Why Same Day Shredding and Destruction Services Are Essential

Today’s companies could overlook certain tasks when they are busy with more important matters. Shredding confidential and sensitive information in a timely manner may be one of those tasks that fall by the wayside. In order to avoid the risk of identity theft or breaches of data, it’s wise to shred and destroy documents and hard drives that are no longer necessary.

Of course, all businesses collect sensitive information from their customers, partners and employees. Most records today are digitally stored, but there are some which must remain on paper. Businesses are aware sometimes keeping documents for long periods of time, when it’s not necessary. There’s an easy solution to this urgent problem – hire a professional shredding service and request same day shredding.

Here are some of the main benefits of hiring a same day shredding service:

• CONVENIENCE & COMPLIANCE: When you request a same day shredding job, a mobile shredding truck will come to your office and perform the shred on-site. There’s nothing more convenient than secure on site shredding. There are strict privacy regulations that government agencies, large businesses, and corporations must abide by. Not remaining in compliance could significantly increase the risks of fines against the company. The technicians will provide you with a Certificate of Destruction which proves the job was handled in accordance to the federal and state privacy regulations.

• COST SAVINGS: Using a small office shredder is not efficient and you will spend way more money to maintain the machine than its original cost. Hiring a professional shredding service will help you dispose of important information in a more cost-effective and secure way. Selecting a service that is reliable and secure will be essential, but it’s even better if you can find one that offers same day shredding services.

• SAFETY & SECURITY: In order to protect your company from identity theft and data breaches, it’s best to leave your shredding jobs to a professional. Mobile shredding trucks can instantly eliminate the risk of information being reconstructed. Right before your eyes it’s adequately destroyed and the truck will provide documentation for every shred they do.

When you hire a same day shredding service, their trucks will come to your location for more convenient document destruction. Most of these services are mobile, and their mobility allows them to do the work more efficiently and securely. The remaining waste should also be handled in a secure manner so that there is no risk of identity theft or costly fines.

Every business should understand that hiring a professional shredding service will not only protect sensitive data and ensure regulatory compliance, it will also help reduce costs over time. The significant cost savings is more valuable than you can imagine.

For years, IntelliShred has been providing 24-hour and same day shredding and destruction services for its customers. We value our customers and can guarantee a successful business relationship. Our fleet of mobile trucks will be able to handle the destruction and disposal of large volumes of paper, hard drives and other digital media storage devices. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Onsite Hard Drive Destruction

There are so many ways you can protect confidential information from getting into the wrong hands. But the most ideal solution is to go straight to where the information is permanently stored – your hard drive. It’s always wise to destroy your hard drives so that the hardware cannot be re-used in any way, and what better way than to destroy it onsite at your location? Onsite hard drive destruction is also crucial for maintaining compliance with laws like HIPAA.

There are three different destruction methods that can properly destroy hard drives:

• Shredding
• Crushing
• Degaussing

All three of these methods will protect your confidential information and virtually eliminate the risk of any data being recovered from the destroyed media.

It may seem simple to destroy hard drives, but there’s a greater risk of your data being recovered and used maliciously if it’s not done properly. Hard drive destruction is best handled by a professional, local shredding company able to properly destroy electronic data storage media.

Businesses could end up facing penalties or heavy fines if their hard drives are not destroyed properly. If there’s a security breach, the consequences could cost your business thousands of dollars in fines.

Most professional data destruction companies have the most current knowledge of the proper methods for onsite hard drive destruction. Hiring a professional service helps ensure your hard drives are destroyed and disposed of according to federal and state regulations.

A professional shredding and destruction service will provide cost-effective and secure, onsite hard drive destruction which includes:

• Removal of asset tags
• Reporting of serial numbers
• Video capture to document destruction process
• Real-time asset tracking
• State-of-the-art mobile trucks
• Environmentally-safe disposal

On site hard drive destruction services utilize high-security hard disk shredders, or machines called disintegrators. These destruction methods will render any recorded data completely unrecoverable.

These are the three reasons why shredding hard drives works best:

1. Cost-Effective
   The cost of destruction may depend on how many hard drives you need destroyed. The easiest and most economical solution is hard drive shredding – which is also the faster method.
2. Security
   Hard drive destruction should be as secure as possible – shredding is ultimately the best option for most situations, because it is permanent with absolutely no option for recovery.
3. Fastest Method
   It’s so much faster to gather hard drives together for a one-time destruction than it is to send them out to be crushed and degaussed.

