When you’re a business that scans and digitizes over one million pages every month, being surrounded by tech and paperwork just goes with the territory. However, after a recent move to Burnaby, the management at Micro Com Systems has some advice that other businesses might find valuable—beware of becoming an accidental hoarder.
The relationship between tech and business is almost as natural as peanut butter and jelly. There’s an easy harmony between them—a synchronicity. One makes the other better.
As a company engaged in all forms of document digitization, image scanning, and data capture, part of the reason for the hoarding is understandable. There’s a lot of tech, and certain makes and models that still play a role in select operations have been retired, so older machines are kept around for parts. Micro Com also sells and services capture hardware and, once again, older machines were kept in case someone needed an elusive component.
Other clutter, however, was less defensible. There were hundreds and hundreds of banker’s boxes packed to the brim with paper, drawings, and microfilm from long-completed jobs. When returns were not requested, many of the boxes were shunted into the corners of the 5000 sq. ft. warehouse—and forgotten. And things just went too far.
When it finally came time to decide what to keep and what to discard, there were literally tons of waste. A junk-hauling company had to be called in—and it took six 5-ton trucks to haul away the incredible volume of garbage and recycling. In addition, seven 64 cubic foot (2 cubic metre) steel cages of paper were sent for shredding.
To prevent this from happening again, the solution moving forward will be to implement a yearly spring cleanout—and it’s a lesson other businesses might take to heart. After all, if people regularly clean out their homes to keep them from getting cluttered, why should a business be any different?
The team members at Micro Com Systems look forward to serving you from their newer, tidier location in Burnaby. Ask them how digitizing your paperwork can cut costs and make your important paperwork more accessible and secure—and leave your office tidier. Call 604-872-6771 or reach out online.