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You’ve determined that high density shelving is a perfect fit for your client needs, but it isn’t in the budget. Now what? Here’s one idea – think Modular! A high density mobile storage system that is constructed of modular components can be modified based on the needs of your client. Consider these 4 components:

• Rail
• Floor
• Carriage
• Shelving

Modularity in the system’s construction allows your client to attain their goals for capacity, even when on a tight budget. The following are examples of how we might modify standard product.

Use existing shelving. Since the carriage and shelving are independent from one another, the owner can opt to use existing or reclaimed storage elements ranging from 4-Post shelving, cantilever shelving and wire shelving to lateral file cabinets. The high density mobile storage system carriage is constructed to accommodate the dimensions of the shelving.

Add carriages and shelving as needed. If a client predicts future growth, the ideal solution would be to install rail (and subfloor if surface mounted rails) so that the footprint maximizes the desired future capacity. But the client would only order as many carriages necessary to accommodate current needs. They simply order additional carriages as their materials expand, spreading the expense for the high density mobile storage system over a longer period of time.

Install fewer carriages. The carriage houses the mechanical drives, wheels, and guides that mobilize each range of shelving. As a result of special materials and engineering, a large portion of the total high density mobile storage cost is expended in carriage production. If we can design a room with longer, but fewer carriages, we can reduce cost. This solution would be best for archival spaces that are rarely accessed.

As with any storage project, we understand that budgets are a fact of life. That’s why we try our best to provide creative options (like thinking Modular) that meet your client’s storage requirements while also staying in line with their bottom line.

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Nationwide Children’s Hospital, one of the United States top 20 Children’s hospitals is expanding, and trying to go green. In order to be more environmentally friendly, and save costs, the facility has been using re-usable isolation gowns as opposed to disposable gowns. While this choice is more cost effective and good for the environment, the re-usable gowns were made out of a slick silky material instead of paper like the disposable gowns.

When building their new hospital the gowns started to cause all sorts of trouble:

• Gowns storage was required outside of EVERY patient room and in the main hallways.
• The cabinetry outside the patient rooms varied in size based on the department.
• The slippery material made it impossible to roll or fold the gowns. Set them on the shelf and they fell right off (not to mention looked like a mess!)

This is where Patterson Pope comes in (with cape!). We partnered with Ideal Environments to develop custom isolation gown storage for the facility. Working with project management and the nursing department we developed several different storage bins that meet the needs of the facility now and well into the future.

The bins were constructed of a High-Density Polypropylene and Plexiglas material (non-porous, easy to clean). Overhead cabinets were placed inside the current millwork without damaging the integrity of the cabinet – allowing the facility to remove and move the overhead bins at their discretion. The drawer units used existing holes inside the millwork to anchor drawer slides for ease of access.

Overall the project was a success. The bins are standard in the new hospital and will also be installed throughout the renovated departments in the old facility. With Patterson Pope Healthcare Solutions, we can solve any stuff problem, even if you’re dealing with slick silky stuff.

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Okay Coaches, have you ever faced a situation where you had a simple athletic equipment storage system for your stuff, but it just wasn’t meeting your needs anymore? What play did you call? In the University of Central Florida’s Football Equipment Room, they had just that – a great 4-Post shelving solution that had worked for several years, but now it was time to call an audible. They needed to update their athletic equipment storage area and make that 4-Post shelving work harder for the team.

Patterson Pope worked with the Equipment Manager and Athletic Director to come up with a unique design for an improved athletic equipment storage system that incorporated a work bench, tool storage, locking drawers, customized bins and rollock rolling doors for the 4-Post shelving on their high density mechanical assist mobile system. Like a strong offensive line protecting their Quarterback, the rollock rolling doors lock down the uniforms, so that they are protected within the facility. The entire high density mobile system can be locked down as well, so they can be certain that a blitzing Cornerback is accounted for. In other words – they had an athletic equipment storage system that was safe and secure.

As is often the case, budgets needed to be met – but there was no need for a Hail Mary. By using the existing 4-Post shelving with new equipment and components, we were able the make the customized storage system a reality. Touchdown! Good work team.

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Pinterest looks Sharp
As many of you already know, Pinterest is a hot topic in the social media world. The meteoric rise in users is one reason, but another noteworthy reason is the amount of traffic it drives to other websites. Recent statistics (as of Q1 2012) point to the fact that despite Twitter having 14 times as many users as Pinterest (140 million to 10 million), Pinterest is responsible for more referral traffic to other websites than Twitter. (reference: Eloqua Blog) If that doesn’t raise your eyebrows then how about this nugget from It’s Time to Pin Your Brand to Pinterest a blog post by Command Partners: “Pinterest is now driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined.” I’m not here to discuss social media strategy or even measure the pros and cons of using Pinterest – if you are interested in those topics, the blog posts I referenced above are worth a look. But, it does make me wonder how Pinterest could be used in our world of stuff storage and saving floor space.

A Blueprint for Pinterest
So let me back up…. this all started when I read a blog post called Pinterest for Architects on the Life of an Architect Blog. The Author, Bob Borson described it this way: “The beauty of Pinterest is that you can collect the images you find without having to do any real work – just “pin” an image using a “pinmarklet” (something that you add to your web browsers tool bar) and you’re done. You have the ability to sort and notate the images in any manner that makes sense to you.” As a visual person, it made a lot of sense, and it gets to the main reasons I like Pinterest – it is a visual media, and it’s easy! Bob has created pinboards for categories such as Materials, Furniture, Lighting, Flooring, Ceilings, etc. He notes that the images retain their url, so he doesn’t have to worry about creating a bunch of bookmarks for them. Genius indeed!

P2 Pins
Of course Pinterest is big for Business to Consumer companies, but with Architecture, Art and Design being three of its main categories there is plenty to see for Architects, Designers and other folks who work with the built environment. At Patterson Pope, we are excited to give it a go (Patterson Pope Pinterest Page), because you never know where an idea or inspiration might come from. We would love to connect with you there.

P2 Talks – We discuss storage solutions for the new Electrolux R&D Facility in Charlotte, NC. Milly Cort is joined by Will Drennan – Project Manager at LS3P Associates. http://pattersonpope.com/videos/

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We recently worked with LS3P to design the storage systems for Electrolux’s new Research and Development facility located in Charlotte, North Carolina. They needed equipment to store everything from vacuum cleaners and refrigerators to stoves and washing machines.  We provided wide span shelving and pallet racking to store those products along with boxes and other material.  Certain areas of the facility required work tables where Electrolux staff could test and work on their products. For these areas, we were able to provide work tables with both wood tops and dissipative tops for testing electronics. I got together with Wil Drennan (Project Manager / Project Designer – LS3P Associates) to get his insights. You can catch our talk here:

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Patterson Pope provides storage solutions that are a bit atypical in design, sometimes mesmerizing in scale, and often unparalleled in efficiency. But I am here today to discuss the locker.

When introducing architects and designers to Patterson Pope for the first time, often through photos of installations, I expect expressions of astonishment and revelation. But to my chagrin, most people fold through the pages of high density mobile shelving and modular casework photos just a little too unfazed for my comfort level. Well, that is until we get to the section about lockers. “Oh, you provide lockers!” they always shout with enthusiasm.

So, I sat down to really think about why this reaction is so common.

Are you as overwhelmed as I am by the upkeep of our homes, cars, offices, and project sites? And maybe you are even unlucky enough to have a boat or vacation home. We are given far too much square footage to manage in our lives.

No wonder we are in love with this perfect little cubby for which we are solely responsible. It is such a tiny space to manage. Every time I pick up my locker key at the YMCA, it is like I become the queen of my own realm, organizing and compartmentalizing however I like. And each time I visit, I might discover a new way to make my kingdom / locker more efficient.

I understand the fascination now. I love lockers too!

