VOL. XXXVIII NO. 1
PITTSBURGH
CHAPTER OF ARMA July/August
2005
by Gary Link
I think we record managers have got it all wrong. We think the focus of our profession is records. No wonder we often feel we have an image problem - we don't even realize our own importance. So how can others?
They're just records." Spoken or unspoken, that's the opinion of even the most understanding of co-workers in other departments in our organizations. Those are the people in the operations departments that are performing our businesses' core functions. They do the real work, don't they? We just clean up their mess after they're done, right? And who can blame them for perceived us that way? They are just records, after all.
Now there was a push a decade or so ago to raise the importance of what we do by adding the term "information" to our field: Records and Information Managers. Whew! that shot us straight up to the top of the organization chart, didn't it? Executive washroom, here I come!
In the early nineties, we had "value-added" records management. But why did we have to add value to it? Wasn't it valuable enough on its own?
Instead of focusing on the records or the information, I think we need to start focusing on the value of what we manage. Winston Churchill said the greatest things in life are simple concepts that can be expressed in single words: "freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope." So, too, we should gather simple, bedrock terms to express the value of what we do: access; compliance; efficiency; continuity; protection; proof.
Even the name of the heart of any records management program, the records retention schedule, should be changed. Does it not set out, for all record series in an organization, the value of each record series and how long that value lasts? How about "Schedule of Values?" or "Value Statement?"
Find the bottom-line values your records have to our organization. Then forget about the records, and express to others what you do in terms of those values. Drive the point home every chance you get - in every verbal and written communication. What we do has essential value to our organizations - otherwise we should not be doing it.
Newsletter Contents
4. A Special Road Trip to Be Shared and Remembered
6. Technical Application Briefs
7. Book Review - "Email Rules"
8. Records Management Study and Discussion
9. Iron Mountain advertisement
10. Home Records Management Hints
11. University of Pittsburgh advertisement
12. Become a CRM
12. Pittsburgh Chapter Certification Program
13. 2005 - 2006 Program Calendar
ARMAGRAM
ARMAGRAM is published bi-monthly by the ARMA Pittsburgh Chapter. Submission of articles, art work, and photography are encouraged and welcomed, and are submitted at the sender's risk. Material to be returned must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The ARMA Pittsburgh Chapter reserves the right to edit material submitted for publication. Unsigned letters will not be published. The publisher and editors of this publication do not accept responsibility for statements made by the advertisers herein or for the opinions expressed by authors of by-lined articles. Copyright 1992 by ARMAGRAM Pittsburgh Chapter. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without written permission to the publisher.
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A new ARMAGRAM will be posted on our web site six times each year. If you wish to contribute to your newsletter, contact Chris Nettrour at chrisnettrour@earthlink.net, or mail your article (or advertisement) to Chris at: Chris Nettrour, 206 Haugh Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.
President: Autumn Gollob; 412 - 321 - 0600; amcginnis@businessrecords.com
Vice President: Glenn Vasbinder; 412 - 454 - 7597; vasbinderga@upmc.com
Secretary: Matthew Iezzi; 724 - 526 - 3353; matt@bradysbend.com
Treasurer: Chris Nettrour, MS, CGA; 412 - 288 - 1971; chrisnettrour@earthlink.net
Director: Jane Siefers; 724 - 772 - 8307; siefersj@amerinetcentral.org
Director: Mark Maskarinec; 412 - 392 - 2170; msmaskarinec@klettrooney.com
Past President: Joe Gross; 412 - 321 - 0600; jgross@businessrecords.com
Committees
Editor: Chris Nettrour, MS, CGA; 412 - 288 - 1971; chrisnettrour@earthlink.com
Reservations: Jane Siefers; 724 - 772 - 8307; seifersj@amerinetcentral.org
Parlementarian: Jamie Sawa; 412 - 338 - 3523; jpsawa@hillmanco.com
Programs: Christian Savine; 412 - 490 - 4289; savinej@novachem.com
Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager
Tammy Wheeler; 919 - 875 - 3133; Tammy.Wheeler@NCEMCS.com
Mid-Atlantic Region Coordinator
George Darnell, CRM; 703 - 902 - 5929; darnellgd@comcast.net
A Special Road
Trip to be Shared and Remembered
By
Chris Nettrour
It
was Thursday morning and as I was packing the car, I didn’t look forward to
the long drive ahead. My mother was
coming with me this time, but still it was me who had to drive the entire
distance. The drive to
Walking
into the conference room the next morning, I immediately noticed how upbeat,
organized, and positive everyone was. It
really gave me a good feeling to be part of ARMA International.
