File Tracking: Case Closed

Jan 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Randy Southerland

Tony Donaldson knew that his new file tracking system was worth the money the day a senior partner in the law firm called and asked for an important case file.

As senior records manager for the law firm Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak and Seas PLIC, he had taken the leap into the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags as part of an Intelligent File Management System to track files. This particular day was a critical test of the system's ability when an attorney asked for a file that records showed had been checked out to him — and not returned.

Nobody on the staff wanted to be the one to tell the attorney that he had the file — unless they could find it in his office. Taking a deep breath, Donaldson marched upstairs carrying a handheld reader.

The partner looked up from his desk as Donaldson told him: “We believe the file is in your office. May I come in and check?”

He got a gruff response, but a nod of permission. As he walked around the desk he swept the reader. Within seconds the device began to beep, indicating that the file was nearby. It turns out the file was in a desk drawer in the middle of a stack of other files.

As Donaldson left, the partner admitted: “I guess it was a good investment, huh?”

That incident is an indication of how much things have changed in the realm of file management with the introduction of RFID technology. In a firm that specializes in intellectual property, being able to access the right file at the right time is vital.

“It was a situation where they were having issues tracing their files,” says Joe Alvarez, president of Washington, D.C.-based National Office Systems (NOS), an information management company that markets the system. “In many places the file is just a backup, but for an intellectual property firm, it's the actual document that they need with all the notations and client discussions.”

The technology is an Intelligent File Management System that integrates Thorofare, N.J.-based Checkpoint Systems Performa RFID tags and readers with Thoroughbred's OPUS record-tracking software. The system manages hard-copy files while giving individual desktop access to company-wide file information. The RFID tags automate file identification for circulation and allow automated checkout, inventory and enhanced security.

When NOS suggested the system as an answer to the all-too-common search for misplaced files, Sughrue officials made it clear that they needed to be able to track files electronically and thus have accountability of who had these important legal documents.

“If a file was misplaced they wanted to be able to walk around the office and find it easily,” Alvarez says. “If they had a barcode or no system at all, they literally had to go through every file and every desk or every person's inbox to find out where it was.”

With RFID adhesive labels attached to the file jacket, they could be easily located with a handheld reader. The tag contains a factory-installed number that is linked to a specific file identity in the company's inventory database.

“With barcode technology, you have to see the barcode in order to read it, and you can only read them one at a time,” says Douglas Karp, senior director and general manager of ID Products Group with Checkpoint. “With RFID readers, you can read through the file or through any material except metal, and you can read more than just one at a time.”

The handheld readers can detect files within a range of 10 inches, while the desktop readers used at Sughrue for checking files in and out of the file room have a range of 12 inches.

Not only does the system allow file clerks to quickly track down errant files, but the system also makes the taking of file inventory quick and almost painless.

“Most good records managers will tell you that you should be doing audits on the file room at least once a quarter,” Alvarez says. “The reality is that people never do it. The reason is that if you're going to do it, what you're getting is a picture in time — what's in here and what's not in here. With a barcode system, you have to pull out every file and pass the reader over it and make sure it gets downloaded to the system. So each file needs to be done that way.”

Checkpoint's anti-collision capabilities allow for multiple reading of tags at the same time. When the files are all tagged and integrated into the software system, a clerk can literally walk briskly by the shelves and filing bins with a handheld reader and record every file in the room — and also know which ones are not there.

That ability is particularly important for the law firm's central file depository, which holds more than 12,000 files. On an average day, more than 50 new files are checked out and 200 are re-filed. Requests must be filled within two hours. Every minute spent searching for a missing file erodes productivity both for the file managers and attorneys who often must serve impatient clients.

Since the installation of the system, Sughrue officials have reduced the number of man-hours needed for an inventory of the file and attorney's offices from 32 hours to six. For a complete inventory, man-hours were reduced from 20 to two, a productivity increase of more than 800 percent.

Checkpoint's RFID technology, coupled with OPUS software, allows for automated file identification for circulation. Under this system, the file's identification number is logged into the integrated circuit on the Checkpoint-manufactured Intelligent Tag. Using the readers, files can be automatically checked out and inventoried, therefore greatly enhancing their physical security. Files can now be batched together for check-in and checkout at a rate 30 times faster than before.

These advantages have greatly increased efficiency for the law firm. While Sughrue has been a trailblazer in this area, many other attorneys' offices and libraries have followed suit and are now enjoying the benefits of the RFID technology.

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