing during a paper document disaster.

AuthorGulley, William R., Jr.

The disaster recovery and restoration industry in the United States is big business, and to the detriment of those who need such services, business is good.

Whether disasters are natural or man-made, one thing is certain: storms, fires, and floods happen practically every day, and they are costly. According to statistics on the Insurance Information Institute website, insurance payouts for U.S. natural catastrophe losses totaled $15.4 billion in 2014 and for domestic man-made catastrophes were $12.9 billion in 2013.

Imagining a Common Scenario

Imagine 1,000 records center containers soaked by sewage water. Empirical data from industry veterans indicate that the treatments required to restore them to usable, as near to pre-loss condition as possible, can easily cost a quarter of a million dollars.

Now imagine those records belong to your company or organization. Moreover, they are permanent, warrant long-term retention, or are mission-critical. Because they do not exist elsewhere in any format, these records must be salvaged by restoring the paper.

Imagine having either no insurance to cover the costs of recovery or coverage that falls short in fully funding restoration. Having an exorbitant amount of insurance coverage may not be a panacea, either, as the amount of coverage and the amount the insurance company is actually willing to pay out on a loss claim may not be the same. The payout may hinge on the impression the organization makes on its insurance carrier. An adjuster that sees evidence of poor records management may challenge why it is necessary to recover these materials.

The ramifications of these scenarios, with respect to business continuity and fiscal solvency in forcibly absorbing this type of loss, are staggering.

Beginning with a RIM Foundation

While the importance of carrying proper insurance coverage in the event of a disaster cannot be overstated, records and information management (RIM) professionals must do more than just review their organization's insurance policies and hope for the best.

An organization that can show it maintains physical and intellectual control over the records it creates and holds; has clean and organized stacks, file rooms, and storage areas; monitors its storage conditions, including its temperature and humidity; and has kept its building in good repair is more likely to have a favorable insurance settlement. In addition, these best practices that existed before the disaster promote an economy of movement in response to emergency conditions.

Certain preparations need to be made before disaster strikes, specifically, developing a thorough disaster plan that includes measures that will enable an organization to resume or maintain operations while the recovery unfolds. In short, the better prepared an organization is...

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