Iron Mountain Opens Special Storage Facilities To Help Federal Records Keepers Meet Oct. 1 Regulatory Deadline

The clock is ticking for government agencies and their contractors, who have until next Thursday to comply with updated regulations from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for protecting federal documents, photos and other records. To help those with federal records meet their compliance obligations, Iron Mountain Incorporated, the global leader in information protection and storage services, has opened four, specially-outfitted records centers exclusively for storing and imaging government documents.

The 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1228, subpart K, from NARA prescribes standards that focus on the security and fire safety of federal record storage facilities. By Oct. 1, government agencies and contractors must finish bringing older facilities, or ones that have stored federal records since before Aug. 29, 2005, in compliance with these standards, or they must have relocated their records to compliant storage. NARA set the deadline in 2005 for upgrading established record facilities when it amended its Code of Federal Regulations first introduced in 2000. The amendments clarified requirements for facilities already storing federal records and mandated all future federal record centers comply.

With more than 1,500 federal government agencies and contractors as clients, Iron Mountain has achieved full compliance and is now accepting records at its four CFR-compliant Federal Record Centers in Redlands, Calif; Kansas City, Mo..; Elgin, Ill.; and Fredericksburg, Va. Iron Mountain has specially designed and outfitted each facility to store more than one million cubic feet of federal hardcopy information and to provide quick access to it via onsite imaging capabilities.

"For many in the federal market, this deadline and these regulations may seem new, but Iron Mountain is ready" said Jeff Johnson, senior vice president of Government Services for Iron Mountain. "We have been protecting and managing federal records for more than 50 years, experience we've leaned on to understand the CFR requirements and to offer our customers a compliant data storage solution that's more cost effective than if they invested the requisite financial and human capital to do it themselves. The federal government plans to enforce these new standards, holding both agencies and their contractors responsible for compliance, and it reserves the right to audit facilities and practices for compliance. We want our customers to have peace of mind that they're choosing an experienced provider with not only compliant facilities but with a total chain-of-custody process for securing and accessing their information and avoiding the consequences of non-compliance."

Making the transition: Noridian partners with Iron Mountain for compliance
Noridian Administrative Services, a subsidiary of Noridian Mutual Insurance Company, generates millions of records as one of the nation's top claims administration agencies for Medicare/Medicaid and durable medical equipment, handling every aspect of the health insurance claims process—from submission to reimbursement—for 21 different U.S. states and territories. Noridian also works directly with the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) on several reform and reconciliation efforts, a responsibility that requires Noridian's records be simultaneously secure and readily available.

"After reviewing the regulations and determining what it would cost us to become compliant on our own, we realized we had to find a partner who could make compliance easier and more cost effective," said Ken Roseth, assistant vice president of facilities, Noridian Administrative Facilities. "We needed more than compliant federal record centers, though; we needed a partner with a national footprint who could support our business most cost-effectively. Noridian already had a relationship with Iron Mountain to store its digital and hardcopy records. So when it came time to find a proven partner for CFR compliance, we turned to them again."

As a government contractor, Noridian must comply with federal regulations like CFR that pertain to records management. But unlike other records-related mandates that Noridian meets, complying with CFR required the relocation of massive volumes of records from existing storage facilities into compliant ones, challenging Noridian's operations and chain-of-custody processes. Noridian first transitioned its federal records into Iron Mountain's CFR-compliant Federal Records Center in Kansas City, Mo. and later expanded into Iron Mountain's three other federal records facilities, becoming the company's first CFR customer at each. In the transition, Noridian and Iron Mountain worked together to establish records management practices and operational workflow processes to maintain compliance over time. This work later enabled Noridian to provide CMS with a tested model for streamlining their records management process, helping other CMS contractors to achieve CFR compliance as well.

"Regulatory compliance is an operational imperative for us," continued Roseth. "CFR is another example of this and becoming compliant ensures that we remain a trusted partner to CMS. Iron Mountain, with its national footprint, expertise and CFR-compliant facilities, allows us to work smarter and provide our services to CMS more successfully, which is a key part of our growth strategy as a CMS contractor."

Commitment to compliance: Iron Mountain opens federal record facilities
In anticipation of the Oct. 1 deadline, Iron Mountain employed third-party, multi-disciplinary engineering teams to work with NARA to understand the requirements of CFR compliance. Iron Mountain then used these teams to design, build and audit each of its federal records facilities to ensure continuity of architectural design, building construction and final inspection. Each facility was thoroughly inspected by an independent engineering firm and certified as CFR compliant, allowing Iron Mountain to provide clients with proof of compliance and ultimately peace of mind that their federal records are being stored in a CFR-compliant Federal Records Center.

Iron Mountain has made significant investments in the infrastructure and systems of these facilities to ensure they meet or, in some cases, even exceed CFR requirements. Iron Mountain sited and built its four federal records facilities based on hundreds of criteria related to security, topography considerations like the location of flood plains, fire protection, disaster recovery and environmental controls like air quality. The facilities include:

• Stringent security protocols, such as perimeter fencing, so-called "man and vehicle traps", motion sensors, closed-circuit television and restricted security card access ;
• Advanced fire suppression systems featuring three-hour, fire-resistant walls; patent-pending, roof-support structures for independent storage chambers; and advanced smoke detection systems capable of detecting smoke before it's visible to the human eye;
• Protective environmental controls, including "double-piped", water-supply systems to prevent leaks and mold-protection ventilation systems in each storage chamber;
• Key facility protocols for redundant power sources, rerouting of fuel lines to the exterior of the facility, and horsepower limits on any equipment within a storage area.

In October, Iron Mountain will open in Columbia, Md., a CFR-compliant data protection facility for storing computer back-up tapes and has plans for additional federal facilities, providing government agencies and contractors with a compliant solution for storing both hardcopy and digital data.

About Iron Mountain
Iron Mountain Incorporated helps organizations around the world reduce the costs and risks associated with information protection and storage. The Company offers comprehensive records management and data protection solutions, along with the expertise and experience to address complex information challenges such as rising storage costs, litigation, regulatory compliance and disaster recovery. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain is a trusted partner to more than 120,000 corporate clients throughout North America, Europe, Latin American and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit www.ironmountain.com.

SOURCE: Iron Mountain