Everyone was so enthusiastic. Pat
Noble, Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Region, spoke first and got everything
rolling. Two people representing
ARMA International were at the conference, too:
Anita Willis, Director of Member Services and Gisele Crawford, Chairman
of the Board. Presentations were
given on topics of electronic document conversion, ARMA International strategic
issues, protecting yourself on major software projects, Mi-dAtlantic Region
treasury and budget concerns, web page design and maintenance, and marketing of
ARMA International and its chapters. Deb
Marshall, who has served on the board of ARMA International, gave a special
presentation about the ARMA Educational Foundation and all the special research
and important information it has to offer.
Friday
night was most unusual and funny. For
the conference banquet, we went to the Mystery Dinner Theatre at a Best Western
Motel. The story was sort of a
take-off on the Star Trek theme. The
characters were on a star ship in outer space and someone got murdered during
the story. It was the responsibility
of the dinner guests to figure out who did it.
Well, the story was a funny one and really kept our interest!
The program for the story was clever.
It gave you clues as to who was the murderer.
The scenery and costumes were really great.
The whole thing was very creative and entertaining.
The story was portrayed in four acts.
The actors served us our meal in-between each act.
The food was delicious. It
is an evening I don’t think I will ever forget because it was so unusual.
On
Saturday morning each one of us stood up in front of everyone to give our
chapter reports. Only one chapter in
our region did not have a representative at the conference.
Being the representative of our chapter is an important responsibility,
and I kept our best interests at heart.
We had a wonderful lunch at the hotel and then boarded a coach bus to
visit the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This
was truly a treat for me because I love artwork.
One of the special exhibitions at the museum was the display of five of
the Faberge Eggs which used to be owned by the Romanovs.
The Romanovs were an imperial family who lived in
Saying
goodbye to everyone back at the hotel is always difficult to do.
By that time I was very tired and went back to my room to rest for a
while. My mother and I went out to
eat at a Mexican restaurant and then got up early the next day for the
hair-raising drive home. Coming up
95 and merging onto 495 and then onto 270 is tricky for sure, but how can I
explain my overriding sense of accomplishment and belonging to something special
that makes the long and risky drive somewhat insignificant?
Yes, it’s true – I could have flown.
Flying doesn’t bother me at all. I
don’t look forward to such a long drive, but it was nice to have my car with
me. I had a sense of adventure
and enjoyed being with people who have some of the same values that I have.
I enjoy being with people who want to make a difference by learning new
things, connecting with others, and sharing ideas.
I always feel a sense of purpose with everyone at each regional
conference I attend. I come home
feeling renewed, being full of enthusiasm, and having a better sense of
direction and purpose with my work in the field of records and information
management.
I
realize that taking the time to attend the regional conference isn’t for
everyone. Many of us already have
commitments and responsibilities that take up our time.
But for those of you who think that you could have an interest in
attending the regional conference, I encourage you to take that step in joining
a group of really dedicated and enthusiastic people.
ARMA International is more that just a professional association.
Getting to know members in our chapter as well as other chapters does not
happen overnight. If you give it
time, you will make friendships that will probably last a lifetime.
It would be really nice to have a few of us go to the next regional
conference.
Designing and Implementing an Imaging System Strategies Part 1
by
Mark Maskarinec
This is the first in what I hope will be a series of articles dedicated to the technology issues confronting records managers. I thought I'd start with imaging projects and specifically how you would set up and implement them. First, there are some basic questions you need to answer before you get to the scanner and necessary software.
