Facility Description & Security 

Document Management Solutions home office is located in a ten-year-old building at 6050 Stilwell in Kansas City, Missouri, between I-435 and I-35 just off Front Street.  DMS occupies 30,000 square feet of a 125,000 square foot warehouse.  DMS has a second comparable warehouse of similar size located in the same area.

Our security system was custom designed by a leading company which has been servicing Kansas City for over 30 years.  The electronic devices utilized are specifically suited to our needs, and all detection instruments are U.L. approved.  The entire security system is monitored 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and trained security personnel patrol the facility after business hours.

Entry to the records center is limited to employees and Clients.  All employees have undergone a background check and are under strict, confidentiality agreements.  All guests must sign-in and wear a visitors badge while at the center.  A records center escort must accompany visitors at all times.  All points of entry are monitored by electronic security measures which include infrared motion detectors.

The facility is fire protected by an Early Suppression Fast Response sprinkler system, monitored by dual independent fire alarm systems.  An independent company tests the sprinkler system on a monthly basis to ensure compliance and readiness.

Above Ground vs. Below

When I started Document Management Solutions in 1996 I weighed using an underground facility vs. an above ground facility.  I chose the above ground facility because: 

• Accessibility - An above ground facility is more accessible.  Accessibility becomes important for two main reasons:  fire and security.  As the fire at Americold in 1991 showed everyone, an underground facility is not readily accessible when a fire breaks out.  A lack of access allowed the fire to burn out of control for weeks until it burned itself out.  An above ground facility is readily accessible for emergency workers, including from the air if necessary.  Emergency vehicle access is extremely limited at an underground facility.
  
  Since all entry and exit points are known, an above ground facility is more secure.  While caves have specific entry and exit points, these are not the only means of access.  Ventilation shafts, cave-in points, etc. are all potential covert points of entry that may not be known or monitored.  In an above ground facility, all access points are known, and thus a number of different security measures can be employed to monitor them.  At DMS, we know that when the doors to our facility are locked , there are no unknown people on site.
  
  Because of limited vehicle access in caves, large trucks at times block access to parts of the cave.   This presents special problems during an emergency.
   
• Air Quality - Control of air quality is better in an above ground facility.  It's very difficult to control the fume and humidity levels in an underground facility.  Proper ventilation of an underground facility is a significant undertaking, with significant cost to match.  Caves are also notorious for dust control problems.  As small pieces of the roof of a cave fall on the roadway and vehicles drive over them, a great deal of dust is created.  Obviously, this is a non-issue at an above ground facility.
   
• Weather - Underground advocates point to weather, specifically tornadoes, as the reason to use an underground facility.  While tornadoes may hit anywhere, they are less likely to touch down in a river valley.  The DMS facility is located in the “east bottoms” located between two bluffs.  It is in a 400 year flood plain.  During tornadoes much of the damage comes from the winds and rain associated with the storm.  The resulting power outages and flooding have a bigger impact on caves than on an above ground facility.
   
• Adjacent Tenants - Above ground facilities are normally free standing buildings, or a building shared with another tenant.  In building or leasing an above ground facility, there is greater control over what is stored with or near the records.  For example, DMS will not use a facility that is close to hazards or flammable materials.  When storing in a cave, there's much less control over the materials in the adjacent areas, or the functions performed in adjacent areas.  Generally speaking, caves are a large public warehouse.  A manufacturing facility can be next to a record storage area.

The above points highlight why the overwhelming majority of commercial record centers in the United States are above ground.