Lab scientists play an important role across the healthcare, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, and academic research sectors. But despite the breadth of applications, a few factors remain constant across lab environments. When it comes to storing equipment, specimens, or chemicals, the right lab storage systems offer efficiency and durability while supporting productivity, safety, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.
Today’s innovations in lab storage systems provide flexible design options that can help users make the most of their space now while anticipating future lab needs. That’s because intentionally planned high-density mobile shelving and modular casework lab storage systems help you:
- Meet lab user needs
- Cut the risk of accidents
- Improve lab workflow
- Provide peace of mind so lab users can focus on work
- Anticipate and meet changing lab objectives
All this helps ensure overall success in your scientific endeavors. This article explores how to effectively implement innovative lab storage systems in your lab setting.
High-Density Mobile Shelving: Maximizing Space and Accessibility
High-density mobile storage can give lab users more room to design and conduct research, experiment, and collaborate. That’s because you can reduce the number of fixed aisles in favor of shelving mounted on carriages that you can easily move. Whether you go with manual, mechanical-assist, or electric-powered mobile shelving, you can safely and securely store pipets or Petri dishes, samples or specimens, binders or books, or any other equipment (regardless of shape and size).
Along with the space savings you gain with high-density shelving, you can also improve accessibility. With compact, mobile storage you can leave more counter space for equipment like incubators or autoclaves. Plus, you can enhance organization with shelving systems designed to accommodate your specific needs. Then if projects change, easily adapt by taking advantage of the flexible, modularity of mobile storage solutions.
Set up your high-density mobile system with open shelves at the ends for storing more frequently accessed items, like beakers and flasks or personal protection equipment and classroom chemicals. By planning ahead, you can help your people get down to work more quickly or professors and instructors can spend more time helping their students.
Highly customizable mobile shelving units suit various lab environments with flexible aisle widths available to fit your specific space and requirements (while remaining ADA compliant). Need custom ventilation or a system built specifically for cold storage? We can tailor your innovative lab storage solution to those needs too.
Plus, you don’t have to worry about user safety while people look for supplies or access equipment. All high-density, compact storage comes with safety features. Electric-powered mobile shelving offers standard and optional automatic safety features, including safety sweeps, brakes, and anti-tip rails. You can also enable optional TouchPad or key switch controls to regulate access to restricted aisles for greater visibility and accountability.
High-density mobile shelving is just one innovative lab storage solution to help you focus on discovery. Modular casework can also provide adaptability and durability in lab spaces.
Modular Casework: Adaptable and Sustainable Storage
Labs are facing disruptive technologies and innovations all the time. The result is a lab environment that changes more often than ever before. Modular casework meets these constant changes by providing adaptability and reusability without compromising durability and security.
Casework may look like built-in furniture, but it’s designed in discreet modular pieces that you can assemble and reassemble as needs change. Move, expand, reconfigure, or repurpose your cabinets, shelves, or other components without special tools. Choose or add glass doors to help keep your stored items organized and visible at all times.
Have more users come into a lab? Need to accommodate a new machine, fridge, or freezer? Want to expand your drug storage capacity? Looking to customize lab spaces to different types of learning? It’s all possible by simply reconfiguring your modular casework.
Maintain sterile lab environments more easily by selecting stainless steel modular casework. Our steel modular casework product line is certified for SEFA-8 Metal Laboratory Grade Casework standards. We can also build electrical and plumbing pathways into the casework to ensure easy access while reducing risks.
If infectious control or chemical resistance are concerns, take advantage of the durability of phenolic resin work surfaces. All casework components are also designed to integrate with epoxied floors or solid surface integrated sinks to help meet the highest hygiene standards.
Lab Storage Systems in Action: Callisons
You might not know right away what flavor of lab storage system best suits your needs. That’s where Patterson Pope’s storage solution experts make a difference. We’ll work with your users, designers, architects, or lab managers to identify and understand the functional requirements of your lab.
Callisons Flavors needed help to retrofit an existing space into three different labs, each with slightly different purposes. All three labs needed flexibility and had to be comfortable for their workers. Our storage experts met with lab users to learn more about their staff workflow and storage needs, helping specify a solution to each flavorist’s productivity.
The fully operational labs give flavorists easy access to an extensive library of ingredients to test and create amazing flavors. With the benefit of mobile, high-density mobile shelving, Callisons’ teams can meet as many as 10 people at once in a lab for group discussion and tastings. We customized their storage solution to contain the many different sizes of ingredients required. Meanwhile, heavy-duty surfaces hold up to repeated, regular use. Plus, in the beverage lab, plumbing added to the cabinetry simplifies workflow.
Explore your lab storage needs with Patterson Pope
Modern lab environments need efficiency as well as the adaptability to evolve as research, education, experimentation or other goals change. High-density mobile storage and modular casework provide innovative lab storage systems to optimize space, enhance workflow, and contribute to innovation, safety, and productivity.
Have a hypothesis about lab storage systems helping your work? Contact a representative from Patterson Pope today.
