In these uncertain economic times, just
about every company in every industry
is looking at ways to reduce or eliminate
costs. Because of this, more and more companies are running their equipment (computers, printers, etc.) until the very end,
squeezing every last bit of life out of those
systems to get the most bang for their buck.
This is a perfectly acceptable — and recommended — practice, but companies
need to be fully aware of exactly when to
dispose of equipment and how to properly
do it.
“To optimize the life cycle of your assets,
you’ve got to plan and monitor all life cycle
costs, including disposal and recycling,”
says Gregory G. Lorenzen, the vice president of operations for Pomeroy IT
Solutions.
Smart Business spoke with Lorenzen
about end-of-life services and what to do
with your equipment when it reaches the
end of its value.
How do you know equipment has reached the
end of its value?
Resources need to be retired from use
when they are no longer suitable or compatible to business. You know it’s time
to retire a resource when the risk of business activities being disrupted increases
and/or when the cost of operating, repairing or running it to enterprise standards
increases.
It should be noted, however, that when
you retire an asset you’re not just tossing it
in the dumpster. First, you need to determine whether or not the asset could be
used elsewhere in your company. Even if a
computer or system is completely useless
to one user, it could be an upgrade to
another. You want to get as much value out
of your assets while they still have useful
lives.
If it is determined that the asset no
longer has any use within your enterprise,
look to a company like Pomeroy to handle
the recovery logistics. That way you can
be sure the asset is cataloged, tracked and
processed in such as way that eliminates
any chain of custody issues with the
assets. Essentially, these types of companies act as the service agent and will process the transfer of both brokerage and
disposal class materials using systems and
bill of material processes that transfer the
ownership of these assets to the purchasing party or to the e-waste recycler.
What should you look for in a good asset
recovery vendor?
First, make sure they work with reputable and EPA-compliant recyclers in the
United States and overseas. You must
ensure the asset recovery vendor selected
is a trusted agent. A good asset recovery
company will completely sanitize and
secure your assets, wiping hard drives to
Department of Defense standards to
ensure no data, intellectual property or
business information remains. Select an
asset recovery vendor for its transparency,
security and record keeping. It should be
able to meet your policies and earn your
trust through execution and verification.
What can happen if a company doesn’t dispose of equipment properly?
As stated, there are legal concerns in
regards to the EPA along with the moral requirements of being good stewards to
the planet and its resources. The less we
pull from the ground and the more we
recycle will benefit not only our generation but many generations to come.
Besides the fines you’ll face from EPA violations, you’ll also have the stigma of being
a company that infringed EPA rules. In
today’s environmentally conscious world,
that negative perception can be far worse
than any fine.
Also, if you don’t properly dispose of your
assets, you risk exposing your company’s
sensitive information. A competitor could
obtain your critical business information,
or you could violate the rules of SOX
(Sarbanes-Oxley Act), HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act) or Gramm-Leach-Bliley.
So, is proper disposal a legal and regulatory
compliance challenge, or is it primarily an
ethical dilemma?
Legal compliance is essential, of course,
but ethics can have an even greater financial impact on the enterprise, as aging
assets can represent financial liabilities.
At this time, legislation is mostly concerned with the disposal of plastic additives and four heavy metals: lead, mercury,
cadmium and hexavalent chromium.
Broader legislation is expected, as citizens
hold governments and enterprises responsible for the cost of pollution and cleaning
up the environment. So you’ve got to manage the risk of ecological issues damaging
your business reputation, even if a legal
case is proven.
Disposal must be a budgeted item, not an
unbudgeted contingency. Disposal is
increasingly being factored into the cost of
acquisitions, with a vendor appointed to
manage disposals. You’ll find that your business will need disposal services, and you
cannot expect to dispose of assets for free.
Bottom line, when your assets lose their
value and can’t be reused or resold, engage
an asset recovery provider you trust and
build the cost of asset disposal into your
project plans and budgets.
GREGORY G. LORENZEN is the vice president of operations for Pomeroy IT Solutions. Reach him at [email protected] or
(800) 846-8727 x1521.
