Don’t Let Wet Documents Dampen Business Continuity
The Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens (SHCCBG), an affiliate of the Smithsonian located on Staten Island, New York, is 83 acres of gardens, theaters, maritime events, museums, festivals, and educational opportunities. Its grounds, modeled after the Washington Mall, welcome artists and spectators alike and are the premier cultural and recreational center for the people and visitors of Staten Island.
In late November 2008, those in the administrative offices of the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens had their minds on preparations needed for Thanksgiving, the upcoming winter holidays, and the audit they were going through. What they were not prepared for, however, was the sprinkler line that broke in the building, flooding a massive 8,000 square-foot wing that included the file room and the office of the controller with grey water.
When there is a flood, there are three type of water that can affect an area: clean, grey, and black. Grey water, in simple terms, is water that has been contaminated by chemicals (such as those in a sprinkler system), biological matter, or physical matter. If humans or animals are exposed to this, they can become very ill. Common forms of grey water seen every day would be dirty bath water, toilet bowl water, water from dishwasher or washing machine leaks, and even run-off water from rain.
After the administrative building flooded, emergency crews were immediately called in to begin structural drying efforts so the integrity of the building’s architecture would not be compromised. The documents in the file room were in the back of workers’ minds until Rapid Refile, a full-service disaster restoration company that specializes in document restoration, came in to assess the damage. They came up with a solution to restore and reprocess the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens’ files in a manner that was efficient, thorough, and fast.
Immediately, 188 boxes of the files affected by the flood waters were packed and transported under locked load to Rapid Refile’s secure document recovery center. The SHCCBG was impressed by the fact that Rapid Refile is a company large enough to handle the high-volume of recovery services needed, charged low shipping costs, and was able to deliver the final product by the deadline required. It was of utmost importance that critical documents were restored ASAP as the SHCCB was in the middle of an audit.
Because they were too fragile and water damaged to go through a copier’s feeder, Rapid Refile photocopied over 400,000 documents one-by-one using the glass plate. All the documents were also inventoried by name and uploaded into a spreadsheet. The SHCCB was able to download the files and locate the essential ones immediately needed for the audit in progress. The inventory also helped the client tell Rapid Refile which documents were needed in order of priority. 97 boxes of files were labeled as “high priority” and Rapid Refile’s team worked through the holidays to get the files completed and delivered to the SHCCBG by the deadline. Because of the knowledgeable and cooperative team Rapid Refile set-up, the audit continued as planned. The rest of the files in the remaining 91 boxes were restored, reprocessed, and delivered the following month.
In the end, over 1,000 hours was spent re-labeling and inventorying file folders for the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens. The whole process took less than eight weeks and the client was able to access their documents during that time.
The moral of this story: every company needs to have the number for a fast, reliable, professional, full-service restoration company in their list of contacts even if they may never be needed. Damage to essential documents can make or break a business–no matter the size. Many businesses cannot afford to be non-operational for even one day, especially in these tough economic times. The Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens needed business continuity and sought the services of a restoration company that had their ideals of an affordable price, quality service, and deadlines in mind.
~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009
