EDCO opens SecureStore, moves to add online retrieval

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by Maria Hoover|ret||ret||tab|

Inside Business Editor|ret||ret||tab|

mhoover@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Springfield-based EDCO recently opened SecureStore, a 92,000-square-foot storage facility in Springfield Underground, and the company's new RetrievalNet system is ready to undergo beta testing in the weeks ahead. |ret||ret||tab|

John Elkins, sales manager of EDCO's business division, said the company has used underground space for several years, and that Springfield Underground offers both access and security.|ret||ret||tab|

"We need 24-hour-a-day access to these documents," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

About 1,800 square feet of the 92,000-square-foot underground space is for offices, Elkins said. The rest of the space is used for storage of documents, a service EDCO provides for physicians, dentists, hospitals and lawyers. |ret||ret||tab|

"Everything's monitored and coded. Every time a client brings in a box or boxes of files, we issue a bar code that is a unique identifier for that box and its contents," Elkins said. |ret||ret||tab|

Each file is tagged to a specific box, each box is tagged to a specific pallet and each pallet is tagged to a specific rack. An invisible wireless network tracks each piece and each barcode. |ret||ret||tab|

"Any time a box changes locations, they'll scan the badge, scan the box everything gets scanned in and shows in real time exactly that entire transaction, from the person who requested it at the customer site, to who at our facility took the request and pulled the box; the time the date, everything," Elkins said. |ret||ret||tab|

While EDCO's clients are located all across the nation, Elkins said the company wants to create the illusion that it's "just down the hall." That's where RetrievalNet, an online system that facilitates document requests, comes into the picture. |ret||ret||tab|

"Basically (clients) go to a Web browser and have the ability to access their files," he said. |ret||ret||tab|

RetrievalNet will allow clients to request a faxed copy of a document, or ask that it be shipped to them, or they can request a whole box.|ret||ret||tab|

Clients can prioritize each request as regular, rush or immediate, but each level comes with a different price, and each request comes with a reference number for clients. |ret||ret||tab|

Regular requests typically come with a four-hour turnaround. Rush requests have a two-hour turnaround and are done as quickly as possible, said Patrick Richards, information technology engineer and Web developer for EDCO. Richards designed RetrievalNet with input from sales, operations, retrieval staff members and accounting. |ret||ret||tab|

Operations Manager Jim Horton said there are EDCO staff members on call around the clock who can be paged in for rush requests after regular business hours. Horton said any one of the people on pagers can get to either EDCO facility within minutes and have the file pulled and returned. |ret||ret||tab|

EDCO has a monthly storage fee, which is based on quantity and starts at $25 per month. Storage of 50 boxes costs about $50 a month, Elkins said. There are additional per-retrieval charges that vary based on priority levels, as well as shipping charges when applicable. |ret||ret||tab|

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RetrievalNet testing|ret||ret||tab|

RetrievalNet has been online since Jan. 15, and EDCO employees have been submitting requests on behalf of clients. |ret||ret||tab|

Richards said some customers will begin beta testing it over the next few weeks.|ret||ret||tab|

"The beta test is to get the client feedback and to get what they need built into the system," said Andrea Hardiman, EDCO's information technology manager. "We know what we want, and we want it to be secure."|ret||ret||tab|

Prior to RetrievalNet, client requests for documents could only be sent via fax, Elkins said. RetrievalNet was added for efficiency and also because it paves the way for electronic image delivery.|ret||ret||tab|

"In the future (clients) will be able to retrieve electronic copies," Richards said. |ret||ret||tab|

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Security|ret||ret||tab|

RetrievalNet works via a secure Web site, the address for which is only provided to RetrievalNet clients. Richards said the site uses 128-bit encryption, which is the same as what's used by many banks and credit card companies. All of EDCO's employees there are four at SecureStore and 275 at the Belcrest facility are bound by confidentiality agreements, according to EDCO President Dona Elkins. |ret||ret||tab|

Richards said that in order for clients to use RetrievalNet, they must supply three pieces of information: an account number, user name and password, all of which are provided and set up prior to the client's use. |ret||ret||tab|

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Documentation|ret||ret||tab|

The Belcrest location is the company's conversion facility, where documents are scanned and put on microfilm or CD, or scanned into a customer's existing imaging system. |ret||ret||tab|

"There's a lot of documents out there that don't need to be scanned and don't need to be filmed. They just need a good safe place to age out," John Elkins said. "When you talk about a shorter retention schedule, which could be five to seven years, leaving it in paper form is probably the best option, as long as those retrievals are low."|ret||ret||tab|

If documents are needed only for a short time but must be looked at often, then conversion might be better. The SecureStore site is generally used for documents on short retention schedules with lower frequency of retrieval. |ret||ret||tab|

Elkins said that many potential clients opt to stick with a mini-storage system for documents, because they think it's less expensive. He said that a mini storage is probably cheaper initially, but "the difference comes in, first and foremost, you don't have to dispatch somebody from your office to run down to that mini-storage," Elkins said. Also, inclement weather can make mini-storage unpleasant, which can affect returning files. |ret||ret||tab|

"If it's freezing cold or its 120 (degrees) and that mini-storage is a toaster, that's where file integrity comes back into play (the employees might) cram that file back in the first box and they don't find it again," Elkins said. |ret||ret||tab|

SecureStore is an even 48 percent to 52 percent humidity year-round, and it's consistently about 62 degrees.|ret||ret||tab|

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Long-term investment|ret||ret||tab|

The lease for the SecureStore site is a long-term commitment of $2 million. Setting up SecureStore as a records center, along with the RetrievalNet software, is an additional investment of $150,000.|ret||ret||tab|

While she declined to provide 2003 revenues for the privately held company, Dona Elkins said it handles between 450 million and 500 million documents every year.|ret||ret||tab|

"We have a very steady growth, and we will grow at the rate of 8 (percent) to 10 percent a year in revenues as well as volume," she said. |ret||ret||tab|

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