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I L T A N E T . O R G
software then processes the data and applies logic that
validates it and identifies anomalies between the previous
inventory and the current one, thereby highlighting
what's no longer there (and also conversely what's been
added). These will either be documents that individuals
have logged out (which you know about); or they will be
documents that have "walked".
Thereafter, the firm will typically make an educated
guess, (based on historic audit trails or movement of
records) as to where missing documents may have
"walked" to. It's at this point that you take the handheld
reader to the indicated location – it could be a particular
special project "war room", or department, or building, or
a specific partner's office.
Once you switch the reader on in this location it will
help you locate the missing article. And it's not necessary
to disturb piles of paper on a desk or on the floor or in a
filing cabinet to do so. Your investigations can be totally
unobtrusive, with the reader set to display an ascending
number of "bars" as it gets closer to the missing article. Or
you can set the reader to emit a high-pitched chirp (similar
to a metal detector), that will get increasingly more insistent
as the reader gets closer to its target. This is the less subtle
route, but it's possibly more satisfying, especially if you're
in the presence of the firm's least organized partner who
has just sworn they absolutely don't have the document
you've just found in their office …
But levity aside, this technology is high functioning,
and the cost is modest. There's no thought that it will
replace barcode technology already deployed by many
firms, but instead, it's a complementary system that does
a discrete job very effectively for a targeted subset of high-
value original documents. Because handheld RFID readers
don't need to "see" RFID tags and are extremely quick, you
can conduct very reliable and efficient audits. To reiterate,
a firm we worked with reduced inventory time from three
months to not much more than 30 minutes. As part of
the firm's information governance armory this is an ideal
solution for keeping track of critical documents that the
firm cannot afford to have go astray. ILTA
Chris Giles is CEO and Director of Information Governance at
LegalRM, which creates market-leading software, services and
solutions for records, risk and compliance management and serves
some of the world largest law firms as well as blue chip organizations
from other industry sectors.
1. Depending on the type of tag used, range is from less than 3 feet to 300 feet when tags are
battery powered. See: https://www.rfidjournal.com/faq/from-how-far-away-can-a-
typical-rfid-tag-be-read
2. https://www.techtarget.com/iotagenda/definition/RFID-radio-frequency-identification
To find out more about how how advances in Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology can offer a highly effective, time saving
way to keep track of vital pieces of paper join our ILTA Masterclass where
Chris Giles from LegalRM and Chris Francis from Allen & Overy will be
offering their experience of efficiently safeguarding documents.
click here to register »
ILTA Masterclass