Federal and State privacy laws require monitoring of the qualifications, processes and compliance of the third-party vendor you hire, so it’s important to hire a AAA Certified Hard Drive Destruction Company. The NAID (National Association of Information Destruction) monitors service providers to ensure they remain compliant. Having the NAID’s AAA recognition, ensures that these shredding professionals have done their due diligence to adhere to the privacy laws.

IntelliShred is able to provide customers with the peace of mind that all critical information is being destroyed in a secure manner. We provide a Certificate of Destruction that clearly indicates the job was executed in a safe, secure manner. Call us today for more information on how we can provide you with an efficient onsite hard drive destruction or paper shredding solution.

Every company is responsible for retaining files which contain sensitive information. These important files must be disposed of properly, otherwise, they could fall into the wrong hands. Most organizations think they can handle disposing their files on their own, with a small office shredder. This method is not only inefficient, it is not safe and could end up costing you in the long run. If you shred your own documents, you run the risk of an employee stealing confidential information.

Secure On Site Shredding

Instead of transporting documents to a shredding facility and wasting your employee’s time. Mobile shredder trucks come to your business and shred your confidential documents right in your parking lot. You are able to watch as the bins are taken out to the truck and then shredded.

Reaping the benefits of secure on site shredding is easy – it all starts with finding the best professional shredding and destruction service.

Hire a Professional Shredding Service

Confidential information is easy for thieves to gain access to if you don’t have protective measures in place. Most paper documents have sensitive information like, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, etc. Hiring a secure on site shredding service can eliminate the risk of criminals stealing confidential and personal documents.

The professional shredding service will provide locked shredding bins at your location so that documents can be collected securely until they are scheduled to be shredded. The locked bins will be removed from the building when it’s time and their contents will be shredded in front of you in the parking lot.

Convenience

On a regular basis, professional shredding will help clean out filing cabinets and offices so that confidential information will not end up in the wrong hands. Secure on site shredding is convenient because it is always executed at your location. There are no transportation costs or other extraneous fees that come along with getting your files to a shredding facility.

Savings

Saving time and money is something every company strives to achieve. A professional shredding service can handle hundreds of pounds of paper in a fraction of the time that it normally takes. Because of this time savings, the cost of shredding your materials will be less than you expected

Compliance

It’s crucial to maintain legal compliance for your organization, especially in today’s economy. This is why secure on site shredding is valuable – they know how to navigate the privacy rules and regulations in order to remain compliant. A highly-qualified shredding service will also put their technicians through rigorous background checks as a safeguard.

In order to avoid legal action or penalties and fines, it’s important that your organization is in compliance with any federal and state privacy laws. A secure on site shredding service will provide you with an official certificate of destruction when the job is complete, so you have proof of compliance. The certificates of destruction for each job will show that it was done in a secure fashion.

Cost-Efficient

Exactly how much does on site shredding cost? The typical cost of on site shredding varies based on these three factors:

• The volume of items needing to be shredded
• The type of material being shredded
• The frequency of shredding needed

Make sure your organization can reap the benefits of secure on site shredding services. Set up a regular shredding schedule that’s convenient for you and make sure you find the best possible shredding service available in your local area.

At IntelliShred, we have spent years perfecting our shredding and destruction methods. We only hire the most qualified technicians available to handle your shredding and destruction needs. We are industry certified and our customers come back to us year after year! Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your business.

Mobile Shredder Service

Using a mobile shredder service is one of the best ways to help drive the success of your business. In fact, these services are in demand right now because they are one of the most cost-effective ways to dispose of confidential information.

Mobile shredders handle larger volumes of paper at once, saving you time and money. It’s quite a streamlined process where you can actually watch the documents as they are destroyed on the mobile truck’s closed-circuit camera. There’s also a guaranteed certification of destruction that’s provided as soon as your shredding job is complete.

It’s best to choose a service that has attained NAID AAA Certification^®, This industry organization verifies secure data destruction so that you’re in compliance with the current data protection laws. This organization also provides unannounced audits of the process by trained, accredited security professionals, for customers.

Certified mobile on-site shredding process significantly reduces your security risk by ensuring all confidential materials are destroyed on your premises by bonded, uniformed technicians. Security is the priority when you utilize a state-of-the art mobile shredding truck to shred your documents. Choosing a qualified, certified mobile shredder service also helps your business meet federal and state privacy laws.