So, I am excited to report, “Yes, we provide lockers!” In fact, we have about any type of locker you could imagine. For more information on a specific locker please check out these pages:

Steel Lockers – gym or school application

Personal Storage Lockers – for law enforcement or military personnel

Evidence Lockers – used in justice and law enforcement facilities

Laminate Lockers – general use and aesthetically pleasing personal storage

P2 Talks – We discuss Spacesaver’s XTend High Density Mobile High Bay System. Christy Bishop is joined by three people who were critical to the success of a recent archival storage system installation at Wake Forest University, they are: Mary Beth Lock – Director, Access Services at Z. Smith Reynolds Library, Jim Alty – Associate Vice President, Facilities and Campus Services at Wake Forest University and Matt Takacs – Project Architect at ESPA Architects and Planners. http://pattersonpope.com/videos/

P2 Talks – Milly Cort discusses a recent installation of Modular Casework Stainless Steel Cabinets at Carolinas Healthcare in Charlotte, NC. http://pattersonpope.com/videos/

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I had a great conversation recently in which an architect was describing the value that he sees in our product – high density storage saves space. We preach it all day, every day – you can save real money by utilizing high-density mobile shelving for many storage needs. No matter what it is – paper files, dinosaur bones, evidence, weapons, stuff cubes – you can cut your square footage in half or double the amount of your storage space by using mobile shelving systems to store it. Can you put a price on this space? When you are talking about commercial real estate – the answer is absolutely. It’s called cost per square foot. And depending on where you are and how much you are using, it can get pretty expensive.

For many of you, this is old news – we have been touting the high density storage concept for 30 years! But for others – it may be new, or possibly a concept that you haven’t considered. When you run out of storage space, want to lease back expensive real estate or build a smaller more energy efficient building – consider eliminating the wasted space from static shelving aisles by installing mobile shelving. Less need for storage space, and more stuff properly stored (including all of that money you saved).

Speaking of money, a great example of saving square footage is at the new Mint Museum in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. For a museum storage is critical, they have lots of items to store as the exhibitions rotate and they are constantly squeezed for back of house storage space. At the Mint, they utilized high density storage for all types of 3-dimensional art – everything from earthenware jars and pottery to jewelry and clothing. They also used static racking for storage of large items including sculpture and furniture. Overall, they saved approximately 2,294 square feet of space. Not too bad!

To the left you’ll see photos of the mobile shelving and static rack systems in action.

For more high density storage ideas visit our High Density Shelving page.

For more museum storage ideas click here to see how the Virginia Museum of Natural History uses high density storage systems and Delta Design museum storage cabinets to store more than 10,300 cataloged specimens of amphibians and reptiles – including snakes, lots of snakes.

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We recently sat down with Matt Takacs (ESPA Architects) along with Mary Beth Lock and Jim Alty (Wake Forest University) to discuss the installation of their XTend High Density Mobile High Bay Shelving System. Wake Forest, located in Winston-Salem, NC, consolidated 155,000 journals into an existing warehouse by employing a storage system to take advantage of three stories of vertical space that would have been otherwise wasted – with plenty of room to grow. (The future capacity of this archival storage system will allow for the storage of up to 300,000 volumes.)

This Mobile High Bay system was the first installation of its kind in a library archive application. It houses a mix of books, archival boxes and mostly bound journals, which consist of articles from a publication that are reformatted onto uniform pages into a bound book. These journals can be preserved much longer than the original print of magazine pages. Libraries across the country electronically log their titles on a shared system, recording which universities house certain journals. This collaboration allows institutions to share material, rather than accumulate duplications across multiple locations. This material is valuable but not in high demand, so it does not need to take up valuable real estate in the campus library. The space they freed up by moving this material off-site can now be used for other, more strategic purposes.

Check out our conversation in the video below:

Video Highlights:

Part 1: The High Bay

(1:50) Why High Bay? – Mary Beth Lock – Director, Access Services at Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Find out: how this library previously stored and retrieved material, and why it was necessary to change their existing method.

(2:53) Other Option Considered – Jim Alty – Associate Vice President, Facilities and Campus Services at Wake Forest University
Find out: which storage alternative was considered, and why it was dismissed. (Hint: the alternative couldn’t move)

(3:24) Decision Factors for High Bay – Jim Alty
Find out: what factors (i.e. budget, spatial efficiency, convenience) ultimately influenced the decision for high bay storage.

(4:20) What’s Being Stored – Mary Beth Lock
Find out: what is inside those beautiful, colorfully bound books.

(4:43) The Request Process – Mary Beth Lock
Find out: how users access the material now, and why it allows better service to the collection than the previous storage and retrieval process.

Part 2: The Design

(5:42) Design Challenges – Matt Takacs – Project Architect at ESPA Architects and Planners
Find out: what a designer should consider early in the process to assure quality and ease during construction.

(6:28) Addressing Space Needs – Matt Takacs
Find out: what building alterations became necessary to accommodate this mobile high bay system.

(7:11) Controlling the Environment – Jim Alty and Mary Beth Lock
Find out: why a controlled environment within the storage facility is essential for the items being stored. (Here’s a hint: books are like sponges)

(8:11) Structural Considerations– Matt Takacs
Find out: the modifications necessary to support the load of such a massive mobile shelving storage system.

(8:50) Safety Considerations – Matt Takacs
Find out: the aspects of mobile high bay storage that provide security for its users.
(Here’s a hint: guide wires)

(9:47) Success Factors – Matt Takacs
Find out: with whom the designer needs to collaborate to ensure a successful storage installation.

Part 3: The Future

(10:33) System Expandability – Jim Alty and Matt Takacs
Find out: how the university plans to use the mobile high bay storage system to accommodate future growth.

(11:34) The Changing Culture of the Campus – Jim Alty
Find out: how library users influenced the need for high bay shelving, and what the students think about the library now.

(12:08) Eye on the Future – Jim Alty
Find out: how high bay storage might be applied around campus, outside of the typical library application.

(12:50) Quick Facts

If you would like more information on archival storage visit our Mobile High Bay System page.

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Public Safety is a highly complex science. It’s also one that shares a singularly critical element: storage. But the wide variety of storage challenges found in any public safety setting are being met. Consider everything that law enforcement agencies, crime labs, courthouses, correctional institutions and fire departments have to handle. Uniforms, gear, long-arms, hand guns, supplies, evidence, property, fire hose and paper files are all critical to the sworn duty to protect and serve. Fortunately there are several storage systems specifically designed to meet these Public Safety storage needs. Here are but a few: Evidence Storage Lockers, Personal Storage Lockers, Floor Mounted Gun Lockers, Refrigerated Lockers, Evidence Drying Cabinets and Fire Hose Rack.
 
Spacesaver has created a great Public Safety Storage “Look Book” that provides more details on these and other solutions. You can download the pdf here.
 
You can also check out our Public Safety Storage page here.

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Last week, CREW Jacksonville  launched the beginning of their 10 year anniversary with featured speaker Donna Orender. Her career is unbelievable. She was an All Star with the Women’s Pro Basketball League, worked in television production for ABC Sports and the Sports Channel, and owned her own production company. She also spent seventeen years with the PGA Tour and later five years as president of WNBA. Last year she launched Orender Unlimited, an independent marketing, media, and consulting firm and is currently organizing a large women’s event in Northeast Florida. Her message really hit home with me.
 
On the way to the CREW luncheon, I was thinking about Spacesaver’s Rock UR Athletic Storage Contest.  In this contest, Spacesaver gives $30,000 of Athletic Storage Equipment to both a K-12 school and university or college that enters and receives the most social media votes! That means they would get a chance to upgrade their equipment room with a high-density mobile storage system like the Wheelhouse Low Profile Mobile System or the ActivRAC Industrial Mobile System. The winner of the contest the previous year was Dunlap High School in Illinois. I grew up in Central Illinois and was familiar with Dunlap High. While I was happy that the winner was close to our old home,  I spent that drive downtown thinking about how much I want the next winner to come from Northeast Florida and what I need to do to make that happen.   
 
At the luncheon, Donna spoke of knowing no limits, of desire to bring something to the local community,  and of inequality in financial resources between men’s and women’s teams. It was as if she was speaking to me that day. This contest levels the playing field for elementary schools with a rocking PTO, for middle schools with a student body that knows how to rock social media, and for high schools with rocking athletic support associations. University and college teams, big or small, men or women,  no limits….you Rock the Vote and Spacesaver will Rock UR Athletic Storage!

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Stuffmosphere – n. The space in an organization that’s been overrun by stuff.

Have you ever heard of the term “Snackmosphere”?  It is actually defined as the extra space around chips that escapes when you open the bag. Used in a sentence  – “I opened my bag of chips, and there was more snackmosphere than chips in there!”

