Records Consulting

With its team of experienced records consultants, Andrews Consulting Services provides clients with the strategies and the structure to develop comprehensive, compliant, cost-effective records and information management (RIM) plans. With development and implementation of a sound records retention schedule, for instance, many companies can expect an immediate 20-40% (or more) reduction in their records storage volumes. Combined with the tools and processes to ensure ongoing control, this basic “fix” can provide payback for years to come.

Free, no obligation RIM Analysis

Do you need RIM consulting services? Is access to information getting easier? Do RIM-related costs keep rising with no end in sight? Let us spend a day with you. We'll perform a free, no-obligation analysis. Then you can decide.

Why RIM is important:

• Increasingly stringent regulatory guidelines and a litigious business environment make it legally imperative to maintain sound RIM practices.
• Improves information access and productivity.
• Reduces costs.

Our Consultants

Doug Detloff, Andrews' Director of Consulting Services, has worked for over 30 years in the records and information management field. His experience includes all recognized RIM functions in a variety of sectors: manufacturing, retail, hospitality, education, utilities, research and legal services. He has served as both an enterprise records manager and as an independent RIM consultant for several prominent U.S. companies.

Supporting consultants have all of the training and experience necessary to conduct your project with expertise and skill. Nevertheless, from proposal to final work product, you can expect our Director of Consulting Services or a senior consultant to be closely involved in all aspects of your project.

All Andrews' consultants maintain affiliation with the Association of Records Managers and Administrators, the Association for Image and Information Management, or similar professional organizations.

RIM Consulting Services

• Records Retention Scheduling
• Vital Records Scheduling and Protection Planning
• File Systems Development
• RIM Organization and Policy and Procedure Development
• Electronic Records Management (ERM)
• Imaging Applications and Management
• RIM Program Assessment and Auditing

Records Retention Scheduling   (top)

A key component in any records management program. Well-developed retention schedules allow an organization to move records and information through their life cycles in a legally supportable manner while shielding against potential allegations of selective destruction. They consider operational, legal and audit retention requirements. They are reviewed and sanctioned by key organization officials. They can be applied confidently by employees, a major factor in ensuring compliance.

Companies developing and applying retention schedules can typically expect to discard 20-40% of their records holdings – and sometimes more. For a sizable organization, that can mean thousands of dollars in cost savings and avoidances for years to come. Also, records discarded in accordance with sound retention standards and in the regular course of business, needn’t be produced in response to litigation or subpoena. That can save thousands – or tens of thousands -- more. AC possesses preeminent expertise in the development of retention schedules.

Vital Records Scheduling and Protection Planning   (top)

Vital records are records and information needed by an organization to establish financial position and resume operations in the event of a man-made or natural disaster. They also document the rights and privileges of certain affiliated parties, e.g., employees, customers, and shareholders. Vital records generally constitute 5-7% of an organization’s total records series.

In contemporary organizations, some vital records (e.g., accounts receivable) reside in electronic form. Most IT/IS departments are fairly diligent in ensuring protection of information in their care. But vital records maintained in other media, particularly hardcopy, are frequently overlooked. Examples include board of directors records, proof of ownership records, proof of loss records, policies and procedures, product design and intellectual property records. These are key to business recovery and continuation.

Vital records scheduling and protection planning involves the identification of vital records within the organization, determination/implementation of a protection method (natural dispersal, duplication and remote storage) and testing/audit of recovery performance.

File Systems Development   (top)

Organizations continue to generate and receive a myriad of records in hardcopy form in the course of conducting business. Some are of temporal value, and can be discarded immediately or shortly after having fulfilled their purpose. Other records are of longer-term value. They need to be maintained – and maintained in a form that allows for their eventual retrieval. The inability to quickly retrieve records results in untold costs in wasted time.

File systems development consists of three components: 1) the logical structure (classification system or taxonomy) and related aids (guides and indexes) that enable records organization and retrieval, 2) the supplies and equipment used for the physical storage of records, and 3) conversion of records from the current system (or lack thereof) to the newly-created scheme. Andrews Consulting can develop and implement systems for a single department/division or for an entire company. The structure for organizing records and information (regardless of form) is of increasing interest to many organizations.

RIM Organization and Policy and Procedure Development   (top)

Organization, policy and procedures are the “glue” that make a records and information management program a coherent function capable of consistent ongoing performance. Organization (including staffing) provides the structure for optimal use of RIM resources. Policy provides the “guiding light;” it describes what the organization believes about RIM and who is responsible/accountable for specific RIM activities and outcomes. Procedures detail the nitty-gritty of work flow and work processes. They also include the standards against which work is measured.

Some organizations may have a dedicated RIM staff, but because of daily demands, still may not have these basic components in place. In other organizations, RIM may be decentralized and conducted on a part time basis. Andrews Consulting can assist in either environment, developing these key components from scratch to completion.

Electronic Records Management (ERM)   (top)

ERM is the application of basic records management principals to information stored in electronic form. The same principles that apply to paper also apply to electronic records: organization (filing systems), special protection (vital records), retention and disposition. ERM encompasses all IT/IS-managed and end user applications, including e-mail. Electronic records, like their paper counterparts, cost money to maintain. They are also subject to production.

While generally acknowledging the potential liability associated with electronic records, all but a small minority of organizations actively manage them. The Records Management organization seldom holds sway over IT/IS. The latter generally denies any ownership of the problem. Electronic records management is frequently viewed (with some justification) as a second-phase RIM effort, after the hardcopy tasks have been completed. Also, electronic records lack visibility – they aren’t stacking up in corporate hallways. Finally, the month-to-month and year-to-year costs associated with the storage and retrieval of electronic records are hardly apparent in the larger scheme of huge IT/IS budgets.

ERM is important and it can be done. IT/IS already have many of the necessary tools. Available technology also offers some solutions. The potential costs associated with unmanaged electronic records – over retained, failing to be retained, or in having to be produced in response to litigation or subpoena – are immense. Andrews’ consultants can guide the way.

Imaging Applications and Management   (top)

Imaging used to mean photographic imaging – microfilm and microfiche. Now it more often means digital imaging. Digital imaging is powerful technology. It enables fast, multiple-user access to vast numbers of documents. But it only adds value if the application is right and the implementation is conducted properly. Andrews Consulting can assist with the identification, analysis and justification of appropriate applications. It can also assist with issues of systems design, vendor selection, indexing requirements and schemes, and quality control.

RIM Program Assessment and Auditing   (top)

How do your RIM efforts stack up – against a typical RIM program, a world-class program, industry peers or the international standard, ISO 15489? ACS can conduct an assessment and recommend remedial actions that will posture a company where it chooses to be.

Andrews Consulting Services can also conduct periodic audits (a frequently neglected activity) of entire RIM programs or individual RIM functions to ensure they continue to perform at the levels for which they were designed.