Purpose

To achieve optimal efficiency and effective use of the technology in the workplace, a department must have a plan for the disposal of hardware.

Scope

Departmental management, technology staff, and users.

Process Overview

1. Review and follow Property Management's policy on the Disposal of Excess Equipment for guidance on the disposal of capitalized assets valued at less than $25,000.
2. Retire hardware according to your department's predetermined hardware refresh schedule.
3. Refer to the recommended sanitization process for the disposal of excess equipment that addresses:
   • Overwriting
   • Degaussing
   • Physical destruction
   • Operability of hard drive
   • Sanitization of other computer media
4. Read and follow the Recommended IT Practices, Old Computing Equipment
   • Delete the information and data files.
   • Remove the IP addresses and recycle them.
   • Delete the printer icons.
   • Uninstall application software.
   • It may be wise to reformat the hard drive.
   • Remove your own and your department's identification, such as information on labels, pictures, and hard drive names.
   • Leave on the UH property tags and the tags with serial numbers.
5. Transfer equipment according to Property Management and the State of Texas policy on property disposal.

NOTE: Care must be taken to ensure that hardware is disposed of appropriately and in a manner that ensures confidential data is not inadvertently left on systems.

Guidelines

• Recommended Sanitization Process
• IT Support Standards: "Old Computing Equipment"

Procedures

• MAPP 03.03.01: "Property Management Overview"
• TAC 202.78(c) Removal of Data from Data Processing Equipment