How Experts Design the Right Movable Shelves for You

Written by Stuffey | Jan 7, 2020 2:54:47 PM

Determining your high-density storage needs can be challenging. You may have a lot of stuff — in a variety of shapes, sizes, and weights — and not much space. You could have specific security, conservation, and budget constraints to meet. That's where mobile shelving comes in, offering flexibility like nothing else. Here are the main perks to keep in mind:

Maximize storage space with high-density shelving that adapts to your needs
Mobile design for easy access and efficient movement of items
Flexibility to reconfigure your layout as your storage needs evolve

With so many storage options out there, it's easy to feel a bit intimidated. There's a huge range of adjustable shelving solutions that can be tailored to fit your space, including electric-powered, manual, or mechanical-assist mobile shelving; heavy-duty ActivRAC industrial systems, and even mobile art racks.

Solving your storage space problems is what we do best. How? Drawing on our decades of experience analyzing storage pressures in government, legal, finance, education, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and other sectors.

How We Match You with Movable Shelving

Ben McCollum is a Sales Account Manager with "only" 22 years of experience with Patterson Pope. When he's beginning a project, he researches the customer, the industry, and potential challenges before going onsite to do a survey. "I want to know enough to ask better questions than if I just went walking in blind," he says.

Ben looks forward to the walk-through and surveying stage where he gets a real idea of the customer’s goals. “A lot of times, what you’re doing is going through and measuring the space and looking at in all three dimensions,” the Charleston, SC-based sales representative says.

Using both a tape measure and a laser measure, Ben evaluates floor space and vertical height and identifies any obstacles like fire alarms or sprinklers. He also travels with a bathroom scale to weigh objects since customers rarely store just one type of item. "It's usually a variety of things, so we're trying to get the height, weight, and depth of all these objects."

When deciding on which solution works best for both the space and the needs of the customer, he'll also consider shelving durability, materials, and finish type that best suits the application, as well as any certification or compliance requirements.

Unique Solutions for Different Needs

Patterson Pope works in a lot of unique areas. "We're not just trying to pack a lot of stuff in a small space," says McCollum. "We're trying to create a workflow, a really efficient work environment, and a safer workplace. Our skills have had to evolve because we're always learning new stuff."

Take our work on university campuses in library and archive settings:

When the University of South Carolina Law Library moved into a new building, it was losing square footage and also wanted to expand the amount of collaborative student space available. Installing an electronic high-density mobile shelving unit provided plenty of room for the "warehouse of books."
The Georgia State Archives was running out of room for its collection and needed a safer setup. With help from movable shelving, they were able to increase storage capacity and reliability by installing a storage system that made better use of their space's height and length — no more worrying about shelves tipping over when moved.

Our storage designers and planners have helped clients make the most of their space in all kinds of environments. Here are a few examples from corporate, healthcare, warehouse, and government settings:

Bath and Body Works: The marketing department's sample room may have smelled amazing, but it lacked organization. Adding high-density mobile storage brought order to the chaos, saving space and making it much easier to access samples.
Owensboro Healthcare System (OHS) in Kentucky: While building a new, state-of-the-art hospital, our reps provided a storage solution that created more space and improved functionality. "We have so much more space now," said Chris Edwards, the Sterile Processing Department manager. "The maneuverability of the pieces is great because it allows us to make the area truly ours."
Do-It-Yourself Pest Control: This online-first retailer boosted its warehouse capacity and made products easier for staff to access, which in turn improved productivity in the shipping department — all thanks to high-density movable storage.
Orange County Facilities Management in Orlando, Florida: With the city growing rapidly, the county needed more storage space to support its government buildings. Patterson Pope helped them rethink their warehouse layout to include durable, movable systems that improved access and efficiency.

Think you can stump our experts? Try us. In Georgia, we worked with an aerospace fabrication company to increase their composites' shelf life by constructing custom ActivRAC systems designed to survive colder conditions.

Move Your Organization Forward

You may want to increase space, add flexibility, improve worker experience, streamline workflows, or start from scratch. Changes are, a movable system can make a real difference in your space.

Want help finding the best storage solution? Let Patterson Pope's experts do a one-on-one survey to analyze your needs. and make high-density storage solutions work for you.

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