Applied to the storage of stuff, rather than chips, this logically would form the term “Stuffmosphere” as defined above. As I pondered this term and its use in a sentence, I immediately thought of a recent project at the Cabarrus County Board of Elections. You see, they had a lot of Stuffmosphere. So much, in fact, that they had to store their stuff in three separate locations. Stuffmosphere was taking over!

Enter highly organized storage equipment – including Electrical Powered High Density Shelving,  4-Post Shelving and Wide span Shelving. In the high-density mobile shelving, they stored their voter registration cards, files and supplies. On the 4-Post shelving, they stored three different types of voting machines and bins filled with ballots. On the wide span shelving, they stored their directional signage for elections. And you guessed it – everything fit nicely into one location.

In Cabarrus County the ballots have been cast and counted. Stuffmosphere lost in a landslide!

Look to the left for several photos of the project.

For more information on Electrical Powered High Density Mobile Shelving click here.
For more information on 4-Post Shelving click here.
For more information on Widespan Shelving click here.

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In case you missed it, we wanted to let you know about a cool new feature on our website – the Photo Gallery. This is a great place to find all types of product installation photos of high density mobile shelving, static shelving, mail center furniture, modular casework, stainless steel cabinets and more. There are over 400 photos in there now and we will continue to add lots more.

Finding and sharing photos is simple! To search: you can type in your key words, choose from tags, and/or narrow your search based on the vertical market/industry you are interested in. Once you find the right photos, you can email them or share them right from the page. We hope you’ll find this new feature useful. Your feedback is always welcome, so please let us know how we can improve it.

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We wanted to let you know that Spacesaver, one of our vendor partners, recently launched a new sustainability website. As you may know, Spacesaver is an industry leading producer of innovative storage solutions including high density mobile shelving, filing, storage and industrial shelving, rotary file cabinets and weapons storage racks. In other words, they help you make better use of your space. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should really check their new site out – Space to Breathe.
 
This website, called Space to Breathe, provides information on Spacesaver’s environmental initiatives, the sustainable design of their products, information on certifications, case studies, photos, BIM / Revit Models and more. (And speaking of certifications, Spacesaver products are GREENGUARD certified. You can find the full list of their certified products on GREENGUARD’s website here.)
 
We are proud of our partnership with Spacesaver and excited by their commitment to providing sustainable storage solutions, protecting the environment and preserving our natural resources.
 
We are also trying to do our part. You can read more about Patterson Pope’s sustainability efforts here.

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Stainless steel (as the name implies) does not stain, corrode or rust as easily as ordinary steel, so it is used frequently in environments where the properties of steel and resistance to corrosion are required.
 
Enter the clean room. A cleanroom is a controlled environment where contaminates must be continually removed from the air. Contaminates are generated by the people, facility and products that work and are in the space. There are different classes of cleanrooms depending on the particle limits that are acceptable. Air filtration and air pressure can be used to keep particulates down in these spaces.
 
Back to stainless steel.  Stainless steel holds up to the disinfectant solutions that are used in clean rooms.  Stainless steel doesn’t provide the opportunity for mold or bacteria to grow – contamination in a clean room (a human hair is enough contamination to shut down a Class 100 clean room for decontamination – causing loss of revenue and cost to the facility).
 
Our story. We recently provided stainless steel tables and carts to Carolinas HealthCare System for a clean room where they were preparing IV bags.  Stainless Steel tables are a great fit for healthcare, and they can also be found in airports, schools, universities, public safety and military facilities. Check out the photos from this project – they are right over there to the left.

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We have established that stuff can be pretty sneaky. And in our ongoing battle against the tyranny of stuff, we have realized that in order to stay ahead, we must match that sneakiness. Rotary Storage Units are up to the task, and (in a sense) they can be pretty sneaky too. 

First let’s talk about what a Rotary Storage Unit is. It’s a storage cabinet that rotates (or pivots) to provide access to two banks of storage. When in the open position you can access your stored material; when closed the cabinet can be locked and tidy. These cabinets range in height from 41.625″ to 103″ and provide from three tiers up to nine tiers of storage. They come in Starter Units and Adder Units to offer flexibility in the configuration based on the available space. 

Next, let’s talk about what a Rotary Storage Unit does. It saves space; it protects and secures what is stored inside; it can be used as room dividers or work station dividers (providing double-sided access) or tucked into alcoves (providing single-sided access). Rotary cabinets also provide a great alternative to traditional file cabinets (with storage for hanging files or end tab files), but they store more than just files. I’ve seen Rotary Storage used for binders, personal belongings, CDs / DVDs and lots of other stuff. For do-it-yourselfers, the shelves and drawers are easy to install and adjustable so you can store different types and sizes of stuff all in one cabinet. If you are the kind of person that likes to accessorize, you can add pull-out reference shelves and work-surface tops. For security-minded people, you can add key lock or touch pad entry to the cabinets and lockable drawers within the cabinets. And if you are into adventure, you may just be able to hide in one.

So no matter what kind of person you are, chances are there’s a Rotary Storage Unit out there that’s ready  and able to help you win that battle against stuff.

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If you are working on a project that involves storage systems, we can help. For up to date Revit Models, Revit Finishes and CAD Files, check out the Design Tools page of our website.

We have Revit Models and Finishes for the following:
High Density Mobile Shelving (Manual Assist Mobile System, Mechanical Assist Mobile System, Electrical Powered Mobile System (Eclipse), Low Profile Mobile System (Wheelhouse)
Static Shelving (4-Post Shelving, Case Style Shelving, Cantilever Shelving, Rotary)
Weapons and Gear Storage (Universal Weapons Rack, UWRMINI Weapons Storage, Personal Storage Lockers (Freestyle)
Lockers (Evidence Lockers)
Modular Casework (Stainless Steel Cabinets, Powder-Coated Steel Cabinets, Laminate Cabinets, Adjustable Shelf and Organizing Modules)

We have CAD files for the following:
Lockers (Evidence Lockers)
Mail Center Furniture (Consoles, Sort Modules, Free Standing Sort Modules, Bulk Sort Units)

We hope these tools will help you get started, but we realize there is much more that goes into a design project. If you have questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email, or fill out the Information Request Form on our Contact Page.

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“Imagination is more important that knowledge.”
- Albert Einstein

At the beginning of September, we traveled to Raleigh for the American Institute of Architects (AIA) North Carolina Design Conference.  Conferences are still lacking in attendance due to the Great Recession, but the level of hope and inspiration that came out of the meeting was encouraging. As a wife of an architect, I have developed a deep appreciation for and love of architecture. Some of the highlights from the event were the keynote speakers.  Tom Pfifer from Thomas Pfifer and Partners presented on the intent of their design in the West Building of the North Carolina Museum of Art. An absolute work of art in a building, his presentation was inspiring. The best part was the reception that followed in the museum. We had a chance to socialize and explore the museum. Even at night, the building glowed. Amazing.
 
On Friday morning, Craig Dykers from Snohetta presented on his work including the James H. Hunt Jr. Library at NC State which will act as their mark on North Carolina. (More about the Hunt Library here). A building unlike any other on the campus, the striking façade will be a reminder to students that creativity and imagination flows from all things. While knowledge will be gained at the University, the reflection of a group of creative geniuses will impact everyone that touches the campus or tours the building. Some highlights included an automatic retrieval system where books will be stored, reducing static stacks to the most frequently utilized material. Students will be able to access an online catalog and request a book from a mobile device or computer.

We are constantly affected by our surroundings – whether light or dark – open or closed – the intent is to leave you with some sort of impression. The intent of the conference is to give architects the opportunity to learn and grow.  Learned knowledge.  These two buildings in Raleigh will definitely make a mark in your memory and maybe impress more than learned knowledge. Hopefully they will inspire and ignite the imagination.

Photo/Rendering Credit: http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/

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We wanted to update you on some exciting news. As you may recall from an earlier Stuff Matters blog post, Patterson Pope acquired Central Business Group back in June. Today Central Business Group is taking the Patterson Pope name.

Patterson Pope now has 21 offices in 7 states, and spans from the Great Lakes to the Florida Keys.

Today’s Press Release has more details on the story.