Can we do this in house? Depending on the project, the answer is "Maybe not.” The first issue is the size of the project. Is the scope of the project so large or the deadline so short that trying to do it in house is cost prohibitive? Another, more subtle issue is complexity. Does this scanning project involve more than imaging to electronic file? Is there OCR involved? Are you trying to pull information (such as invoice numbers) off paper to put into a database? And, as with any project, you must ask yourself if you have the staff to actually do it. Again, you must have enough people (even if it's only one) to meet the deadline and perform all of their tasks. They must also know what they are doing or you will need to factor in training time into the equation. Staffing issues can be particularly troublesome with this kind of work. Scanning projects tend to be dull because they tedious. It takes a certain personality type, which I call the "grinder" to scan effectively over long periods of time. The grinder has to be very detail oriented and able to sit for long periods of time without breaking concentration. It also would help if the grinder has a partner who is capable of doing Quality Assurance.
So how do I choose a vendor? Vendors come in basically two flavors - copy vendors who work with imaging as a side business and specialty imaging vendors. One isn’t necessarily better than the other. Both have their place. If the project is large and the paper is all the same size and all going to the same place in the same format (which happens more than you might think) the copy vendor will do just fine, and will be cheaper. If your project is more complicated then you might want to look for a vendor with a track record in that area. The first question is “Do they have the capacity to get the job done on time?” This means machines, staffing, and time.
Generally speaking, vendors are not going to start on the project the day you give it to them, so make sure everybody understands what the deliverables are and when they are due. Beyond that, I look for two things when choosing vendors: (1) knowledge of my database program and (2) project management skills. Without knowledge of my database, much time is wasted during the import/synchronization process. The vendor must have a database expert on staff and available. Project management is also key. It is essential in meeting deadlines. It also helps to keep the project on track and limit what I call the "Disneyland Factor". That is, when management sees the early results of a scanning project, becomes enamored with it, and then tries to change the scope of the project. Changing the scope of the project in midstream can be disastrous.
The ultimate test is cost. You will pay a price per page, and if linking into a db you will pay for any coding. Prep time should be part of the per page cost. You should also note whether the vendor is performing Quality Assurance (QA) or Quality Control (QC). With QA, every page is reviewed. With QC, one page out of a certain number is reviewed. QA will drive costs up but you will sleep better at night.
E-Mail
Rules; A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for
E-Mail
and Digital Communication; By Nancy
Flynn and Randolph Kahn, Esq.
For the past two and a half
years, I have been researching the literature on e-mail management and
e-discovery. I acquired this book
from the ARMA Bookstore and found it to contain almost every thing I had read,
and more.
The authors have written the
book in 37 chapters, each chapter dealing with one of the e-mail rules they
discuss.
I did notice that the
content jumped around, somewhat, but that was clearly due to the format of using
37 e-mail rules as the structure of the book.
It was not due to any failings on the part of the authors.
The authors go in depth in
discussing the management of the content of e-mails.
This is where companies and employees really get into trouble.
A written e-mail policy is
necessary to ban language that could negatively affect your company’s business
relationships, damage your corporate reputation, or trigger a lawsuit.
This policy should help keep e-mails free of off-colored jokes, obscene
language and sexual content, racial comments, harassing or menacing comments,
negative or defamatory remarks, ethnic slurs and/or unsubstantiated opinions
rumors, and innuendoes.
For the same reasons that
e-mails are a target of discovery in litigation and regulatory investigations,
employees can thoughtlessly prepare unprofessional e-mails with inappropriate
content. The casual nature of e-mail
lulls even the smartest users into a false sense of security.
No better example of this can be found than Harry Stonecipher, the Chief
Executive Officer of Boeing Corporation, who was recently forced to resign after
sending an embarrassing e-mail to a Boeing Vice-President he was having an
affair with.
Many users view e-mail as a
private communication tool, which it is not.
In addition, e-mail is so quick and easy to use.
In seconds, messages can be written, transmitted, copied, printed,
forwarded, pasted to other media, and circulated inside and outside the
organization.
The authors give two
excellent suggestions: 1) imagine
that you are sending the e-mail, you are creating, to your mother.
