We talked in our last blog about the countdown to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), effective on 25 May 2018. Many organisations must improve their policies and procedures to cope with enhanced data protection responsibilities. We thought we’d look at some practical ways that our services can help you make your processes ready for the deadline. First up: CAS confidential document shredding services.
Take a strategic approach to shredding documents
One place to start is to understand why you are keeping documents, and therefore why you must dispose of them over time. Indeed, this is a key element of GDPR, as every organisation must be able to demonstrate clear business reasons for holding personal data. Take a look at our handy document retention schedule to work out which of your documents you can safely dispose of. We are experts in the field; CAS is the only UK document storage company to hold ISO 15489 (Information and Documentation, Records Management).
There are many other pressing reasons to keep on top of document shredding. Given rent costs across the UK, companies can ill-afford huge document storage areas in their offices. As well as saving space, many organisations have a strategic aim to become paperless. But for many organisations, it’s simply not enough to buy a desktop shredder and add the resulting waste to the recycling. This is where the security of CAS confidential document shredding services comes into its own.
CAS confidential document shredding: our process
Here’s how the service works. To kick off, we can provide you with specially designed, free-of-charge confidential waste collection bins. The bins hold between 80 and 660 litres of waste paper. The bins are securely locked and have a slot where documents marked for destruction can be ‘posted’. We provide your office manager with a key, so if an entire arch file or document storage box has to be destroyed, they can unlock the bin and drop the whole item in. Once the bin is full, the office manager or our representative unlocks the bin and secures its contents. The boxes are lined with opaque bags that have secure integral ties, so documents are never handled or seen once in the bin.
Security of documents is paramount
When the confidential waste is ready for collection, CAS will come and remove the documents for shredding. We schedule collections as often as required; we can be completely flexible, to suit the specific needs of each office. And unlike other shredding service providers, CAS does not tie clients into a fixed-term contract.
One of our experienced team will visit your site in one of our GPS-tracked vehicles. We vet all our document-handling staff with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly the Criminal Records Bureau or CRB). What’s more, the CAS vehicle fleet is LPG-powered, ensuring this part of the process is environmentally friendly thanks to lower carbon emissions.
Once collected, we take the bagged waste to our secure shredding facility. This features gated perimeter fences, 24/7 security patrols and advanced CCTV. Our gate staff check identification, and only admit authorised personnel. Furthermore, advanced fire protection and environmental control systems are fitted throughout the facilities. We are accredited to ISO/IEC 27001 standard for Information Technology, Security Techniques and Information Security Management. This reassures you that we are compliant with international regulations on surveillance, security and staff confidentiality.
Shredding carefully: how we ensure confidentiality throughout
We ensure that all confidential waste is doubled shredded. The shreddings are balled, washed and bleached. The remaining material is thoroughly clean and bears no possible resemblance to the original document. Your documents have been completely and securely destroyed.
For data auditing purposes, we provide a Certificate of Destruction for each and every collection. This is your proof that the data destruction process has been secure, confidential and complete.
Saving the planet, one document at a time
CAS aims to make the most of existing resources by reducing waste and energy consumption. Thankfully, paper is a resource that can be recycled multiple times. Once your documents have been destroyed, we send 100% of the waste by-product to be recycled into toilet paper. We take environment protection seriously, and are accredited to ISO standard 14001: Environmental Management. We consistently meet management processes that reduce environmental impacts and contribute to regional and national sustainability.
In the next of our blogs about GDPR compliance, we’ll look at disposing of data on obsolete or unwanted IT equipment. But in the meantime, rest assured that all our document storage, office removal and data management services focus on keeping data safe and secure. We’re ready for GDPR, and we want you to be too.
Contact one of the CAS team today to talk about document shredding or any of our other services.
- Email: Info@CAS.ltd
- Call: 0845 50 50 003
- Website
About CAS confidential document shredding
CAS provides comprehensive and secure document storage and management, scan on demand, and facilities management services. For more than 20 years CAS have worked with NHS Trusts, Financial Services providers, and corporate and private clients. Our head office is just four miles from the City of London, supported by our advanced storage centres across the UK. CAS has an impressive array of International certifications (ISOs), which prove our compliance with the strictest national, European and international laws. They also demonstrate our commitment to provide innovative systems on security, confidentiality and quality control in keeping your files safe and well managed. CAS confidential document shredding service can help you be GDPR-compliant.