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Search General Keyword: London, England

Top Results: British Isles Genealogy
Family History Monthly
Norwich, Connecticut Directories
English Records in Genealogical Research:
Assorted Pamphlets from British Sources

Two years ago I vacationed in London, England. Prior to my trip, I wanted to research the “must see” tourist attractions, brush up on some British history, and maybe even check out a classic English novel to fully embrace the orthodox customs.

At the library, I logged onto the database to search for books about London, but the troubled engine replied with subjects on genealogy and family history.

Frustrated, I wrote down the call number of a book in which I had no interest that led me to the non fiction section on London. And there they were, right there on the shelf, books about cathedrals, museums, history, tourist attractions, and every fact ever written about my destination. I could not help but think, “someone should really enter these books into the database.”

Lesson Learned. I browse “live” much more effectively than I browse through a search engine. Is anyone with me? Well, I am afraid that our live browsing days are numbered.

Online research, regardless of how credible, has reduced the demand for books. So, most literature sits on shelves for a longer period of time, wasting valuable square footage that could be used for computers, cafes, or lounge areas for group or individual study.

From one preferred live browser to another, I am afraid we will not be able to reverse this trend. The cost to house what I will call “a dead book” is being analyzed by institutions across the country. I heard someone put it best, “we just don’t need 7 copies of Huck Finn sitting on our shelves anymore.” So, what is being done to solve the problem?

Well, I have two very interesting solutions to tell you about.

Have you heard of the new Hunt Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus, which houses the nation’s first ARS (Automated Retrieval System)?

An ARS is a large, robotic system in the basement and walls of the facility that stores all collections. Apart from a few shelving ranges displaying journals, best sellers, or featured material to alert people they are in fact in a library, gone are the days of marching up and down aisles. Now, you research the topic from a search engine, and pick up the material from a kiosk at the front desk.

The second option for archiving media is High Bay Shelving in an offsite warehouse. High Bay storage is not a new concept. A request for a book might have a 24-hour wait period to allow for manual picking and delivery. However, what is new is that high bay can now be placed on mobile carriages. Media must be kept in an environmentally controlled environment, so minimizing the square footage of high bay storage warehouses can significantly reduce long term operating costs. And some institutions might opt for this solution because the start up cost may be significantly less than an automated system.

Are you as terrified as I am about relying on our current search engines? Rest easy, my friends. Virtual browsing is coming to a library near you. The Dewy Decimal System lives! And it lives on your computer screen. You can now scan aisles virtually, even items that are checked out. You can request books from anywhere, on or offsite. Thank goodness for virtual browsing. Otherwise, we would all be lost in London.

If you would like to know more check out the Mobile High Bay page.

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Look out shelving competitors. There is a new stamp on our shelving (figuratively, at least) and it’s going to make specifying our product that much more appealing if you are utilizing a Green Rating tool on your project.

In a day where we are all about fast and easy – microwave and drive through dinners, high speed internet, mobile phones and personal vehicles – we have become accustomed to taking the fastest and easiest route to getting what we want. So if you are using LEED v2009 as your rating tool, what is the most direct route to document the IEQ Credit? By using Greenguard certified products on your project. And guess what???

Spacesaver achieved Greenguard certification on all of their products!!!!!

So what does this mean to you?

Well, it means that if you include Greenguard certification as a requirement on your shelving (evidence lockers, high-density mobile storage, weapons rack) specification, then you will have a much easier route to capturing the IEQ Credit. No more promises of low VOCs with a manufacturer’s letter to prove it. Here I am baby! Signed, sealed and delivered. I’m YOURS.

And while I’m at it, don’t forget that the Hamilton Sorter laminate product is also Greenguard Certified.

See Spacesaver’s Greenguard Certification here.

See Hamilton Sorters’ Greenguard Certification here.

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The numbers 7,16 and 30 may not mean anything to you just yet, but they will.

Do you know what eats up a bunch of space in big storage areas? It’s the aisles between the shelving or racking. That space could be used for additional storage, or put to a completely different (and possibly more profitable) use. Plus, that space you save by eliminating those aisles could mean the difference between adding on to your facility or relocating (read: spending money) and staying where you are (read: saving money). Static shelving used for storage in large areas also means that what you’re storing is more spread out (and takes more time to get to.)

For those reasons and more, Spacesaver introduced the ActivRAC Mobilized Storage System. With ActivRAC, stationary rows of shelving are mounted on carriages that move side-to-side on wheels and a rail system. Now one moving aisle replaces multiple dedicated aisles, freeing up to 100% more space in the same area. ActivRAC also allows you to store and organize your stuff close to your workers so they can be more productive.

Now back to those numbers…

There are three types of ActivRAC Mobile Storage Systems: ActivRAC 7M, ActivRAC 16P, and ActivRAC 30P.

The ActivRAC 7M is a mechanical-assist mobile system, which means it is turned by a hand-crank – an ergonomic handle and adjustable gear ratio ensure that it is easy to move, no matter how much weight is stored on the system. Speaking of which, the ActivRAC 7M has a maximum capacity of 7,000 pounds per carriage section. So, this system can pull it’s weight.

The ActivRAC 16P and ActivRAC 30P are both electrically powered mobile systems, so the system moves with the touch of a button. There are a few significant differences in these two systems. First, the installation: The ActivRAC 16P can be installed on an existing concrete slab without adding structural footings or leveling with a second concrete pour. The ActivRAC 30P is installed with a leveled, recessed rail system which does require structural footings and second concrete pour. Second, the capacity:The ActivRAC 16P has a maximum load of 16,000 pounds per rack or shelving section, and the ActivRAC 30P has a maximum load of 30,000 pounds per rack or shelving section. Now if you have been following along, I bet you’ve already guessed that. (See – I told you those numbers would make sense.)

While the ActivRAC systems work great for industrial/manufacturing environments, they are also a perfect fit for other applications. From the military and public safety to educational campuses and museums, getting the most storage out of your existing footprint is one key to improving numbers where they count the most: the bottom line.

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Flim flam bim bam Ole Miss by damn!

I have known this cheer my entire life (well, an edited version that made even less sense).  My memories of my grandparents taking me to Ole Miss football games when I was a child are wonderful. My memories of my days at school at Ole Miss are just as sweet.  Whisky and sweat, The Grove and The Square…there is a lot to love about The University of Mississippi. So when I met a new Patterson Pope employee hailing from Louisiana, I immediately began grilling him about his love of football, where he went to school and if he had ever been to my alma mater.
 
And knowing the love that I have for this business (how many people do you know that love shelving?? I’m weird, I know), you can only imagine my excitement when he told me the story of not only going to Ole Miss but of selling them a movable shelving system!  And this shelving isn’t just in the library holding books or in the journalism and business school where I spent my days, but IN THE ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT STORAGE ROOM.  Just a little twinge of jealousy that Ole Miss was in his previous territory? And that he got to work with the equipment manager of a football team I’ve pulled for for 32 years? Maybe.
 
So I thought I would share this little story with you. At Patterson Pope, we are lucky to have a resource working for us like Jim Harrell (and this guy is not to be confused for an Ole Miss fan, he likes some school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana…can’t remember the name). And at Ole Miss, they are lucky to have such efficient high-density movable shelving in their space. A match made in (football) heaven.

Speaking of Athletics Storage. Would you like to know more about how the Carolina Panthers store their football equipment? Check out this blog post.

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The lock out is over, and there will be an NFL season this year. For pro football fans (and fantasy football coaches), this is great news. Even as the lockout stretched into the summer, NFL teams were still doing a lot of work behind the scenes. Take the Carolina Panthers for example. The Charlotte, North Carolina based team took advantage of the off-season to renovate their equipment room in Bank of America Stadium. For this renovation, High Density Mobile Storage Systems, Static Shelving and Modular Drawer Cabinets were installed to store everything from helmets, uniforms and shoes to hats, sweat suits and shoulder pads.  In a room that they describe as small by comparison to other equipment rooms, they were able to double their storage capacity with high density storage. This was crucial because they have a lot more stuff to store than they used to. The Panthers have done a wonderful job of chronicling this project on their website – www.panthers.com, and they do a much better job of describing it than I could.

Here is an article entitled “Equipment Room Up and Running”  by Brian Strickland that they posted back in June:

The football equipment industry has changed drastically over the course of Jackie Miles’ tenure with the Carolina Panthers, but his responsibilities haven’t really changed.
 
