The best prepared business owners know: disasters happen. Most owners have plans to get their employees out of danger quickly, but they may not be prepared to continue operating after a fire, flood, or earthquake. Such catastrophic events can damage essential documents and assets. Fortunately, disaster recovery services from companies such as Rapid Refile can get any business back on track after a disaster. Take for example the disaster recovery case study of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens (SHCCBG).



The Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens (SHCCBG), an affiliate of the Smithsonian located on Staten Island, New York, is 83 acres of gardens, theaters, maritime events, museums, festivals, and educational opportunities. In late November 2008, SHCCBG employees had their minds on preparing for the audit they were going through. During this crucial time, a sprinkler line broke in the building, flooding the SHCCBG file room and the office of the controller.

After the administrative building flooded, emergency crews were immediately called in to begin structural drying efforts so the integrity of the building's architecture would not be compromised. The documents in the file room were in the back of workers' minds until Rapid Refile came in to assess the damage. The recovery company came up with a solution to restore and reprocess the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens' files in a manner that was efficient, thorough, and fast. Thousands of crucial documents were recovered successfully by following these three steps:

1. Photocopy Each Document

Because they were too fragile and water damaged to go through a copier's feeder, over 400,000 documents were scanned one-by-one using the glass plate.

2. Inventory and Prioritize the Documents

After being carefully scanned, all of the documents were inventoried by name and uploaded into a spreadsheet. SHCCBG employees were able to download the files and determine which were needed immediately for the audit in progress. The inventory also helped SHCCBG employees inform Rapid Refile which documents were needed in order of priority.

3. Process And Recover Files

Ninety-seven boxes of files were labeled as "high priority," and Rapid Refile's team worked through the holidays to get the files completed and delivered to the SHCCBG by the deadline. Because of the knowledgeable and cooperative team on the project, the audit continued as planned. The rest of the files in the remaining 91 boxes were restored, reprocessed, and delivered the following month.

In the end, over 1,000 hours were spent re-labeling and inventorying file folders for the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens. The whole process took less than eight weeks and the client was able to access their documents during that time.

The moral of this story: every company needs to have the number for a fast, reliable, professional, full-service restoration company in their list of contacts even if they may never be needed. Damage to essential documents can make or break a business--no matter the size. Many businesses cannot afford to be non-operational for even one day, especially in these tough economic times. By following the steps above and processing each document using their unique desiccant air dry distribution system, Rapid Refile successfully recovered Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens' important documents.

~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009