When it’s time to collect confidential information from your office, the professional shredding service will remove your locked paper shredding bins and take them directly to the mobile shredding truck. While the technician moves forward with the process, you can be confident that the confidential materials are never directly handled. The paper storage bin is then lifted by a hydraulic arm, dumping its contents into the industrial mobile shredder. As the mobile shredder is operating, they paper is shredded into cross-cut pieces so they cannot be reconstructed. The closed-circuit camera records the entire operation, in case there is cause for concern.

Some businesses think that using a small office shredder is sufficient enough to safely handle the destruction of their confidential information. Should you choose to do your company’s shredding in-house, you’ll be wasting your employees’ ability to focus on more important business activities. This choice will create a higher chance for employee errors or chance for theft. This in-house process does not come with any certification that the information has been destroyed safely and securely. The other thing to consider is that office shredders require maintenance, have limited capacity and require organizations to put the shredded material in the trash.

It’s always recommended that disposal of confidential information is handled by professionals who have the right expertise. We are proud to say that IntelliShred has many years in the commercial shredding and destruction industry – we’ve helped hundreds of companies protect their information. Our many years of success is due to the higher standards we strive to achieve. IntelliShred has been helping customers destroy and recycle paper, floppy drives, CD’s and DVD’s, Video Cassettes, Microfilm, Microfiche and more. Contact us today and let us help you purge your business materials. Contact us today to learn more about our services and find out how we can help your business. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.

Paper Shredding Bins

In any organization, important paper documents tend to accumulate over time. At some point, their use will expire and they will need to be disposed of or destroyed. Most companies assume that it’s less expensive to purchase a small office shredder and do their own shredding, but there are other major costs associated with that choice.

The best solution to this paper problem is to purchase lockable paper shredding bins and contract with a professional shredding and destruction service. When you have several hundred pounds of paper to shred at once, it makes sense to collect it in a safe and secure way and then have it shredded more efficiently.

Locked paper shredding bins can be strategically placed in an office to help manage the collection of confidential paperwork. This sensitive material goes directly into secure bins so that it does not get into the wrong hands. When it’s time, these documents are collected from the special tamper-proof containers and shredded by a mobile shredding truck on-site, safely and securely.

Lockable paper shredding consoles are a smart, efficient and cost-effective way to demonstrate that your company places a priority on protecting information. Choose the appropriately sized console to help you build a safer and more productive office environment.

Why not use a small office shredder instead?

When you buy a small office shredder, the process becomes more costly and is not as safe or secure. First of all, you’ll need to have an employee operate the shredder, and that takes time away from their productivity. Secondly, the more you use the shredder, the more it will deteriorate and become less dependable. With time, it will also jam more often and need maintenance or repairs.

When the documents you’re not shredding pile up and are not stored securely, it creates a huge security risk. With hiring a purge shredding service, you have the peace of mind that your confidential information is properly destroyed and disposed of.

You are hopefully confident that your employees are trustworthy, however, there’s always a chance they may accidentally discover confidential information if it’s not stored properly. That’s why having a locked paper shredding bin is more secure – it will help avoid this issue.

Remaining compliant with HIPAA regulations

In order to remain HIPAA compliant, the law requires certain documents that contain personal or sensitive information to be completely destroyed. By keeping this information locked in paper shredding bins, you help your organization avoid thousands of dollars in penalties and fines.

Hiring a professional shredding service will help protect the information you’re responsible for keeping. Employees can simply drop any sensitive documents in the bin and when it’s time to shred, the qualified technician will remove it in the proper fashion. The paper will be dumped into the hopper of an industrial truck-based mobile shredder and then seconds later it will be destroyed. When the shredding job is complete, the technician will issue a certificate of destruction as proof of HIPAA compliance.

It’s always recommended that companies put procedures in place to handle sensitive documents with confidential information. Part of that includes purchasing locked paper shredding bins to collect it all.

IntelliShred can help destroy your paper documents in a safe, secure manner. We have storage bins of all sizes available for our customers use. Please contact us today to learn more about our shredding and destruction services.

Purge Shredding

Purge shredding is something that every business and organization should participate in. It’s usually a once a year event when large volumes of paper documents and electronic records are shredded and destroyed.

These shredding purges don’t usually occur on a regular basis, but typically take place when there are dozens of pounds worth of paper to shred, and it’s not feasible to shred it on your own. Shred purges are often annual events, but one-time shredding purges can be requested whenever there’s a larger amount to be shredded.

