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“Imagineering”
in Records Management
by
Glenn Vasbinder
While I was reviewing the old files of the Pittsburgh Chapter of ARMA, I
ran across an article dated
I started wondering just how many of these standards would still apply
today, some thirty years later. I
certainly don’t know the answer to that question, so I decided to list some of
them and let the readers form your own opinions.
So, here they are: * The modern office worker creates about 2,300 pieces of paper every year. * Modern business concerns pay $2,750 annually for the paper records produced by every office employee. * The cost of keeping and servicing 2,000 pieces of paper in office space for one year is $61.93. * The cost of
keeping and servicing 2,000 pieces of paper in a modern record center is $1.32. * The cost of microfilming 2,000 pieces of paper is $50. * A letter-size file cabinet requires 6 square feet of space and a legal-size file cabinet requires 8 square feet of space, with a minimum of 30 inches of aisle space. * Office space
costs a minimum of $5 per foot. * The weight of
records: * Letter size
30 lbs. per square foot * Legal size
35 lbs. per square foot * X-ray
96 lbs. per square foot * The volume of
records: *
Correspondence
4,000 pieces per square foot * 3,750 pieces per file drawer * Correspondence
6,000 pieces per average 36” shelf The article also gave some standards regarding filing
systems. * Types of file arrangements: * A – Z files by surname; first given name; second
given name or initial. * Soundex – filed by assignment of numerical
equivalents to letter groups. * Subject files – filed alphabetically. * Color-coding reduces misfiles substantially. * Filing production rates per hour: * Reading, coding, sorting correspondence for name
filing 300
per hour. * Sorting paper alphabetically by first letter
750 per hour. * Filing papers alphabetically (previously sorted)
250 per hour. * Sorting papers in straight numeric sequence
700 per hour. * Filing papers in numeric sequence (previously
sorted)
450 per hour. * Loose filing, placing a document in an unfastened folder, increases filing efficiency at least 35%. * The number of misfiles averages from 1% to 5%, with
1% considered to be normal. * Cost of a misfiled record is estimated at $65. * Seven letters of the alphabet – B, C, G, H, M, S, and W – constitute 53% of a normal file name. * Shelf filing is more advantageous than filing in cabinets because it requires about 30% less space, is more economical, and filing is about 30% faster. * Lateral shelf filing (roll-out shelves) saves: * Floor space – requiring only 12 – 15 inches to
roll out shelves compared to 25 inches to roll out file drawers. * Time – because tops and sides of all folders are
exposed for viewing. * Effort – shelves roll out effortlessly because of
a unique suspension system. I’m certain that some of these standards still
apply, but I’m even more certain that many more could be added to the list.
Once must remember that this list was compiled before the field of
records management began to grow in stature.
Maybe we should try to come up with a current listing of standards on
today’s standards. Is anyone game? |