Who would have figured that better filing equipment could also provide safety and security?

The officials at the University of Richmond did.

With over 2,976 full-time undergraduate students attending the University of Richmond at any one time, the Admissions Office is always a busy place. Between senior graduations and freshman applications, the admissions office has over 6,500 files they need to keep immediately accessible to select staff while remaining confidential. Finding a solution to provide safe and easy file access to staff members and security to keep the files confidential was a lesson in itself.

Situated on 350 acres six miles from downtown Richmond, Virginia, the University of Richmond offers a blend of academic programs, featuring 108 majors, minors and concentrations. A staff of 312 full-time faculty members provides students with a premier, private, liberal arts university featuring primarily undergraduate programs, with a few graduate programs in arts and sciences, business and law.

The admissions office previously operated with 820 square feet of lateral filing cabinets, using the entire bottom row of filing space for storage. The entire top row of filing space, being unreachable for some office staff, was not used at all. With files difficult to locate, unsecured and wasted space apparent, the admissions office decided it was time to find a better solution.

After considering mobile shelving, the University’s purchasing agent went with two MegaStar System’s Electric Later Filing Systems (ELF) with roll-out drawers. The system provided safety features, higher productivity levels and increased security options. “We liked that these systems addressed important concerns for us, such as the safety of our staff and the security of confidential files,” said Carole Mitchell, Operations Manager in the Admissions Office. “In addition to safety and security, we’ve also seen a huge increase in efficiency and staff productivity.

Accessing files without reaching, bending or twisting was not the admissions office only concern, so was the security of the confidential files.