When you’re in business, you are going to have files, documents, invoices, records of sensitive information and many other things that should remain confidential. Then there are also computers and hardware to consider. When something is no longer needed, it should be destroyed so that nobody can retrieve it in any way. This means that even the business and its employees should no longer have access either. There are a couple of ways to do this.
You can have a shredding service do it professionally. The professionals will take care of it properly and permanently, or you can do it in-house. However, doing it in-house does pose a few dangers, so let’s take a look at what these are.
1. Mechanical Dangers
Since shredding is a mechanical task, it does pose some dangers for which care and attention must be taken. Since it is not something you have done before, and even if you have, there is the danger of an accident happening if you let your guard down. For example, someone may bend down slightly to perform an operation and a tie could get caught in the shredder. Someone with long hair could get their hair caught in the shredder.
In fact, the larger the shredder, the greater the danger. Fingers can get caught as well if care is not taken. Even though a person may be trained, accidents can still happen, as it only takes a second of non-concentration. Don’t be fooled into thinking these things will never happen.
2. Danger Of Combustion
Even if you have a small shredder, it can create a fair amount of paper dust. Being an electrical object, a spark could potentially ignite this paper dust and cause a fire. This is quite rare but it does not mean it won’t happen. The potential is there and should not be underestimated.
3. Inhalation Of Particles
Paper dust is released from the shredding process. These small particles can get into the eyes and lungs of staff members responsible for these tasks, causing irritation and short-term health problems. This can lead to these employees taking time off work. However, there is also the possibility of long-term effects. Some of these can be constant sore throats, asthma or even chronic bronchitis. If this happens, then there is also the possibility of employees who were assigned to these tasks to take legal action which can result in heavy losses for the company.
4. Uneven Distribution Of Weight
You may have noticed that these shredders are weightier at the top and a light receptacle below. This makes these pretty unstable and prone to being toppled. Imagine if the machine was a little bigger. This could cause accidents. Feet and toes are prone to getting injured if a freak accident were to occur.
5. Cross Cutting Danger
It has been shown that strip cutting is not as effective, so cross cutting is the better choice. However, this can cause bigger dangers and in fact, there have been thousands of people injured because of these types of shredders.
The best and safest thing to do is to have a shredding service do this for you. Outsource these tasks and they will take care of the whole process from start to finish. The results are secure, professional and the business need never worry. With proper accreditation, using a shredding service will be a sound business decision while you also stay on the right side of the law.
