Using an office shredder is a daily occurrence for many employees. Multiple times a day, stacks of paper are walked over to the machine and shredded – often one or two sheets at a time. Paper clips and staples cause frequent jams, and the mess and noise grow as more documents are destroyed. While employees are away from their desks, workflows also become interrupted and productivity declines.
But more importantly, in-house office shredding puts private information at risk. Documents are often handled by multiple people and shredded into unsecured containers that are eventually emptied in a blue bin or garbage can when the receptacles become full. Likewise, most office shredders only cut paper into thin strips, which can be easily reconstructed and used for illegal purposes, such as identity theft or fraud.
There is a more suitable alternative. The best and only way to keep private business information secure is by working with a certified shredding provider.
What are Document Shredding Services?
Shredding services destroy confidential material for residential and commercial customers. Some service providers offer off-site shredding where sensitive documents are collected, transported and destroyed in a centralized shredding warehouse. However, mobile or on-site shredding is a preferred destruction method since paper and other media types, including hard drives, unwanted goods or products and non-paper media, are destroyed right on-premise.
Shredding clients can also conveniently schedule their visits to suit their needs, whether it is for a one-time shred, weekly document shredding or something in between. Since shredding occurs at the workplace, the entire process can be witnessed from start to finish.
How are Shredding Services Different from In-House Officer Shredders?
Using an in-house office shredder for confidential documents may seem like a cost effective solution, but it costs businesses more money in the long run.
Using skilled employees for in-house shredding is a time-consuming process that contributes to lost productivity and expensive labour costs that add up over time. Shredding machines are not always reliable and they frequently break down, are messy and require regular maintenance.
Most office shredders only cut paper into thin strips, which are disposed into a recycling bin or garbage can. These pieces of paper can be reconstructed and used for identity theft, fraud or corporate espionage.
This method is also not compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which includes rules and regulations regarding how to legally use, store and dispose of personal information.
How Do Professional Shredding Companies Work?
On the scheduled service date, an industrial shredding truck will arrive at the business location. A fully-bonded, screened and uniformed company representative will collect stored business documents from locked consoles and bins throughout the office and transport the contents to a waiting truck to be shredded on-site.
The material will be automatically lifted inside the truck by a hydraulic arm where the contents are destroyed into small cross-cut pieces using onboard industrial shredders. A closed-circuit monitor will also capture the entire process on video, so employees can witness paper, hard drive devices and other media types be shredded before the material is taken away for recycling.
How Safe Are Shredding Services?
Shredding services are a safe and secure document destruction solution for sensitive information. There are many reasons why it is beneficial to work with a professional service provider:
Certified and Insured
The most secure shred companies are National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) AAA Certified and hold additional insurances for protecting data and personal information.
Data Protection
Shredding companies stay up to date on privacy law regulations and data protection policies to provide customers with a secure shredding service for their business-related and personal documents.
Locked Collection Receptacles
A trusted shredding company will provide locked bins and consoles for their consumers to store discarded paperwork in a safe place between scheduled service visits. Staff can drop unwanted papers that they need to securely dispose of into the locked bin, such as records, printed correspondence, tax documents, receipts and other files. These consoles are only accessed by authorized representatives from the shredding company, who collect materials and transport them to the truck on a pre-determined service schedule.
Chain of Custody
Mobile shredding companies destroy business documents on-site, which ensures a complete chain of custody. Being able to witness the shredding process on a closed-circuit monitor also adds an extra layer of security.
Identity Theft Protection
A secure document shredding service will destroy all paper and non-paper media into small cross-cut pieces and mix the material with the shreddings from other customers. This method ensures that confidential information can never fall into the wrong hands or be restored by identity thieves.
Certificate of Destruction
A professional shredding company will provide a Certificate of Destruction at the end of every service for validation purposes. This certificate guarantees that all personal information has been properly destroyed prior to recycling and that the shredding procedure is fully compliant with privacy laws.
Environmentally-Friendly
An experienced shredding provider will not only shred personal documents to safeguard confidential information but the remaining material will be recycled into household paper products to help protect the environment.
Convenience
Working with a shredding company is an easy, reliable and convenient way to securely shred documents on a regular schedule. Services can be provided on a weekly basis or as required.
Affordability
Using a shredding service is a cost effective solution that can save organizations money by reducing labour, equipment and maintenance costs. Pricing is often by volume or the frequency of service, but some providers may charge per box.
Protect Your Company’s Information Security With Blue-Pencil’s Secure Shredding Service
Blue-Pencil provides secure on-site shredding services within the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario to help you maintain your company’s information security.
We offer one-time and reoccurring shredding for all of your needs, whether it is destroying old documents, computer hard drives, non-paper materials or unwanted products. We also provide a Certificate of Destruction upon completion of every shredding service to guarantee that your business documents were destroyed and recycled according to privacy laws.
To find out how your organization can benefit from our NAID AAA Certified shredding services or for more information to determine your specific needs, contact our customer service team today for a free quote.