A key solution

Document management bins, containers and consoles are designed specifically to protect some of a company’s most valued assets. Customer and employee information and other confidential materials that are designated for destruction are stored in these bins and containers, emphasizing the importance of reliable security features, from lock variations to secure inserts.

Information breaches are misfortunes that businesses risk every day, says John Ford, national accounts manager of professional products for Statesville, N.C.-based Toter, a manufacturer of wheeled carts for document destruction, recycling, waste and organics. Ford says it is a company’s responsibility to guarantee that confidential information is secured.

“Businesses must ensure that sensitive or confidential documents and private information are protected from misuse, identity theft and loss,” Ford adds. “With federal privacy laws and regulations mandating the secure handling of sensitive data, it’s crucial that businesses have a secure method for discarding and disposing of sensitive documents.”
 

Locked up

One of the most obvious ways to protect documents that are stored in bins and containers is with a lock. With the variety of lock types, styles and functions available, how do document destruction firms and their clients determine the best locks for their needs?

For Toter, its keyed slam lock, also known a spring lock, is the most popular style among the company’s customers, Ford says. The barrel-style locks are designed to automatically lock as soon as the container’s lid is closed.

“Our slam lock, as well as improvements in overall product safety, are by far our most meaningful product innovations,” Ford says. “These locks are installed in Toter’s extra-heavy-duty, double-walled roto-mold lids and are included on our most secure, simple-to-use document management carts.”

All Source Security Container Mfg. Corp., headquartered in Barrie, Ontario, also incorporates a self-closing lock on its consoles, providing added security as the lock engages automatically when the container is closed, says Pete Pancel, the company’s president and CEO. He says the self-closing locks have not only added another element of security, they also have helped to make the operator’s job faster.

Pancel says, “Whether for the day-to-day user or the company collecting documents for shredding, these locks have created collection efficiencies and ease of use for anyone opening and closing the console.”

He adds, “There is an added component of security as well; locks use proprietary key codes and are sure to be relocked after use.”

The bin and console manufacturer also offers a one-key solution, so that one key is used to open any All Source Security Container product.

However, the company’s patented Lockjaw internal locking system is the innovation All Source is proudest of, Pancel says. The lock is housed internally by six screws and is recessed in the lid of the cart, eliminating the possibility of tampering or even a loose padlock falling into an operator’s shredding truck, he adds.

The lock cannot break off of the cart like a traditional hasp-and-padlock system can, he explains. This type of breakage, he says, can result in damage to the lip of the cart, which would require replacement of the entire unit. “Should the Lockjaw itself ever become damaged, it is easy to remove and replace without having to replace the entire cart,” Pancel says.

He adds, “A combination of factors—a one-key solution, self-closing locks and tamper-proof locks—have all been game changers as they came along.”

Patrick Connor, president of Jake, Connor & Crew, a Kitchener, Ontario-based manufacturer of consoles and wheeled bins for the information destruction industry, says his company has been offering slam locks for years. While the self-closing locks are available on any console the company produces, he says his company’s customers have not seen their value.

“Some customers questioned the lack of a ‘deadbolt’ facility with this locking option,” Connor says of slam locks.

Jake, Connor & Crew introduced electronic locks for its consoles about five years ago. The electronic locks, which require a wave of a security card to gain access to the consoles’ contents without using a traditional key, have been growing in popularity recently, Connor says.

The company has been selling consoles with electronic locks for “specific international, high-security applications, and we think at this level this innovation satisfies their security requirements,” Connor says.

He adds, “Our abilities to produce a container with different locking options is virtually endless, and we frequently accommodate unusual locking requests. Our bins have traditional keyed locking options as well as hasp options and our unique push-button locking option found only on our patented ‘Retriever.’”

American Container Equipment & Supplies LLC (ACES) owner Emil Brignola says his Marietta, Ga.-based company offers a brass padlock and unique key codes as added security. He says ACES, a supplier of carts and cabinets to the industry, and its customers recognize padlocks as a security symbol; in fact, a number of document destruction companies embellish the locks with their company logos.

ACES recently supplied a customer with nearly 1,000 locks bearing the company’s name “because they wanted to make sure it stated security,” Brignola remarks.

“Customers can walk away and see there’s a specific lock on the cabinet with a name that represents security,” he adds.
 

Ease and enhance

While locks are a significant factor in securing documents in a container, Connor says a console can offer customers more efficiency if other enhancements are considered.

“What [customers] do value is an overall, incrementally more secure bin and console that is the sum of its parts and not the lock alone,” Connor says. “What we have consciously worked toward is a concerted effort to increase the variety of mechanisms to provide ease of use, additional security and functionality.”

Ford says Toter’s enhancements have created a more secure cart. The document insert used on its CDA and CDC product lines was engineered to prevent unauthorized access, he explains. The company’s carts also are equipped with deflector chutes, which allow bulk papers to enter but cannot accommodate a hand, he says.

Another feature that Ford says enhances a Toter cart’s efficiency is caster wheels. The company’s caster carts help to make moving heavy loads easier, eliminate the need to tip the cart to roll and can improve the operator’s daily performance.

“For instance, by simply utilizing Toter caster carts, business operators can reduce workman’s comp claims,” Ford states.

He says Toter welcomes customer requests for modifications to its standard products and offers many types of locks, hinges, hardware and custom graphics.

Pancel says All Source Security Container continues to grow its inventory, especially as it works with customers to create products that work best for them.

“We have continued to invest in product development year over year, resulting in containers that in many cases were designed in partnership with our customers to meet their specific deployment and collection needs,” Pancel adds. “Our customers often help us lead the way to innovating products that work better.”

For Jake, Connor & Crew, offering options beyond a variety of locks has been a way to maximize customer efficiency, Connor says. The company has introduced three- and four-wheeled bins, console inserts and lighter products, he says.

“We have looked for opportunities to provide additional ergonomic options … that improve not only the ergonomic benefits for the user but also creates a positive effect for the bottom line for our customers,” Connor says.

The author is an associate editor of Storage & Destruction Business and can be reached at mworkman@gie.net.