Federal agencies urgently need to implement plans for managing all permanent records in an electronic format.

Meeting M-19-21 compliance, which applies to all permanent electronic records, is a considerable step forward from previous requirements. To be successful, agencies must undergo a digital transformation to positively affect people, processes and technology.

By 2022, (with a proposed 18 month extension) agencies must also manage temporary records the same way. This mandate applies to all electronic records, regardless of where they live. Although this law applies mostly to Senior Agency Officials for Record Management (SAORM), and Agency Records Officers, it’s essential that all government employees take proactive measures to safeguard records per this new policy.

Meeting NARA’s M-19-21 mandate goes beyond just managing the storage of physical records. It also compels agencies to modernize their technologies and processes to eliminate the necessity of creating physical records. Instead, agencies should be cultivating methodologies to ensure that any newly developed records originate and are managed digitally throughout their entire lifecycle.

Documents Can Cost You More Than You Know

  • $20

    Average cost to
    file a document

  • $120

    Average cost to
    find a misplaced document

  • $220

    Average cost to
    recreate a lost document

How to Get Started with Records Management

  • We understand that finding and implementing the right technology infrastructure to handle records management isn’t easy. Achieving and maintaining compliance requires significant IT investment on behalf of the whole organization. Usually, effective records management that meets all the organizations’ requirements call for multiple systems which need to play nicely together and seamlessly integrate.

    Accurately converting paper documentation, photos, oversized documents, bound books, microfilm, microfiche and aperture cards requires specialized project management experience, state-of-the-art equipment, hands-on techniques and secure world-class conversion facilities.

    That is why many organizations turn to an experienced industry expert. Outsourcing your conversion needs to a trusted vendor eliminates the need to hire, reassign, or overburden your staff, as well as eliminates the need to make large capital investments in expensive scanners, software and other equipment. At the same time, you’ll gain new efficiencies and support paperless office initiatives.

M-19-21 Consulting Services

    • Introduction of the M-19-21 Federal Program
    • Assessment of Current Records
    • Define NARA Requirements of Going Paperless
    • Outline NARA Compliance and Records Management
    • NARA M-19-21 Deadline
    • Digital Government Records
    • Integrating an IIM Platform and/or SharePoint/O365
    • Creating a Day-Forward Action Plan
    • How to Get Started with NARA’s M-19-21 Regulations

M-19-21 Support Services

    • Advance Capture Solutions
    • Advanced Forms Processing
    • Bound Book Conversion
    • Data Conversion
    • Data Migration
    • Document Capture
    • Document Scanning
    • Electronic Archiving
    • Indexing of Data Fields
    • Information Management
    • Media Conversion – Microfiche/Microfilm
    • OCR – Optical Character Recognition
    • Paper Document Conversion – Include Wide Format & Drawings
    • Photographs and Slide Conversion
    • Record Storage and Retrieval

We Have the Experience to Ensure Your Records Management Success

  • For more than 30 years, QAI has provided customized solutions and services that turn printed materials and electronic information into useful, organized data that can be output, ingested, and/or uploaded into any number of cloud-based and content management solutions designed to allow quick access and retrieval by authorized users.

    QAI has handled historic files dating back to the 1800s and processed billions of pages of documents stored in locations across the globe. We have also designed, configured, installed and trained our customers to use day-forward document conversion solutions for headquarters and remote office locations around the world to capture the information at the point of creation. With QAI, you can be certain your historical backlog as well as your future scanning and conversion requirements are in capable hands.

    Projects handled within our Imaging Centers in Maryland are assigned dedicated rooms/areas within our Client Center. This is done for security reasons and ensures separation of client materials and processes. With more than 40,000 square feet of production space in a secure, monitored and access-controlled environment, QAI’s Client Center can scale to meet the needs of any project by adding work shifts, scanning stations and staff.

    QAI can also deploy project teams to work onsite at your facility. We have the necessary equipment and licensing to establish multiple conversion centers wherever our clients need us. We currently have project teams deployed to client locations around the world.

    If your agency is interested in developing a strategy and plan to meet the NARA M-19-21 requirements, rely on a trusted Federal agency partner to help guide the way by contacting QAI.