“We’ve always taken the approach of, ‘Let’s just take care of our guys,’” said Miles, the only equipment manager in team history. “We want them to be comfortable and win football games.”
 
With that philosophy in mind, the players will be greeted by a remodeled equipment room upon their return.
 
Miles and his staff spent the last several months working on the first overhaul of the equipment room since Bank of America Stadium opened its doors in 1996.
 
Where stationery, seven-foot tall cabinets stood before, the room is now dominated by 12-foot Spacesaver cabinets that can be moved along a track built into the floor, an innovation that has doubled the amount of shelf space in the room.
 
“We’ve probably increased our space by 100 percent,” Miles said.
 
That’s a good thing given that since the Panthers made their NFL debut, Miles estimates that his inventory has tripled.
 
“Way back when, each player would get one sweat suit; 17 years later, everybody has a light, middle and heavyweight sweat suit and a rain suit,” Miles said. “You have contracts with apparel companies, and part of the contract says that they supply you with stuff, and what they supply you with, they sell at retail to the public. The more products they can supply you with, the more they can put out at retail.
 
“Also, there’s been specialization. Under Armour came out with tight-fitting, dry-fit material, then everybody followed suit. You went from using one type of T-shirt in four different sizes to six different types of T-shirts in two colors in five different sizes.”
 
Miles – who has worked full-time in equipment rooms since he was 17 years old – along with assistant Don Toner and the rest of the equipment staff, always have found creative and efficient ways to tackle any space concerns. But when team president Danny Morrison approached Miles shortly after the 2010 season about the possibility of remodeling the equipment room (the team already was planning an overhaul to the weight room), Miles jumped at the chance.
 
He played an integral role in designing the new space, in conjunction with Spacesaver supplier Patterson Pope as well as Atlantic Commercial Caseworks. Members of his staff and of the Panthers’ stadium operations and maintenance staffs were hands-on throughout the project.
 
“Danny was willing to make a commitment to the equipment room, to pump some money into it and do it first class. Of course, I was all for it, so he asked me to look into it,” Miles said. “It took four to five months to design, to pack everything up and move it out, then to re-do the room and get everything back in here.”
 
Miles believes it was time and money well spent.
 
“When the players come back, we’re going to be glad to see them, and we want them to know that we’ve been working hard to make things better for them,” he said. “This will be beautiful for them and very functional.”
 
{Original article found here}

There is also a great video tour of the equipment room and interview with Jackie Miles that you can find here

Earlier this week, the Panther players returned to a top-notch equipment storage room, but with start of the season right around the corner there is still plenty to think about. Due to the work of Jackie Miles and his staff, the team can rest assured that all of their equipment is well kept and ready for kick off.

Are you ready for some football?

For more information, check out our Athletics Storage Page.

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In the summer of 1969, Bryan Adams played his guitar until his fingers bled, and man walked on the moon. In the summer of 2011, man installed an unanchored high density mobile storage system. Wait a minute, an unanchored high density mobile storage system? Really? Really!

Spacesaver recently introduced ExpressDEK, a new modular flooring system that was designed to be compatible with our low profile high density mobile system, Wheelhouse. So when we ran into asbestos tiles on a project at Winthrop University, we were able to provide a solution that allowed us to install Two large mobile storage systems without having to drill into the existing floor.

Cool, huh?!

But that’s not all. The project got even cooler when we needed the modular floor to run longer than it has been designed to run – 21 feet – where we have a maximum of 16 feet for the length of the Wheelhouse carriage. So we went with the traditional rail and welded carriage of a mechanical assist high density mobile system rather than the Wheelhouse modular mobile system. We were able to meet the client’s needs while protecting those that are in the space by keeping the asbestos encapsulated.

Modular mobile systems have so many benefits, but this wasn’t one that I had thought of before. If you need a mobile storage system and have asbestos or ceramic tiles, don’t worry. There is a solution to get you the storage you need in the space that you need it.

For product information, visit our High Density Shelving Page

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I recently changed roles within Patterson Pope.  Previously, I was an Architecture and Design (aka A&D) Representative. Now, I am in Sales. Some say I have crossed over to the dark side, but I like to think of it merely as a change from theoretical to applied storage solutions. As an A&D rep, I loved to listen to Architects and Designers speak of their inspiration and the design process.  They always speak with such passion about these things…even when the story ends half an hour later with “but we didn’t do that.” Now, I see a similar passion with curators. I truly love to hear about their collection process and see them proudly show me their STUFF (had to get that in here) ….it is like getting a private mini course taught by the head of the department. Best way to go back to college ever!

When my kids came home from their last day at school each with piles of papers, journals, and projects, I decided to bring some of my work experience home. I attempted to explain to my youngest what a curator’s job entailed and that I  was going to let her become curator of her schoolwork collection. It was great fun. She found duplicates and selected the best, removed items that could not be safely stored (anything with food), and stored them in an orderly fashion. Best of all, she explained her creation process and displayed a passion about her work!

Passion and process is what we love at P2.  It is why we have passion for what we do. We would love to hear what you are passionate about, and how it translates to your work (or home) life. If you would be interested in writing a guest blog post on Stuff Matters, please email Robert Ferguson.

Photo Credit: Gaurav Gupte

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We have some exciting news to share with you! There is a new addition to the Patterson Pope Family – Central Business Group. For those of you not familiar with CBG, here is the scoop. CBG started solving storage and records management problems back in 1974. They call Cincinnati home base and have seven offices that serve all of Ohio and Kentucky, Eastern and Central Tennessee and Southern Indiana. But more than that, CBG is a wonderful company with a strong reputation. They have experienced people who are great to work with, and they are committed to providing top notch solutions. To say we see eye to eye is an understatement! We are excited to have them on board. Welcome to the family, CBGers!

For more information on this announcement, check out the Press Release.

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Who knows why, but I started thinking about those old Reese’s Cup commercials the other day. You know, the ones where one person says: “hey, you got your peanut butter on my chocolate”, and another person says: “No, you got your chocolate in my peanut butter”. Like people walk around eating out of a jar of peanut butter. Anyway, here’s a good example:

The idea being: two great tastes, taste great together (and I must admit I agree with them on that). This got me thinking about a couple of pharmacy installations we have done lately using  Hamilton Sorter laminate casework lower cabinets mixed with Spacesaver FrameWRX shelving cantilevered above the cabinets. FrameWRX provides flexibility and maximization of storage space and provides lots of options for pharmacy storage.  The Hamilton Sorter product includes slanted vile drawers as well as closed and open cabinets. The Modular Casework Cabinets and FrameWRX are used to store active items used to fill prescriptions as well as the bags once the prescriptions have been filled. Both products are completely modular and can be moved and reconfigured if needed. The resulting space is flexible and efficient, giving the employees an opportunity to max out their productivity. I guess you could say, it’s two great products that work great together.

{The photos to the left are of the pharmacy at Memorial Outpatient Center in Hallandale, Florida, and  the pharmacy at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida. In both projects, Spacesaver High Density Mobile Shelving Systems was also used within the pharmacy to store bulk items in a compacted space. So I guess you could really say that 3 great products work great together.}

Want more information? Visit our Bin Shelving (FrameWRX) Page and out Modular Casework Pages

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My best friend in college proposed a challenge to herself. Fascinated by the idea, I decided to join in.

Challenge: Visit 30 states by 30 years old.
Rules: Visiting can account for any amount of time spent in the state. Airports do not count. Driving through state qualifies as long as you mingle or eat locally.
My Status: No longer under the umbrella of parental resources, coupled with no longer having summers off limits means and time available to travel extensively. So, I have been lingering in the low 20s since college. But next week my number bumps to 23. Illinois. Check!

Since beginning my career in the commercial construction industry 5 years ago, I have heard of the glamour and excitement surrounding Chicago during NeoCon. And now, I can finally see for myself.

Please schedule an appointment with me, cbishop@pattersonpope.com. Or stop by Spacesaver’s booth on the 11th floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. Spacesaver is Booth 11-117.

We also have a very exciting event called Night at the Museum Monday evening at The Field Museum in Chicago. Please contact me if you are interested, cbishop@pattersonpope.com.

Hope to see you in Chicago, State #23.

