Shred-it Forward

Friday, April 10, 2009

Written by Jennifer Brown
Tuesday, 03 February 2009


Whether it’s done in-house or outsourced, when it comes to forming a thorough shredding policy some companies may find they haven’t gone far enough to make sure the documents they want destroyed are securely disposed of in an efficient manner.

Many companies are moving to a shred-all policy, but that can become an expensive proposition when things like newspapers and pizza boxes also end up in the mix. While the “better safe than sorry” approach is considered best, a blanket policy is expensive. Shredding everything from last year’s draft budget documents to the paper and napkins from the cafeteria can take up a lot of resources.

“We want people to understand what’s confidential and what’s not and do that assessment themselves. Then the hard part is getting people to comply,” says Derek Knights, Director, Investigative Services for Sun Life, who has worked for a number of companies that have developed strict document disposal policies.

When it comes to the basics of choosing an outsourced provider of document destruction, there are some fundamental rules that apply, such as insisting the outsourcer’s staff have undergone criminal background checks and that they run a secure facility that they will let you inspect the premises at any time along with their transport trucks.

According to Oakville, Ont.-based Shred-it, which provides onsite document destruction, their client base ranges in size from small organizations with a handful of employees to large companies employing more than 100,000.

“For small and medium-sized businesses, we can offer a real cost savings and it’s more secure than having one of their employees standing at a shredder which can also mean lost productivity when their time could be better used elsewhere,” says president and CEO Rob Warshauer. “Also, do you want that employee looking at documents you deem confidential, or do you want to err on the side of caution?”

When confidential waste is on board, the contractor’s truck must be locked and physically secure to a standard acceptable to you and only authorized individuals may have access to the confidential waste on board the truck.

“We want to know the organization has a secure facility and we want the right to inspect all of it when we want. The onsite shredding has to permit that one of our people can oversee it and that the bins are completely emptied. The hard part is getting people to understand what’s confidential and needs to be shredded and what can be recycled,” says Knights.

If you’re outsourcing the task, it’s also important to know what requirements to include in the agreement. At the top of the list should be the requirement that the company has done background checks and established a secure process for the handling of documents to be destroyed.

“It’s the confidentiality of the information that’s at issue, not the specific task,” says Knights. “If someone is in charge of taking documents that need to be shredded and they take them to the loading dock to give to the shredding company and they leave the documents and the boxes sit there until the shredding guy comes, you have to make sure someone is supervising that process. It’s like maintaining continuity of evidence,” says Knights.

Warshauer says appropriate background checks are done on Shred-it employees.

“We do significant background checks of driver’s licence and make sure everybody is bondable. Our employees also see so many bags of documents a day it’s not really an issue; they just want to move on to the next customer.”

Checklist for shredding equipment used in-house

Avoid strip cutters: Strip cut shredders produce strips that form neat layers in the shred bag, and are easily re-assembled. A good quality crosscut or particle shredder (sometimes called a “confetti shredder”) must be used.

Residue size: For most companies the residue particles produced by the crosscut or particle shredder should be no larger than 5/32” x 1-1/8” (5/32” x 2” is minimally acceptable, for personal shredders). For higher-grades of security, shredders producing smaller sized particles are needed.

Type of use and shred capacity: Desktop shredders can usually shred only a few pages at a time and are not terribly robust over the long term. For high volumes of confidential documents, or for multiple users, a department shredder is required. For shared departments, consider a model that can shred at least 12 pages at a time.

Maintenance: A good supply of shredder oil should be kept near the shredder. Shredders need frequent lubrication to remain serviceable. If not adequately lubricated, jams often result, or more serious mechanical malfunctions that require vendor maintenance. A maintenance contract or arrangement with the vendor or local service provider is needed. People often try to put too many sheets into the shredder at once, causing jams and breakdowns, so timely maintenance support is needed.

For contracted shredding services

Confidentiality and non-disclosure: The contractor must take full responsibility for the confidential information while in its possession and for any failure to keep the information confidential. There should also be a written contract that contains strong confidentiality provisions, and obligating the contractor to not employ convicted felons or other untrustworthy persons to do the shredding or have access to unshredded confidential material. The contractor’s employees should be have passed a criminal records background check.

Sub-contracting: Check to make sure the contractor is not sub-contracting the work to any other company or person.

Shred waste containers: If the contractor provides lockable shred waste containers for your workplace, they must use good quality locks (i.e. not ordinary office cabinet locks) and your company must have control of all the keys. The manager responsible for physical security of the facility should control the keys. Proof of destruction: The contractor must provide written certification confirming the destruction of each load confidential waste destroyed. Shred on-site whenever possible: Shredding should occur on-site (i.e. on board the contractor’s truck parked at the company facility), not at an off-site location.

Get a witness: Make sure someone from your company witnesses the entire shredding process on-board the contractor’s truck, and insist that your company have the ability to inspect the residue to confirm proper destruction. No one other than an authorized company or contractor employee should be permitted to board the truck or to have access to confidential waste prior to destruction.

Off-site shredding requirements

If shredding is to occur at a contractor’s off-site location, then the contract must include the following requirements:

Security of shredding contractor’s truck: When confidential waste is on board, the contractor’s truck must be locked and physically secure to a standard established by you. Only authorized persons may have access to the confidential waste on board the outsourcer’s truck.

Transportation route and security: The contractor’s truck should transport the loads of confidential waste directly from your facility to the contractor’s off-site destruction facility, without stopping or picking up loads from other clients. If this is not possible, then the truck must be physically secured at any stopover locations, and only authorized persons shall be permitted to board the truck or have access to confidential waste.