Every company may need to purge – especially if:

1. end-of-year or quarterly archive activities uncover documents that are past their retention date
2. your company or organization moves to a new location with less space to store the information
3. a merger or acquisition makes those documents or information obsolete

Typically, purge shredding is always difficult to execute using a small home or office shredder. Hiring a professional shredder may cost a little more, but it will definitely be more efficient and allow you to be more productive with your time, saving you hours of frustration. Professional shredding services are equipped with industrial strength shredders that can handle enormous volumes of paper and even secure e-waste disposal.

Purges can happen in two different ways – there are mobile shredding services that come right to your door and allow you to supervise the process, or you can select off-site shredding services that transport your documents to a secure off-site facility for shredding.

There are several reasons why purge shredding is so important:

1. 1. It helps your company remain compliant.
      Your organization could be violating privacy laws by either holding on to documents or simply throwing them in the trash. Currently, there are federal and state laws in place that govern how confidential information is collected, stored, and disposed of. It’s necessary to know the applicable regulations at local, regional, and federal levels to make sure you comply. Purge shredding can help eliminate any risk of penalties or fines for not remaining compliant.
   2. It helps reduce human error
      A one-time clean-out helps eliminate erroneous mistakes and errors with paperwork. A workplace that is cluttered and untidy is not efficient to work within. Paper clutter is very distracting to employees and can cost them to make errors that they would not have made otherwise. A recent statistic states that employee actions/mistakes accounted for 32% of data breach incidents.
   3. It enhances identity theft protection.
      Outdated paper files with confidential information, obsolete emails on computers, and sensitive information stored in digital media devices could be the perfect way for information thieves to wreak havoc. Physical safeguards can definitely help somewhat, but to be more confident with your level of security, it’s best to purge shred once a year. It’s also recommended that you put a comprehensive policy for regular collection of confidential information within your office.
   4. It provides immediate proof of proper destruction.
      When you decide to hire a professional service provider for purge shredding, they will issue an official Certificate of Destruction. This certificate confirms that your materials have been destroyed safely, and according to the privacy laws such as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
   5. It offers secure document management.
      There are documents that should never be left in easily-accessible office areas, because they contain personally identifiable information. It’s wise to create an official document management process within your organization. By having a process which oversees the workflow, storage requirements, and data retention within your company, you can prevent documents from being mishandled, or lost.

Usually a one-time purge can help you significantly declutter and organize your office space. It’s important to do this so that your business can run more efficiently, but the other reason to do it is to avoid the risk of theft. If there are documents that hold sensitive or confidential information that are just lying around in the open, it’s possible they could get into the wrong hands. Identity theft and data breaches could end up costing your company thousands of dollars in legal fees, fines or penalties.

It’s crucial to find the right purge shredding and destruction service for your needs. Your important documents should be trusted to a reputable, trustworthy service with years of success in the industry. IntelliShred has spent years providing safe, secure shredding and destruction service to thousands of loyal customers. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your information.

Questions That Help Determine The Cost To Shred Documents

In this day and age, there’s always a need to dispose of or destroy confidential information – especially in paper form. Although hiring a professional shredding company seems straightforward, there are many unknown variables that need to considered to determine the cost of their services.

There is always an expense, even when you’re choosing to shred documents on your own. The equipment you’d be using would not be able to handle a large volume of paper, and more importantly, it may not shred the paper down to the proper size.

For the same price of maintaining your office shredder, tasking your employees and paying for a disposal service, you could hire a local shredding company. The cost of doing it yourself could be high if your employees don’t handle the process correctly, or if the information is stolen you could lose your organization’s reputation.

For most businesses needing to shred paper, cost savings of $10-15 per random shredding job is less important. In the long-run, on-site/mobile shredding is cheaper (about $10 less per bin). Plus, if the cheaper company is shredding offsite, your information could be less secure, costing more in the long run. So, how much does it cost to shred documents?