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I always thought that keyless entry on a car was a great feature. In fact, I know a few people who have a habit of losing their car keys, and keyless entry to their car is the only way for them to go. Thanks to Spacesaver, it turns out you can have keyless entry on evidence and pharmaceutical lockers too. Take a look:

Find the whole blog post about ControLoc Technology on Spacesaver’s Storage Solved Blog.

For more information check out our Evidence Lockers Page.

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The team sponsored by Patterson Pope claimed victory in the First Annual AIA Golf Event held on May 5, 2011 at Westchase Golf Club in Tampa, FL. Team members included Ron Nienhuis, Joel Kock, Marc Betts and BJ Raposa. Under a Cinco de Mayo event theme, the team tore up the Westchase golf course with a winning score of 53 (-19).

“It was a great day of golf,” said Nienhuis who oversees Florida operations for Patterson Pope. “Everyone on our team contributed to the win and we simply had one of those days when everything went our way. Many thanks to all the sponsors who made the inaugural event a great success. I think everyone who participated had a great time!”

This year’s event was a first annual event for the AIA Chapter in Tampa. Event coordinator Dawn Mages indicated that plans are already in the works for next year’s event. “Many thanks to the planning committee for working hard to successfully launch this first year event.” Mages said. “We expect next year’s event to be even bigger and better!” Antonio Amadeo, the current AIA President, resided over the evening dinner and awards banquet.
About 70 golfers participated in the inaugural event.

Thank you to AIA Tampa Bay

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We recently installed Modular Casework Stainless Steel Cabinets at Carolinas Healthcare in Charlotte, NC.  These cabinets are used for sterile supply storage in the renovated C-Section Rooms in the Women’s Center. For information on this project check out the short video below. You can also visit our Modular Casework Stainless Steel Cabinets page.

Looking for more information on Modular Casework? Check out these other blog posts:
Six Reasons to consider Modular Casework before Millwork
Modular Casework – the ultimate in flexibility, modularity and usability

Interested in Healthcare Storage? You may also like:
5 Reasons to choose the FrameWRX Storage System
Have you heard about CoreSTOR Patient Server?

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Congratulations to Adam Sebastian of Walter Robbs Callahan & Pierce Architects, the winner of an iPad in our (first) Official “Pose Your Stuffey Action Figure” Contest! This contest involved posing a Stuffey action figure with a great stuff storage problem (or in a humorous or interesting way) and taking a photo or video of the event. A few of the photos are over to the left. To see Adam’s winning video, and all of the other great video and photo submissions for the contest click here. For those of you that aren’t familiar with our precocious friend and mascot, Stuffey, you can watch the whole Bob and Stuffey P2ube video saga here (10 humorous videos – each under 66 seconds long – that explore stuff and the problems it causes).

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(I think he was also an architect or something)

If I had a nickel every time I had this conversation:

Me: I work for a company that specializes in storage products.
(Un)Interested Party: Oh, can you help me organize my garage/pantry/closets?

I try so hard not to be offended, but one likes to think they have more to offer in this category than a home improvement store. We provide storage for weapons, and evidence, and catheters! WE STORE VERY IMPORTANT STUFF, OKAY!

I know very little of Frank Lloyd Wright. In fact, he has one of those names that sticks to the back of my brain, making it impossible to recall at trivia night. But a few weeks ago, I attended the AIA Women in Architecture event in Morrisville, NC, that featured the film “A Girl is a Fellow Here”: 100 Women Architects in the Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright. After watching this documentary, I share an adoration for Frank Lloyd Wright that many of my industry peers already possess. But perhaps, not for the same reasons.

Two approaches to a business strategy exemplify his remarkable ability to promote vocational understanding and a will to succeed among his pupils. I say, move aside Max Weber. I would like to introduce a pioneer in the sociology of work.

1. Equality
Most of you have heard Frank Lloyd Wright described as arrogant. But another account of him in the film unveils a humble individual. This account came from an intern at Taliesin. When asked to describe her teacher, she immediately went to his defense with the following anecdote. She volunteered to make improvements to a window at the studio and wanted to show Mr. Wright her idea. After a brief presentation, Wright brashly expressed his chagrin that he had not come up with the idea on his own. Although his humility was masked by a trite tone, she was very flattered by his praise.

To him, credit was given where credit was due no matter age, status, or gender. And during the 1920s, this concept of equality was not widely shared. The documentary reveals that Wright saw no difference between men and women in architecture. Through the course of his career he employed 100 women, which was unheard of in his time.

Today, our society embraces the opposite. We are encouraged to promote the advancement of minorities in most every industry. However, special treatment only heightens our differences which camouflages the true intent of creating equality. I think Wright found a perfect method, enforcing no special treatment for any group.

2. Gusto
The other aspect of the film I found fascinating came from the same interview. This woman was raised by a “proper” family, but she herself was not “proper.” We should think of architects at Taliesin in the first part of the 20th century as early hippies. After two years dedicated to her internship, her family strongly encouraged her to pursue an education at a “proper” school. She chose Harvard, hoping this would satisfy them. But she went on to describe this experience as nothing less than a disappointment. Her education at Harvard was on paper only. At Taliesin, the students built what they created. Crafting materials was an important aspect of design. She and her peers at Taliesin developed a critical eye, always looking for ways to improve their environment. That was not the case at Harvard. She did not understand how her teachers at Harvard could claim to love design when they had no desire put it into practice and enhance their own surroundings.

I wonder if Wright’s apprenticeship teaching style should not be resurrected. So much of our work is automated. The disconnect between creation and construction is broadening for many industries in our culture. The specialization of work is slowly becoming more and more microscopic. Fewer people know how to build a car. They only know when and how to replace a part through automated instructions. In the same way, how many occasions do you have as an architect to witness the materials you specify come together to create a wall?

From now on, I vow to not be offended when someone asks me if I can help them with their closet, garage, or pantry. Frank Lloyd Wright has inspired me to embrace my passion for storage, and apply to my life in every way possible.

This is Bob’s final stand Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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Not in this case!

At the Medical University of South Carolina, we recently installed lockers. Sounds like this is shaping up to be a really interesting blog, right? Thanks to Compass 5 Partners in Columbia, we found a great fit for our Hamilton Sorter laminate locker. Part of the main hospital was undergoing a renovation, and they had a need for lockers for the nursing staff. They wanted the lockers to have a nice look, be in keeping with the design elements in the building and hold up to the abuse of the nurses. So it’s just a laminate locker and you may be wondering why MUSC decided to purchase a premium product. Because of the warranty. You see, Hamilton Sorter stands behind their product with a Limited Lifetime Warranty. Yep, you heard me right. Not a year, not five years – for life. If you don’t believe me, check out their website for the legal language www.hamiltonsorter.com. 

So when you are looking for lockers, know that we can help you at Patterson Pope. Steel, laminate, wood – you name it. We can help.

The photos to the left are examples of the Hamilton Sorter laminate locker, we’ll post photos from our installation at MUSC soon.

EDIT: Photos of MUSC project uploaded 05/03/2011

Bob sets a trap for Stuffey. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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When David Bowie sang about Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in 1971, I doubt this is what he had in mind. Nevertheless, it is hard to deny that the FrameWRX storage system was built for change. The unique design of FrameWRX easily adapts to meet your changing storage needs — from today to well into the future. Here are five reasons why you might choose FrameWRX for your next storage challenge:

It’s Modular – The FrameWRX storage system can be configured in an infinite number of ways — to give you the most space efficient storage.

It’s Adjustable – FrameWRX is simple to install, simple to adjust, simple to take down and move, and requires no modifications to the walls. Components can all be rearranged as needed — without tools or fasteners — to meet your specific storage requirements.

It’s Accessible – Everything stored in the FrameWRX system in easy to access, easy to see and easy to inventory — to leave you more time for more important tasks.

It’s Easy – Built around the innovative EZ Rail Element, the FrameWRX storage system can accommodate a variety of storage accessories, including hanging plastic bins, wire bins, shelves, work surfaces, peg-board hooks and slat-wall accessories — to allow you to configure it any way you like.

It’s Mobile – FrameWRX can be installed on a high density mobile storage system, or give FrameWRX HD a try. Similar to a bi-file, FrameWRX HD (high density) compresses two rows of storage into one deeper space; thereby, “saving an aisle.” Either option will give you more storage in less space.

