Consulting Projects

Information Management Associates, Inc. (IMA) is a unique management consulting collaborative. To our clients – like those below – we offer Certified Records Managers (CRM), 100 years of proven collective experience, a broad base of expertise, and practical, long-term recommendations for problem solving and meeting your information-management needs.

Johnson & Galyon
Knoxville, Tennessee
Conducted four-phase consultancy for a well established contractor in Knoxville. Worked with company's CFO and chief accountant. Surveyed and interviewed unit heads, identified issues needing resolution, undertook records inventory, created records retention schedules. Worked with staff to remove obsolete records, re-box, and move inactive records into space freed up by reorganization of records and the destruction of obsolete records. Prepared documents for use in making records management work for J&G.
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Jewelry Television
Knoxville, Tennessee
This company is a very fast-growing startup selling jewelry and gemstones via cable TV. Provided needs assessment and recommendations consultations. Surveyed and interviewed staff in each division. Created a variety of records management policies and general procedures from scratch (e.g., records retention policies, active records, vital records, archival records, destruction, litigation, personal, and imaging policies).
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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Asked by university’s senior administration to create the first records management initiative for the state’s flagship, public, research institution. Designed and piloted policies, procedures, and forms for records inventory, appraisal, inactive records services, microfilming, disposition, destruction; developed long-range plans; created marketing initiatives; researched records legislation and retention requirements of state government; developed annual budgets; forecasted staffing and space needs; initiated interaction of records management program with University Archives to identify record series of historical and permanent value; conducted successful national search for full-time records management officer. This service is unique in Tennessee higher education. Administrators from other campuses visit and consider it a model.
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Knox County (Tennessee) Government
Knoxville, Tennessee
Competitively awarded contract for records management needs assessment and action plan development for the 85 fee offices, courts, elected officials of Knox County at the direction of County Executive. Assessed needs and problems, provided detailed action plan; undertook schematic design for major renovation of space for large records center; made recommendations on equipment (e.g., shelving, microfilming, shredding, vaulting); performed staffing needs projection; wrote successful development grant proposal ($80,000) to U.S. National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), Washington, DC, to initiate program. This program is explicitly identified by the Tennessee State Library and Archives as the model for local governments in Tennessee.
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Sevier County (Tennessee) Government
Sevierville, Tennessee
Records management needs assessment for offices and courts of Sevier County Government, with special emphasis on the information management practices of the County Executive’s office. Survey of fee offices, courts, elected officials. Report primary areas of need: inactive records, storage conditions, records disposition practices, identification of archival records, vital records, and those needing microfilming or electronic imaging. Findings and recommendations in this report are to be shared by the County Technical Advisory Service (Institute for Public Service, University of Tennessee) with officials in 94 other counties as a demonstration of how information management problems can benefit from records and information management solutions and practices.
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King Business Forms Corporation
Knoxville, Tennessee
Worked with CEO and CFO of national-level forms manufacturer in developing commercial information storage services. Designed existing 22,000 square foot warehouse space for use as a commercial records center; applied standards (e.g., fire) to site and operation; recommendations for future media vaulting services; oversaw purchase of resources (e.g., records shelving, records management software, retention research products, records destruction methods, etc); recruited vendors; conducted market analysis and developed pricing recommendations for services; developed marketing efforts; led process to hire first director of information services, a CRM.
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Lawler-Wood Development, LLC
Knoxville, Tennessee
Development for rapidly growing southeastern U.S. developer of preliminary assessment of records management needs (e.g., resolution of space-based records problems, vital records, records security, etc.). Evaluation of paper-based records impaction, especially in financial areas; assessment of need for records retention schedules; review of filing systems and equipment; suggested alternatives to inefficient and ineffective equipment used; presented short- and mid-term plans of action.
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Oak Ridge Schools
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Identified issues in records management needing attention by fifty-five year old public-school system in historic Oak Ride, Tennessee. Provided action plans to resolve these problems. Analysis and recommendations included: concerns related to conditions and environment for storage and use of active and inactive records; records security; need for records retention guidelines and auditing of their use; records destruction authorization practices; uses of appropriate information technologies.
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University of Missouri System
Columbia, Missouri
Chosen from national candidate pool of experts to serve on five-person panel to assess program quality and needed improvements in records management, archives, manuscript programs on the four campuses of the University of Missouri System and to make recommendations and suggest future directions. Work required understanding of records management, archives management, and special collections in libraries. Primary responsibilities: records management content of report and the report’s overall editing.
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Murray State University
Murray, Kentucky
Identified records management problems, proposed specific solutions; recommended administrative placement, staffing, and other resource needs (e.g., facilities, equipment, startup funding); explained benefits of program to various university administrators to the presidential level, indicated resources (e.g., state government, funding agencies); reviewed possible locations of campus records center.
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Oak Ridge Associated Universities
Oak Ridge Tennessee
Identified records management needs and requirements for this multi-university consortium, a Department of Energy (DOE) contractor. Developed program needs statement and focused on areas of non-compliance with DOE records requirements; identified resources needed (e.g., facilities, staff, equipment, funding); surveyed employees, examined possible sites for a records center.
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Information International Associates, Inc.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Employed by information management consulting firm to supply advanced expertise in records/document center management particular to the federal sector. Offered technical information about processes and procedures as well use of facilities in the management of records in various media; suggested use of government and professional standards (e.g., National Fire Protection Association, CFR-listed requirements, NARA federal records center guidelines); advice on calculation of costs to be incurred.
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Metro Archives Nashville/Metro Government
Nashville, Tennessee
Complete program review of the Metro Archives program for Library System and Metro Council, making suggestions for near- and longer-term improvements needed for adequate functioning of the program. Examined a variety of issues, including physical facilities and location, issues related to administrative affiliation and the need for better communication among three groups: Archives staff, Records Management staff, and all offices in Metro Government. Relationships of these groups with the records management program discussed. Report presented to Library’s board of trustees.
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Roane County Tennessee Government
Kingston, Tennessee
Engaged to perform a records management needs assessment for fourteen county offices in Roane Co. and to identify those records series of historical value which were candidates for preservation microfilming. Recommendations were made for environmental and facilities’ adaptations and renovations. Analysis was followed by identifying appropriate service bureaus for microfilm processing. Suggestions were made as to film-based imaging technologies sold by a variety of vendors.
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PAI Corporation
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Assisted management consulting firm with plant document hierarchy revision for Department of Energy's Rocky Flats Plant (Golden, Colorado). Provided suggestions for articulation of plant's document hierarchy and downflow, document precedence analysis, document dissemination efforts, and preliminary concept for design of in-plant document requirements and commitments control system.
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