Records management has a strong application for passive RFID technology due to the value it delivers to organizations in many industries. In conjunction with file tracking and records management software, RFID is solving many problems that were unsolvable using older technologies.

More than just solving problems, using RFID in a file tracking and records management solution can prevent problems. There are many government regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting requirements (SOX) and medical privacy rules (HIPPA), which create compliance tasks. RFID helps document compliance, bringing hard and soft savings, like improved customer service, time savings, and preventing lost files.

RFID overcomes the big drawback of bar code tracking systems; they require active participation. The fact that attorneys and staff will not scan bar codes is so widely accepted that many law firms never adopted bar code tracking systems. These firms see little value in knowing who checks out a file when the file never remains with that person.

Some firms have countered the shortcomings of bar coding by implementing an audit process. Each week staff members use portable scanners in every cubicle and office to update the location of files. Despite this effort the tracking system is truly accurate only once per week. In a full RFID implementation, passive tracking captures every movement of every file, as attorneys and staff go about their normal activities.

RFID provides huge benefits even in this environment. Using RFID cuts audit labor by more than 80 percent. At Sughrue Mion, the weekly audit of 5,000 to 6,000 files at 250 offices and cubicles used to take 32 man-hours. The audits are now done in just over four hours using FileTrail’s RFID solution.