Storage company keeps tight lock on docs

When an Auburn mini-storage facility owner realized that a lot of businesses were using the units to store records, he decided to come up with a better solution. So Ray Whaley, who runs Ace Mini Storage, created Secure Record Management, a site devoted to document storage, retrieval and destruction."We own Shale Ridge Industrial Park and have a large warehouse there," he said this week. "We conformed to all county registration, exceeded local fire codes and developed the record management system."The project took some time. Whaley said he spent a year doing research and then attended a 10-day software-training course in Irvine before opening the company. "We also talked to other (document storage company) owners and managers and toured their sites," he said.The business, which was started about six months ago, handles only hard-copy documents and tracks them using a bar-coded system. "Everything that enters the system has its own bar code," Whaley explained. "Any movement of a box or file is tracked. It gets scanned before it leaves the shelving location and at each step along the way. You can go into the computer system and it will tell you exactly where the box is - in the warehouse, in transit or with a customer."Whaley puts a special emphasis on security, he said. And part of that is the filing system."It's all random filing. Each business doesn't have one particular location," he said. "That's so if someone did get in there, they wouldn't know where to find anything. There are thousands of boxes all at random locations."There's also a conference room for customers to review materials on site.In addition, the warehouse is alarmed 24-hours a day with a 24-hour digitally recorded video surveillance system recorded onto a hard drive, he said.The staff undergoes a vetting process, too."All of our employees go though security checks, background checks and sign confidentiality agreements," Whaley said. "They're bonded and insured. Likewise, the company is bonded and insured." Currently there are three employees, all family members, he said.Document shredding is available for businesses as well as individuals.In fact, containers can be flagged with a destruction date at the time they're stored. But the company also will pick up documents for storage or shredding, or the items may be delivered directly to the warehouse."We have an industrial cross-cut shredder," Whaley said. "It's HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant. We also offer certificates of destruction. All the material is recycled."For businesses that need shredding services on a regular basis, he provides locking document containers that can be picked up on a monthly or more frequent basis.Mortgage broker Rick Caporaso, of Vista Mortgage in Auburn, who is a longtime storage-unit customer, is pleased with the new option."I've been with Ace Mini Storage for years," he said. "They are a good group of people and they have served me well. I had been storing my records over there. They gave me a much more convenient, less expensive and more thoroughly documented storage facility."Document storage costs start at $25 a month for 25 standard-size containers. The cost rises to $45 per month for 26 to 100 boxes and then is an additional 30 cents per container above 100. File destruction is $10 for the first box and then $5 for each additional box. For new clients, the first pickup for document storage is free. After that, delivery is $15 for the next day or $25 for same day.Whaley has been associated with the family's storage business since childhood. He grew up in Auburn and graduated from Placer High."I started working here as a kid, mowing the lawn and taking care of maintenance, and then moved on up," he said. The Journal's Gloria Young can be reached at gloriay @goldcountrymedia.com or comment online at www. auburnjournal.com.Secure Record ManagementWhere: 12260 Shale Ridge Lane, Suite No. 1, Auburn Phone: (530) 888-6161Web site: www. securerecord.netOpen: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday