Rackline is delighted to launch a new initiative aimed at assisting our new and existing clients when it comes to making decisions about office storage.

As an independent manufacturer that builds bespoke storage systems in an increasingly challenging world of having to maximize storage capacity and  floor space for our clients, Rackline has commissioned the services of an external third party consultancy, J.G.Regan Associates Ltd, to produce a

Best Practice Guide to Mobile Storage Solutions. JG Regan Associates are experts in advising clients on storage and filing solutions. It is designed to help you through the process of buying storage products and solutions from design and planning through to tender management and installation. It will help you structure the process that many public and private sector clients have gone through in order to achieve their objectives in mobile and static storage.

If you would like one of our account managers to talk you through the Guide and how best to use it, please contact us on 01782 770144.

The Guide is provided free of charge by Rackline. 

Rackline’s Multitrak mobile carriages have recently made a TV appearance on the new BBC 2 series ‘Museum of Life’, which features in depth behind the scenes footage at the Natural History Museum in London.

During 2008/2009 Rackline installed Multitrak floor tracks and mobile carriages onto 6 floors within the newly built £78 million state of the art Darwin Centre Cocoon.

The cocoons surface is hand-finished polished plaster, bound in steel channels resembling the silk threads of a real cocoon in nature.

The new Darwin Centre, by Scandinavian architects CF Møller, holds 17m entomology specimens and 3m botany specimens. At 60 metres long, 12 metres wide, 300 millimetres thick and covering 3,500 square metres, it is the largest sprayed concrete curved structure in Europe. It offers 1,040 square metres of laboratory space, doubling the size of the museum’s lab areas. The top three floors are devoted to spectacular new galleries, where some of the oldest and most precious objects in the collection, among them specimens brought back by Charles Darwin from the Beagle voyage, will be displayed.

Rackline began the installation of floor tracks to guide the mobile bases during 2008, all tracks were then set within a 60mm deep concrete screed. Bespoke mobile carriages to hold the specially designed cabinets were then installed with completion of the installation during early 2009. The delicate transfer of all collections then took place with the grand opening of the centre in September 2009; the cocoon was officially opened by Prince William and Sir David Attenborough.

There may be some files in offices which are not required daily but are of high importance. Their safety may be a concern as anyone could tamper with those documents. In these situations, lockable archive shelving is the answer.

What are its uses?

It can be used in hospitals to store medical records. They provide security and are easily accessible. For big hospitals, the number of patients change daily and so too does the records which are on paper. Storing them can become a much easier task with archive shelving.

They can also be used in government offices to store copies of historic documents, as they are most like of great importance. Companies can use it as a secure backup of all contract papers. You can keep copies of customer records, orders placed for goods and services, or any contract. This may keep clutter away from your office with all the important papers stored systematically.

If yours is an architectural company, you may need to keep the plans and designs in a safe place once you are done with the project. Archive storage is secure and ultimate for large documents too. Every company has to keep financial records safely and archived shelving may prove beneficial.

The main reason people tend to avoid buying archive storage is because they think it is expensive, which is a myth. Along with securing your important documents, they also offer some savings as well due to better organisation and saved time.

Your storage needs to always be mobile as this will help in saving time and provide accessibility. This will prove very beneficial to your company as it can increase productivity and storage options as well.

Reasons to use mobile storage

Security - Security is of the utmost importance when it comes to storing goods. People want their goods to be stored well and not tampered with. Most of these mobile storage units are more complex than the basic lock and key units. Many a time the lockbox is well secured and has been made of steel which is tough and heavy-duty. It also is equipped with a fully functional alarm system and one can also add CCTV surveillance if needed.

Location - You can choose if you want to store your belongings at the company’s warehouse for any security reasons. A customer can choose any prime location to store the unit as per their requirement.

Custom design - Most storage units are made as per standard sizes e.g. 10, 20 or 30 foot long storage units or pods. Depending on the customer’s need, the mobile storage company can manufacture a storage unit that has been custom made. This is generally done to fit large equipment; a good example of which is farm or construction machinery.

The basis on why all this is done is simply for the customer’s convenience. There are few time constraints or restrictions on the mobile units. So if a customer needs to move some items, the pod can remain with the customer.

Businesses may, at some point, require more space for storing old documents and equipment. Even law dictates that a business must keep a record of their last 10 years of finances, in the form of documents. There are other reasons why businesses need to archive hard copies of data. Generally, people transfer the data to an online system such as a database but prefer to preserve old paper documents as a backup in case the system goes down.

Here are some reasons why you should consider archive storage:

Security:

An archive storage system plays an important role in keeping your important documents in a secure environment. For extra protection, you can even install CCTV or can use security personnel.

Saves money:

Storing paper documents in off-site locations will lead you to pay more for storage space. However, storing those documents in an archive storage system will help you to save money. You will even save time as you will not have to visit the premises if you need those documents.

Easy accessibility:

Storing documents in an archive storage system is a quick and easy way to access your documents. With the help of barcode technology, you can easily and quickly locate your documents within the storage unit.

Perfect environment to store:

The environment in an archive storage system is perfect for the long term storage of paper documents and files. In archive storage systems, the conditions are just right to keep your documents fresh for many years to come.

Because of all these reasons, considering archive storage systems is beneficial in terms of saving both the time and money of a business.

Before you go ahead with filing away items, conduct a study of what factors matter the most with your filing system. There are many types of filing systems available as per your requirements.

Here are some points that focus on the features of mobile filing systems:

Mobile filing systems are by far the most efficient storage systems. In this type of system, the shelves are mounted on movable carriages. These shelves glide along and thus provide access to the different shelves. This system is available with both mechanical and electric assists.

It is highly recommended that L&T shelving be used on carriages, the reason being their durability. If the shelves are not durable it may cause stress fractures, because of the torque which is caused by the constant movement.

The system consists of one wide stationary single sided unit and two wide double-sided movable units, all 7 shelves high.

Advantages:

- Utilises the floor space well
- High level of filing efficiency
- No need for offsite/additional storage - which are usually expensive
- Readily accessible files save retrieval time
- Locking facility
- Suitable for colour coding files

These shelves are also available in different types and sizes. You also have the option to alter the counts of shelves per unit. Always make it a point to take a look at the different options available.

Most of us must have had storage problems at some time or other. This problem arises because we have too much to store and not enough room to store it. Our options then include finding a local storage facility and we thus end up signing a yearly contract for that space.

But all of that is now history, as mobile storage is the key to such issues. It has helped solve customer needs and has provided solutions to this situation. These sleek mobile storage options consists of storage units or pods. Depending on the need, they can be as small as refrigerators or can even be as huge as full-length trailers. These storage units are delivered to a customer’s location.

They might include these following attributes:

Mobile storage is usually used in a location where there is limited space. They are usually created with steel and reinforced at the roofs, doors and sides. They are built to withstand all kinds of unfavourable climate and weather conditions. They have to be able to resist external damage.

One has to implement such radical and timesaving options for their storage requirements. The options available in the storage sector are now just limitless and you can select a suitable one that matches your budget and need.