2) ask yourself if you would communicate the same message, in the same
manner, if you and the recipient were in a crowded elevator with friends and
office cohorts.
Organizations also need to
protect employees by instructing them to report unsolicited and offensive e-mail
to the appropriate supervisor. Employees
need to understand that by simply deleting, replying to, or forwarding banned
messages, they put themselves in the loop – making innocent recipients party
to the violation.
The authors go on to explain
that e-mail is a contextual medium. The
meaning of any given e-mail message
is typically linked to one or more related messages.
Unfortunately, speedy communication is not always safe or complete
communication. When an e-mail
message is taken out of context and viewed in isolation, the sender’s meaning
may be misconstrued or misinterpreted. An
e-mail reply, when read in isolation from the message that triggered the
response, also may be misunderstood later, in the court room.
If there is any chance the
meaning of a message will change materially if read in isolation from the
message that preceded it, employees should be taught to attach all previous
e-mails to clear up any potential confusion.
The authors present an
excellent discussion on the management of e-mail.
First, they address the sheer volume of e-mails.
Employees must be trained to differentiate between business e-mails and
non-business e-mails.
Employees should be
instructed to delete non-business e-mails on a regular and timely basis once
they no longer serve any purpose for the recipient.
Just getting rid of all non-business e-mails promptly will have a major
impact of the e-mail system and the population of e-mails that have to be
addressed in response to a discovery request.
In the same way, draft
copies of e-mails, and e-mails with draft copies of attachments, should be
deleted promptly. If this practice
is covered in the e-mail policy and provided that the final version is properly
retained, employees should understand that this is both proper and necessary.
Copies of e-mails are an
unfortunate byproduct of e-mail technology.
Every time an e-mail lands on a server or a computer, it makes a copy,
propagating the same message multiple times.
The e-mail policy should
stipulate that the sender of the e-mail needs to retain internal e-mail sent to
colleagues. If a recipient needs to
take action pursuant to the message, that person should also retain a copy.
All other e-mail messages and attachments should be purged from the
system when no longer needed.
The distribution of e-mails,
with their attachments, should be limited to only those recipients that actually
need the information. In addition,
the printing of unnecessary e-mail wastes paper and creates one more item that
must be searched when the organization is trying to locate needed information.
The authors, then, discuss
the management of business e-mails. From
a legal perspective, the process of formally defining, properly identifying, and
effectively retaining business records is one of the most important e-mail
management activities you can undertake.
Using proven records
management methodology, a classification system must be developed for business
e-mails that match the system used for paper records and other electronic
records. Clearly, an e-mail that
addresses an amendment to a contract, for example, must be handled in the same
way that an amendment presented on paper is handled.
The different categories of e-mails
must be included in the organization’s records retention schedule.
A key benefit of including
the records retention schedule in the e-mail policy is that it enables the
consistent handling of information across all of the business entities, across
all geographically locations, across all media types, and over time.
From a legal perspective, consistency of practice is a powerful defense
against obstruction of justice allegations.
From this discussion, it is
clear that establishing a system-wide 30-day, or 90-day, retention of e-mail is not appropriate. The
retention of e-mail must be based on their content value to the company, and not
based on the type of media e-mail is.
The authors also point out
that system backup tapes are not a solution to the management of e-mails. Backup systems are
not designed for records retention. They
solely exist for the mass recovery of critical data in the event of disaster.
This information is stored en masse in a linear format designed to reduce
storage volumes and speed wholesale recover.
Records management, on the other hand, involves more than storing
critical information in a known location. Records
management ensures that you have ready access to any given record, whenever it
is needed.
The authors describe the two
approaches to matching e-mails to their respective record type in the
classification system.
The first is referred to as
the end user declaration of e-mails. This
is the manual process in which folders are set up, in the employee’s personal
folder window of the e-mail system screen, for each type of business e-mail that
the user deals with. Each employee
then points and drags the e-mail
into the appropriate business folder. This
approach is used for the fact that it costs very little in system expenditures
to implement. However, it has many
disadvantages.