Those are just some of the ways FrameWRX can help you turn and face the strain of an unwieldy storage situation. For more information, visit our Bin Shelving FrameWRX page.

Bob makes a frightening discovery about stuff. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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I find myself constantly engaging in the battle to make space more efficient. I’m space planning even when I’m baking cookies. Last night, as I worked quickly to roll dough, cut out squares and slip them onto a baking pan – I caught myself counting the cookies to see if I could get more into the oven on the second batch than I had on the first. I met my challenge with great success. First batch – 19, second batch – 26. I was ecstatic. In the day to day battle of meeting deadlines and making sure your children’s teachers know that they are LOVED by baking special cookies – we have to make our time and space as efficient as possible. The 12 minutes I saved by not having to bake 4 batches of cookies made me very happy – and gave me more time for my favorite time – time to sleep! Could I have baked on two cookies sheets, yes, but then I would be back to the battle of stuff – and my home only has room for one cookie sheet. It’s all a great balance. A balance that we can help you find. So when you find yourself trying to figure out how to get more stuff into a smaller space or make your time more efficient – call me. We can sit down over stuff shaped cookies (and milk!) and chat.

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Bob has Stuffey in his sights. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

Watch all of our P2ube videos here.

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Bob has Stuffey in his sights, but will he get the three count? Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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The stuff is all packed. Over the weekend our Florida Headquarters will be heading down I-4 (Florida 400) and relocating their office from Sanford to Orlando. The new digs will consist of 42,000 square feet, with 7,400 square feet of that dedicated to office space. The new location will be 4 miles from downtown Orlando and (best of all) right around the corner from 4 Rivers Smokehouse! Stop by and visit! The new address is: 2729 Hansrob Road, Orlando, FL 32804.

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Bob journeys deep into the heart of Stuffey’s Lair. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

Watch all of our P2ube videos here.

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Bob discovers Stuffey’s Lair. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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My son just grabbed my new iPad and typed in my notebook, “Mom is so lame, for real”. He’s just jealous of my new toy (I mean business asset) that will absolutely increase my productivity. Blog readers be warned, the Architecture and Design reps at Patterson Pope have just received iPads and are REALLY, REALLY excited to show you some pictures, videos, or send a brochure to you using it! Just humor us, please.

He didn’t hurt my feelings with his entry tonight. I know he was just messing with me, and being “lame” comes with the territory – I’m used to it. However, there was a similar instance a while back after I received a different Patterson Pope toy – a new demo modular casework cabinet. A few days later, my child was having a moment of serious attitude and asked me, “Sell any cabinets today, Mom?” in a tone that did not express sincere interest. It was a tone I did NOT appreciate. I proceeded to go into a mommy dearest style rant and explained to this child that A&D reps do not actually SELL cabinets…and FURTHERMORE cabinets are just a fraction of all wonderful and interesting things that we do discuss…and FINALLY he had better hope that somebody specified some of our product today if he still enjoys all of his extra-curricular activities. So There! Darn kids! I went on such a rant that this phrase of “Sell any cabinets today, Mom” has now become our thing – his little way asking me about my day. It’s not exactly an “I love you”, but it is way better in my book than “What’s for dinner?” or “Can I drive?”

While I promise to save my mommy dearest moments for my teenager, please take a minute to learn more about the wonderful products we do provide: High Density Shelving, Static Shelving, Mail Center Furniture, Modular Casework, Automated Retrieval Systems, Cabinets, Lockers, Weapons and Gear Storage and Carts. As you can see (and as my son now knows), we have so much more than just cabinets!

Better yet, ask me “Sell any cabinets today?” with a wink and a smile.

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Confession: During my first months working in the commercial interiors industry, I greatly embarrassed myself one day when I expressed my relief that I did not sell carpet because it was so boring. Looking back, I could not have been more wrong. After years in the industry, I have learned that floor covering matters. Flooring can be the most fragile element in a space if not designed properly.

And this statement could not be truer when designing space for high density storage. When rail is surface mounted, we build a subfloor 2″ above the constructed floor so the rails are not a tripping hazard.

Here are our flooring recommendations:

Best: Carpet – ½” or ¾” carpet is accepted. We do need to know which size in order to manufacture the carriage so that it will not scrape the carpet. Carpet is the most aesthetically pleasing and longest lasting of all flooring types.

Better: Rubber Matting – available in gray and black, this type of floor covering might be useful in backroom storage areas. It will cover bends and folds that may occur in the subfloor over time.

Not so Good: VCT tile – acceptable on suspended floor at least 18″ above ground level. However, on or below grade applications where the subfloor is raised only 2″ above the concrete may cause the tile to bend and fold with the plywood should moisture become an issue.

As you can see, there are several options when it comes to floor coverings in a mobile shelving environment. We will do our best to make sure you end up with the right solution for your specific application.

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Sometimes you see some remarkable things right in your own neighborhood. At first glance today, I thought I saw a Saint Bernard that was obviously not ready to be off the leash yet. As I was waiting for the owner to gain control of this very adorable and energetic dog, I realized that it was actually a hybrid -a mix of Saint Bernard and Poodle! I wondered what qualities of each breed were expressed in this mix and better yet…what kind of oodle name does this guy have? In a world full of hybrids this was a new one for me.

Another interesting hybrid that you might not see every day is our hybrid modular casework from Hamilton Sorter. They have successfully bred laminate and steel (powder coated or stainless) cabinets in order to provide the best of both worlds. These cabinets can have the desired aesthetics and lower costs associated with laminates but also the superior strength, durability, and chemical resistance of steel all wrapped up in one Greenguard Certified package. Our modular casework cabinets might not get the awww of a spunky Saint Berdoodle, but I have been told that our demo cabinets are pretty cute if you want to check them out!

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Bob begins to stalk Stuffey. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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Stuffey is up to some old tricks again, but Bob is starting to catch on.

Watch all of our P2ube videos here.

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When I was a kid I was pretty sure we would all be driving spaceships by the year 2000. Now it’s 2011 and that still isn’t the case. (This is too bad, because traffic can be a real pain). It occurs to me that one of the space-age type technologies we now use all the time is RFID. The funny thing is that RFID has actually been around since before I was a kid, but it still seems pretty “space-agey” to me. According to Jeremy Landt, “RFID is used for hundreds, if not thousands, of applications such as preventing theft of automobiles and merchandise; collecting tolls without stopping; managing traffic; gaining entrance to buildings; automating parking; controlling access of vehicles to gated communities, corporate campuses and airports; dispensing goods; buying hamburgers” and more.

In addition to all of that, it can also help you keep track of all your stuff. Here’s how: RFID (short for Radio-Frequency Identification) is made up of several components: the tag, reader, antenna and the tracking software. The RFID tag works similar to a barcode, but it can store more identification data, and that data can be updated as needed. Because it works on radio frequency, RFID offers several advantages over a barcode driven system: the reader does not need to “see” the tag to scan it, the distance between reader and tag can be greater, the tag doesn’t need to be on the surface of the item, the data is read much faster, and multiple tags can be read at the same time. RFID tags can be placed on files, equipment, weapons, and other stuff you need to track and inventory. All the data stored on an RFID tag stays with item through a supply chain or other business process, giving you access to real-time status, inventory and location updates. I’d call that “space-agey”.

So despite the fact that you still can’t drive a spaceship to work, it’s good to know that once you get there you won’t have to worry about where all of your stuff is.

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The Big Bang Theory is one of my favorite shows. My husband even gave me Season Two on DVD for Christmas this year. As I was enjoying my gift this evening and channeling my inner geek, I was reminded of our Laws of Stuff videos. www.lawsofstuff.com

The First Law of Stuff: Stuff Migrates.
The Second Law of Stuff: Stuff Expands.
The Third Law of Stuff : Stuff Hides.

If you think that our marketing geniuses at Patterson Pope are just making this stuff up, they aren’t (at least not completely)! These P2 Laws of Stuff can actually be explained by the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – The Entropy (disorder) of the Universe is always increasing. I hypothesize that this process is even accelerated during the holidays. At our house on Christmas Eve, we had a neat pile of presents under the tree and the children were nestled all snug in their beds. Fast forward to 10:00 a.m. on Christmas day and that single neat pile has now expanded into two garbage bags, two totes of cardboard, and the six piles of new stuff (Stuff EXPANDS). By noon, this new stuff has MIGRATED throughout the house and it was guaranteed that by dinner that the younger kids can’t find the smallest stuff (Stuff HIDES). As a mother of four children, I have repeatedly experimented with these laws and I can report with absolute certainty that no matter how long you wait or what variables you change, Stuff will NEVER spontaneously become organized or take up less space. It takes energy to make those changes.

