So you hired a professional shredding company, and everything looked fine at a distance. You felt like it was a secure process because you watched it happen in the parking lot—but what you assumed was coming out as a final product could get you in trouble.
Just because “shredding” is in the name of someone’s destruction process, doesn’t mean it will meet your expectations—or legal requirements.
In searching for secure shredding solutions for your business, it’s important to have a detailed understanding of exactly what goes into their paper shredding process.
Simply put, when it comes to shredding documents, one size doesn’t fit all.
Techniques of Document Shredding Services
First, there are a variety of cut methods that you should be aware of. They involve various shredding techniques:
- Pulverizers
- Strip shredders
- Crosscut
- Hammermill
- Pierce and tear
With pulverizers and hammermills, screens are utilized to control the shred size. But even then, not all hammermills or pulverizers are created equal. This is where screen size comes into the process. A screen, very simply, is a filter that a destroyed final product must pass through. The pulp cannot exceed a certain size.
There are many assumptions that you have to make when you utilize a professional shredding company that is not NAID-certified. Shred size and screen sizes are just a couple of them. Verifying AAA NAID Certification can alleviate the need to do all the checking yourself. Then you’ll have peace of mind knowing you haven’t missed the details and that the shredding services provider hasn’t changed its screen sizes (or even removed the screen) to speed up the process.
Random inspections from NAID of the shredding company removes your due diligence requirements (and yes, due diligence of these items are required by law).
Other due diligence items should include:
- Recent background checks on all employees
- Written policies and procedures
- Proper insurance
- Business associate agreements when handling Protected Health Information
- Proper security around the handling and storage the shredded material
And this list is still just a start.
At DataShield, we not only shred to AAA NAID-Certification standards, but we also can provide you a shred size that fits your specific security requirements. With multiple screen capabilities (all of them NAID-approved) we can match your specific shred size requirements.
The most important thing to remember is to use NAID-certified shredders and screens.
At DataShield, our trusted shredders and screens are NAID-certified and made by Vecoplan. In addition, once documents are shredded, we make sure they don’t leave our sight—they are stored and transported under high security and video surveillance until they are ultimately transported to a paper mill where they are remade into bathroom tissue and toweling products.
Everything we do when shredding confidential information works to guarantee that your information stays safe. Careless shredding opens up the opportunity for data theft and even un-shredding, but we are confident that everything we do guarantees the integrity of your sensitive documents.
To discuss which security levels, screen sizes, and processes are right for your shredding needs, contact us today.
