NAID AAA Certification
Northcoast was awarded the NAID (National Association for Information Destruction) AAA Certification on February 28, 2011. This Certification is the highest accreditation a document destruction company can receive in the country. This is a voluntary Certification, and it is awarded to companies that meet or exceed rigorous security standards and document handling procedures described below. Northcoast is certified for mobile and plant-based operations and endorsed media destruction for paper/printed media, non-paper media and computer hard drives.
Employee Requirements
- 7 Year Criminal Record Searches on all access employees
- Criminal Record Searches are conducted every three years
- No person subject to a felony conviction in the last seven years for any crime involving theft, fraud, burglary or larceny may be employed in a capacity where they may come in contact with confidential client information.
- 7 Year Employment History Verification kept on file
- Initial drug screening at time of hire
- 50% of employees drug tested annually or the local management trained in a “Substance Abuse Recognition Awareness Program” pre-approved by NAID
- Signed Confidentiality Agreements kept on file for all employees
- All drivers meet state licensing requirements
- All access employees trained and tested annually to ensure their knowledge of the NAID AAA Certification program as well as document handling procedures.
Operational Security
- All visitors are accompanied by an access employee at all times, and a visitor’s log is kept on file
- Unauthorized access is prevented at all entrances of the building
- Northcoast has key fob entry on all man doors as well as locked overhead dock doors which are gated and padlocked when open
- Alarm system, security cameras and closed circuit monitoring system at all access point of the building and sufficient clarity to identify individuals
- Weekly CCTV Logs must be used to check the camera and recording systems and kept on file
- Monthly Operational Security Maintenance Logs must used to check security functions and kept on file
- Monthly Quality Control
- Policies and procedures manual for drivers and destruction processing employees
- All media for destruction is attended by an employee or locked and secured in collection vehicles at all times before destruction
- All collection and destruction vehicles must have applicable governmental inspections
- Two-way communication devices must be carried by drivers at all times
- Employees must wear Company uniforms and ID badges to improve recognition to customers
The Destruction Process
- Paper is destroyed by commercial grade destruction equipment producing a maximum shred size of 5/8 inch
- Written policies and procedures for the destruction of hard drives including serial number recordation
- Written policies and procedures for the physical destruction of non-paper media
- All media is destroyed within 3 business days
- Monthly Quality Control Logs completed to ensure all media is destroyed within the stated standards and kept on file
- Agreement for Responsible Disposal on file for recipients of destroyed media
- Destroyed media must not be reused in any capacity including animal bedding and packaging material
Company Assurances
- Company must be a legally registered business
- Company must carry general liability insurance of $2,000,000 or more