The second approach to
matching e-mails to their respective record type in the classification system is
called auto-classification and involves acquiring an e-mail management computer
application, sometimes referred to as an e-mail archiving application.
These applications
-
automatically extract information
from all e-mails,
-
establish all e-mails that have
business content, based on preexisting definitions, and
-
categorize the e-mails to the
appropriate business records types, based on preexisting rules.
Through the use of an
enterprise-wide content management system, the company can make better business
decisions due to all information on a subject, no matter the media it’s on,
being retrieved and used as the basis for a decision.
Also, and at the time of discovery, full-text and metadata searches of
the e-mails can be carried out. And,
of course, discovery is just not about litigation.
The FDA, the SEC, state insurance regulators, the IRS, and other
regulators regularly request copies of, and in-house access to e-mails, and
other e-records, for audit or review.
The authors discuss the
destruction of records and information. The
organization is not managing its information if it does not destroy records and
information in the normal course of business once they become eligible for
destruction based on the approved records retention schedule.
Deleting e-mails completely cannot be carried out without special
software and processes. In addition,
copies can be stored on the creator’s computer, multiple e-mail servers, and
the desktop, laptop, and handhelds of all recipients, in file cabinets and
elsewhere.
From this, it makes no sense
for an individual to delete e-mail when they know of pending litigation or a
regulatory investigation. This can
only lead to more dire consequences. Both
civil and criminal penalties (including imprisonment) have resulted from
destruction of evidence, called “spoliation” in the legal context.
Procedures must be provided
in the records management and e-mail policies for the proper, documented
destruction of records eligible for destruction.
These procedures must be adhered to and proof of proper practice
followed.
The authors devote e-mail
rules 26 to 31 to e-mail security. You
get an extra bonus with e-mail rules 32 to 35 addressing the management of
alternative communications technologies. They
conclude with e-mail rules 36 and 37 dealing with employee education.
I will let you gain knowledge, yourself, by reading the valuable
information provided in these chapters.
As a seasoned (not old)
records management professional, I consider this a “must-have” reference
book in the management of records and information within your organization.
Carl
Weise
Principal
Consultant
Sogeti
USA, LLC
Records Management Study and Discussion
Book List
Please order the book called: Information and Image Management by Ricks, Swafford, and Gow. It can be ordered on the website address: http://www.amazon.com/
Also order the book called: Information and Records Management by Robek, Brown, and Stephens. It can be ordered from the ARMA International Bookstore: http://www.arma.org
Plans for Study and Discussion
We will first study about microfilm and its uses by reading Chapter 8 in Information and Image Management. Answer questions 1 through 23. We are also reading and answering "Concluding Cases: A. H&M Insurance Company and B. Maxwell Schools." Submit answers to Chris Nettrour's email address: chrisnettrour@earthlink.net. Chris will then email the answers to those members who are interested in reviewing and comparing notes.
Where We Will Meet
Hopefully, for any of us who want to, we can meet once a month at the new
Carnegie Business Library which is located in downtown
By Glenn
Vasbinder
One of the prime reasons that personal
files continue to grow is that each and every day the United States Postal
Service delivers mail to the home. The
amount of mail delivered each day continues to grow because of advertising
brochures, unsolicited credit card offers, and other “junk” mail.
Keeping
control of the incoming mail will aid in reducing the amount of paper that may
become permanent home files. To
accomplish this, the mail must be tackled every single day.
If done properly, it may take less than 5 minutes to sort through the
mail in most homes, and that includes filing away anything necessary.
To
accomplish this, one needs to use the following system:
1.
Retrieve the mail from the mailbox
every day that there is a delivery. This
sounds easy, but some people let the mail pile up for days.
2.
Open the mail over the wastebasket
using a letter opener. Immediately
toss out anything that is considered “junk” mail.
It is estimated that 60-70% of the mail received fits into this category.
3.
Separate all bills from the
remainder of the mail. Open each
bill and keep only the bill itself and the payment envelope.
The other inserts may be pitched unless they’re important enough to
keep for future reading. Tuck the
bill into the payment envelope, put the return address label and stamp on the
payment envelope. Store the bill in
the bill paying system until payment is due.