Here are some important questions which may make it easier to determine exactly how much it costs to shred documents:

1. How Much Do You Have to Shred?
   Volume is the number one factor that should be considered. If you don’t determine how much your volume is, your shredding service will not be able to properly estimate the cost of the job. The recommendation is that if you have smaller shredding projects (under 100 pounds), then you should be able to transport the documents yourself to save money. For shredding projects (over 100 pounds), it’s best to use a mobile shredding service that will shred a larger volume on-site. There could be greater discounts for larger volumes of paper shredded at once, which could save you money in the long run.
2. How Much Time Do You Have?
   Depending on your schedule, there can be tremendous flexibility in how your shredding service is set up. If you have a shredding location near you, you can schedule a time to drop off your documents at your convenience. However, if a shredding location is not accessible, a mobile shredding service should be able to handle shredding everything for you right outside your doorstep. This could be more cost-effective, and it is the most efficient and convenient way to get the job done.
3. How Flexible is Your Schedule?
   The flexibility of your schedule may greatly impact which shredding service you choose. Some services require advanced scheduling, while others will come to you the instant you call (there are also 24-hour emergency services). Mobile shredding trucks are usually scheduled in advance, anywhere from a few days in advance to a few weeks, depending on the time of year and how busy the shredding company is.
4. What Level of Security Do You Require?
   Mobile shredding services are completely secure, but it’s wise to be detailed about what level of security is needed as your documents get destroyed. If documents are dropped-off, they may be at a higher risk than if they were shredded on-site. The risk of identity theft and/or a breach of data can be way more costly over time. Today’s high-tech mobile services are just as secure as the alternative – and the shredding can even happen with your supervision.

Just by knowing the answers to the questions above, you could save up to savings of 15-20% on the cost of the job. The right shredding partner will most-likely customize their contract and provide you with an up-front pricing guarantee. Make sure the vendor you choose complies with all applicable privacy and environmental laws and industry standards.

At IntelliShred, we are here to help find an economical way to protect your confidential information. We offer high-volume discounts and we do not charge any rush fees. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

Disposal Of Medical Records

Knowing whether or not to retain medical records is not always straightforward. It’s something that most providers think to be the highest priority, but disposing of patient’s medical records is essential to the health of your organization or practice.

The destruction process is not difficult to implement, but because there are federal and state laws which govern disposal and destruction methods, it should be handled by a professional shredding and destruction service. If your organization does not have a destruction policy already in place, you should definitely develop one as soon as possible.

Regulations for the disposal of medical records exist at both the federal and state levels. The federal laws include the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) Rule. This privacy rule governs any covered entities and how they should apply appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information (PHI), in any form.

These days, most PHI is stored on some type of digital device, but there could also be paper copies of the medical records. Whether it be email messages, SMS or text messages, video recordings, file downloads, or other electronic media storage, it’s absolutely essential that protective measures are in place.

HIPAA’s Security Rule establishes the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that covered entities and business associates must put in place in order to secure electronic protected health information as they are created, received, maintained, or transmitted.

The HIPAA rule also states that organizations need to have policies and procedures in place to address the final destruction of electronic PHI and/or the electronic media on which it is stored. Failing to implement these proper safeguards to protect PHI could result in severe penalties and fines.

Organizations that handle PHI can’t just go about disposing confidential information in dumpsters or containers that are accessible by the public. The most important types of PHI that need protection are social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, debit or credit card numbers, diagnosis or treatment information, or other sensitive information. Pretty much anything that could result in identity theft, discrimination, or that would bring harm to an individual’s reputation.

It is always encouraged to hire a professional disposal or destruction service because of their direct expertise. The following is a list of common ways a professional company would go about the disposal of medical records:

• Burning, shredding, pulping and pulverizing paper documents
• Recycling and pulverizing microfilm or microfiche
• Pulverizing laser discs (document-imaging applications)
• Magnetic degaussing is used to destroy computerized data
• Shredding or cutting DVDs
• Demagnetizing magnetic tapes

When outsourcing the disposal of medical records, you should know there are special clauses under the HIPAA privacy rule, which state that your vendor contract should include the following elements:

• The date of destruction
• The description of the records being disposed of or destroyed
• The chosen disposal or destruction method
• The timing between acquisition and disposal or destruction
• Indemnification for the organization
• The proper level of liability insurance to cover any mistakes or breaches
• Signatures of witnesses to disposal or destruction process

The most effective way to remain compliant and protect your business/practice from unwanted legal action is to hire a mobile professional shredding and destruction service. These technicians will come right to your door, assess your needs and provide a certified shredding and destruction process that is safe and secure.

At IntelliShred, we have spent years perfecting our shredding and destruction methods, which include the secure disposal of medical records. We only hire the most qualified technicians available to handle your shredding and destruction needs. We are industry certified and our customers come back to us year after year! Contact us today to learn more about how we can help safeguard your business.