Subscribers
on the Archives and Records Management List Serves may benefit from the lessons
I learned from Tropical Storm Allison.
When I
realized that I had these problems I contacted David Culbertson of Texas
Shredding Company for advice. He followed
up with an experiment and some observations that readers may also find
interesting. Paul, As I told you yesterday, last week we did
a test and intentionally flooded a box overnight so that we would know exactly
what the box weighed before and after being flooded. Below are the
results. I know you thought it would be a good idea to post this to the
listserv. Subject Testing of a 1.2 cubic foot
(letter/legal) storage box for accurate weight after having been flooded. Test A 1.2 cubic foot box was submerged in
water overnight. The box was removed from water the next day and was
allowed 3-4 hours to let the excess water run off from the box. The box
weighed 31 pounds before the test and 64 pounds after the test. The box
absorbed approximately 110% it's own weight in water. The material
in the box was a very good cross sampling of material found in boxes of
archived records. Conclusions Most shredding companies charge by the
pound to destroy records. A box will continue to loose weight form the
water damage slowly over time from normal evaporation and being in a dry
climate. However, approximately 50% of the service charge in the
destruction process centers around the handling and/or transportation of
the material. Once boxes have become wet, they are not movable by normal
means. They must literaly be picked up and scrapped up by hand or
sometimes even shovel to be removed. Handles built into the box are
no longer operable. Boxes will also mildew and lose
their R-Value(Recycle Value). This is why most companies that have
had experience doing this sort of thing will not discount the price or will add
a several cent surcharge to the price. One way to help offset the
additional cost is to provide labor to load the boxes yourself. Lessons Learned The old addage of "pay me now or pay
me later" takes on a whole new meaning. It becomes "pay me now
or pay me more later" Many are hearing of price gouging in the
Houston Area after the flood and there is much of that very thing
happening. On the other hand, many vendors who are simply marking up their cost to cover
additional labor and other ligitimate expenses are being falsely accused of
price gouging. ARMA Internatonal Storage/Destruction
ISG-Leader David Culbertson, President Texas Shredding Company, Inc. 16802 Barker Springs, Suite 700 Houston, Texas 77084 281-579-1800 Paul R.
Scott Records
Management Officer Harris
County, Texas |