4.
All other mail should be sorted as
follows:
·
Mail belonging to other family
members should be distributed to them. A
good system for this would be to have an “in basket” or incoming file folder
for each family member. Each family
member should be responsible for retrieving and disposing of their mail.
·
Mail that needs filed for future
reference should be immediately placed in a “follow up” folder.
·
Mail that needs to be read should
be placed in a “to read” file folder and should be read every day if
possible so that it doesn’t get out of hand.
When finished reading it, make any appropriate notes into your calendar
or planner and toss the mail.
·
Magazines and catalogs should be
stored in a designated area and disposed of as soon as they are of no value.
Unfortunately
we cannot stop the inflow of mail, however, by applying the steps mentioned
above, we can control the amount of mail that becomes part of the permanent
files.
Become a CRM (Certified Records Manager)!
If you are
interested in taking the six part test to become a certified records manager,
please take a look at the ICRM (
Next Exam: November 3 & 4, 2005
Original exam applications must be postmarked by
Supplemental exam applications must be postmarked by
Upcoming Exam: May 4 & 5, 2006
Original exam applications must be postmarked by
Examination Applications must be postmarked by
ARMA International offers an
introductory and advanced home study course for the self-directed professional.
Successful completion of the courses – which include case study
assignments and four examinations and a final, proctored exam – earns the
student a certificate of completion.
(Both courses are available
for audit only as well.)
Visit the ARMA Bookstore
at www.arma.org/bookstore/default.cfm for more information about:
An
Introduction to Records and Information Management
Advanced
Records and Information Management
For more information about
the home study courses offered by ARMA International contact:
ARMA International
4200 Somerset Drive, Suite 215
Prairie Village, KS 66208
Phone:
(913) 341-3808 or (800) 422-2762 (US
and
|
Fax: (913) 341-3742 |
- RIM
Overview, Program Components, Steps to Implementing
- Disaster
Planning/Vital Records
- Training Staff on RIM Procedure
If you have experience in
any of these areas and would like to volunteer to teach the course, please
contact
This program is not
accredited or certified by ARMA, the ICRM or any other professional body, but
Certified Records Managers should be able to receive credit hours for attending
the sessions.
|
Course |
Instructor |
|
RIM Overview, Program
Components, Steps to Implementing |
(Open) |
|
Active Filing
Systems/Taxonomies |
George Darnell |
|
Records Retention
Scheduling |
Gary Link |
|
Records
Storage/Retrieval Systems |
|
|
Disaster
Planning/Vital Records |
(Open) |
|
Electronic Records
Management |
|
|
Document Management |
Mark Maskarinec |
|
Training Staff on RIM
Procedures |
(Open) |
ARMA
2005 – 2006
Programs Calendar
|
September
Program: Open
Business Meeting Speakers:
Board and Chapter Members Date/Time:
Sept. 28th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
February
Program:
Records
Storage/Retrieval Systems Speaker:
Date/Time:
Feb 15th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
|
October
Program: RIM
Overview, Program Components, Steps to Implementing Speaker:
Glenn Vasbinder Date/Time:
October 19th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
March
Program: Disaster
Planning/Vital Records Speaker:
To be announced Date/Time:
March 15th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
|
November
Program: Active
Filing Systems/Taxonomies Speaker:
George Darnell, CRM Date/Time:
November 16th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
April
Program: Electronic
Records Management Speaker:
Date/Time:
April 19th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
|
December
Program: Date/Time:
December 21st, Location:
To be announced |
May
Program: Training
Staff on RIM Procedures Speaker:
To be announced Date/Time:
May 17th, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
|
January
Program: Records
Retention Scheduling Speaker:
Gary Link, CRM Date/Time:
Jan 18th, 5:00 p.m. Location:
Engineers’ Club |
June
Program: To
be announced Speaker:
To be announced Date/Time:
June 21st, Location:
Engineers’ Club |
All programs are $25.00 for members; $30.00 for guests. Contact Gary Link if you have a recommendation for a topic or speaker.