Document and records management specialist Metrofile has announced the completion of the tallest document processing centre in SA. Standing seven floors high, with room for expansion, the new warehouse was built at a cost of R16.5 million and will serve the greater Pretoria region.
Graham Wackrill, Metrofile Gauteng MD, says the processing centre will cater for the full lifecycle of enterprise content management, from paper to digital assets.
"Customers` business records are converted to digital format. A CD-ROM containing the electronic documents is then returned to the customer to ensure the business still has access to the data it requires, but the physical documents are indexed and stored in our warehouse," Wackrill explains.
The warehouse itself covers an area of 3 200 square metres, enough to store 600 000 containers of documents. It has already been put into use. The warehouse has fire protection in the form of heat-resistant sprinklers supported by two 185 000-litre pressurised water tanks. Built in pneumatic air vents automatically open if the temperature reaches 78 degrees Celsius.
The processing centre will become Metrofile`s main Pretoria processing and storage location and will provide content and document management services for key regional businesses in the health, insurance, banking, manufacturing, government and parastatal sectors.
There is also a 100 square-metre vault designed to hold customers` magnetic data tapes, which are rotated on a regular basis. There are also smoke detectors in the vault, programmed to release a non-toxic gas in case of a fire.
"To ensure customers` legal and business records are 100% secure, the site is under 24-hour security surveillance and is linked to an armed response unit," Wackrill adds.
Seven Metrofile delivery vehicles, together with a driver and co-driver, are on duty to ensure that any documents or data customers needs are delivered in the shortest time possible.
"Companies need to ensure they exercise tight control over their data assets to meet the requirements of the King Commission as well as the ECT Act, which makes electronic documents legal tender," Wackrill adds. "In addition, Metrofile believes information must be seen as an asset that needs to be delivered in the right format, to the right place at the right time."
The company`s new processing centre is not only the tallest of its kind in the country, but also has the technical capability and infrastructure to handle the most demanding corporate records management projects. Through this infrastructure and expertise, Metrofile is able to help customers manage their vital business information in the most cost-effective manner.
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Metrofile is the South African market leader in the management of business content, and is committed to help customers reduce costs and improve productivity in processes that are centred on documents and corporate records.
All companies have a combination of paper and electronic documents, and are forced by law and customer requirements to secure the availability of the documents for the duration of their lifecycle. For most organisations, the volume of documents is growing at an exponential rate, and is becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
Metrofile, which also has an international presence, is uniquely positioned to provide consulting and implementation of full lifecycle paper and electronic records management solutions from storage and conversion through to destruction.