At Patterson Pope, we help you battle these Universal Laws, calm the chaos, and create order from disorder. We bring that energy. Perhaps our mascot, Stuffey, should don a super hero cape like Sheldon!

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I’m that girl. I love to clean out. Therefore I love the end of December and the beginning of January because after the holidays it seems I am bringing in a little bit of new stuff and tossing out a little bit of the old stuff. As a business, we need to reorganize and refocus as well and the end of the year is a great time to do just that. And at Patterson Pope, we can help you find the most efficient solutions for filing or storing whatever stuff it is that you need to get your job done. Here on our blog, we will let you know about some great stories and applications where we have helped our clients get it all together. Yes, there are more great stuff stories to come.

As I reflect on the past year and look forward to the New Year ahead of me, I am excited about all of the stuff challenges that will come my way – and look forward to helping you solve those problems. But that’s just me – like I said – nothing jazzes me more than a nice, organized and efficient use of space. Here’s to good organization and good times in 2011. Happy New Year!

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We have the opportunity to see a lot of back room storage areas, and take part in the planning of a lot of storage systems. Sometimes we approach with ease and comfort into a space that is large and organized. The requests for a particular amount of storage for that location can be met with little problem.

Then there are the other times. We enter a current or future storage space and our forehead notches, our eyes widen, the pace of our breath slows, and our mind gets a bit cloudy as we wonder how to allocate the appropriate amount of storage to this monstrous storage challenge.

The good news is that no matter how much stuff there is to be stored; there is usually a creative way to store it. Here are some examples of quantities of stuff we have helped store:

Army Base: 3175 Rifles, 200 shotguns, 345 pistols, 480 machine guns, 350 grenade launchers, 575 binoculars.

University: 3000 rolled architectural drawings.

Athletic Department: over 5,000 basketballs.

Herbarium: over 250,000 plant specimens.

Library: over 500,000 books.

Museum: over 10 million items.

TV Production Facility: 60,000 video tapes.

So we ask: You have how many of what? Share your stories about the crazy amounts of stuff you have helped store.

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Just a quick note to let you know that Spacesaver’s Revit models can now be found on Autodesk Seek. Spacesaver has embraced the BIM movement, and has models available for Mobile Shelving, 4-Post, Cantilever and Case-Style Shelving, Weapons Rack, Evidence Lockers, and Personal Storage Lockers. You can read more about it on Spacesaver’s Storage Solved Blog.

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While many sectors have been in decline in recent years, one that continues strong growth is Education. Student admissions are still creeping up, even in the down economy. And more students on campus means a need for more resources and more space, but many times extra space is not available. That’s usually when we get the call. We help universities solve their space problems and get them more organized in the process. From files and football helmets to books and botany samples, we store just about all the stuff a campus has to keep track of. So if you’re wondering where we are, here are the top twelve places you’ll find Patterson Pope on a college campus:

12 – Athletic Departments
11 – Libraries
10 – Food Services
9 – Performing Arts
8 – Admissions
7 – Facilities
6 – Laboratories
5 – Pharmacies
4 – Student Records
3 – Medical Clinics
2 – Mail Rooms
1 – Campus Security

And a partridge in a…

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“It” starts when we are very young, sometimes barely walking or talking. Child psychologists refer to it as “Parallel Play”, but really what it boils down to is one child plays happily with the other child’s stuff while their Mothers exchange their much needed 2000 words a day. I’m completely guilty of putting my kids through this torture of letting some other kid chew, drool on, and touch their stuff just to spend some adult time with a fellow Mommy.

Years later, these same children will ask to go on a play date at the home of a kid that you know they don’t really like. As adults, we sometimes go to open houses even when we aren’t considering a move. We reminisce about stuff we had as a kid while in antique shops or buy our kids the stuff we didn’t have (like the neibor kid’s Green Machine). We love to go on back-lot and behind the scenes tours while on vacation.

Why? What is up with that?

Easy answer – “It” is the love of stuff, especially other people’s stuff.

It’s why most of us at Patterson Pope really like what we do. We get to see the stuff that most of the world doesn’t – military stuff, hospital stuff, high tech stuff, top secret stuff, creepy stuff, rare stuff, you name it. It’s why we get excited when we talk to you about what we do.

You know you like stuff too. After all, “it” started when you were just a tot, but please don’t blame your mothers!

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But we didn’t need an election to figure this out. Just check out the reaction of the College of Charleston students when they saw their new library shelving.

If you weren’t there for the party, you can read more about the College of Charleston Addleston Library storage solution here.

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When the College of Charleston opened their new 145,000 square-foot Addlestone Library, they did so with an eye to the future. As with many libraries, space was a key issue. In fact, the old library had run out of space 10 years before the new facility was built. Fortunately, they had a plan – a plan to maximize growth of the collections without having to increase the size of the new building. That plan – High-Density Mobile Shelving.

Their forward thinking paid off in several ways. They were able to plan for future growth at the time of the design and construction of the new building – columns and floor slabs throughout the stack areas of the building were reinforced. (The structural requirement for the floor load of high-density shelving is 300 pounds per square foot, versus 150 for standard shelving). So, when the time comes, they can replace static shelving with additional high-density systems.

High-density shelving helped minimize the footprint of the library, which had a height restriction of three floors. The architect estimated that the existing high-density shelving (not counting the expansion capacity) saved 4,000 square feet. The library currently houses over 500,000 volumes, with about a third of the collection on Spacesaver high-density mobile systems (both powered and mechanical assist). Right now, they have a potential capacity for a million volumes. With the addition of more high-density mobile systems in the future, the library can triple the size of its collection.

Not only was the collections capacity increased, but the high-density systems also helped free up space for the atrium, a variety of study areas, computers, meeting rooms, a café and tutoring facilities. The library also features Spacesaver static cantilever shelving with customized glass end panels. The end panels allow more light to pass through and shelving height variations add interest and functionality.

A stuff storage problem has been averted now and well into the future – I love it when a plan comes together.

Get caught up with Bob and Stuffey. Watch the latest video from our P2ube series.

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No? Well, here is the scoop: CoreSTOR patient server, from Spacesaver, is designed to put 80% of the most frequently used supplies for patient care 10 steps from the bedside.

No need to bother the patients – CoreSTOR extends fully outside the room for easy access to stock patient care supplies. From there those items are available inside the patient room. All the stuff you need is within sight and reach – just steps from the bedside.

Plus, you get to design the type of storage that you need, using 4-Post shelving, FrameWRX storage systems, and EZ Rail. You can also add accessories such as shelves, bins, hooks and pegs, to meet today’s needs, and switch them around to adapt to tomorrow’s changes.

But we aren’t the only ones talking about it. CoreSTOR just won awards in three different categories (Architects Choice, Most Innovative, and Best in Show) at The 2010 HealthCare Facilities Symposium & Expo. You can read more news about this here.

If you would like to see more healthcare storage ideas, check out Spacesaver’s Healthcare Storage Solutions page.

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Today all types of organizations are going “paperless”, and freedom from paper can be a powerful thing. But then there’s all of that other stuff – the stuff that is essential to our day in and day out tasks. Are organizations going “stuffless” too? That doesn’t appear to be the case. Consider the stuff that Public Safety and Law Enforcement agencies have to handle. Uniforms, gear, long-arms, hand guns, supplies, evidence, property, and yes even paper files are all critical to their sworn duty to protect and serve.

In Florida, Martin County Sheriff’s Office and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office are two agencies that can attest to the problems that stuff creates. Due to population growth and extended responsibilities, they both have faced unique space and storage related challenges. As the Stuff Experts, we set out to do our own detective work into these issues. By investigating the needs of each agency, we were able to identify a combination of several products that fit the description of the solutions needed. Installing high-density mobile shelving, static shelving, bi-files, weapons racks, pistol racks, rollok doors, garment rods, evidence lockers, work benches and drawer systems were a part of the necessary actions taken. Both agencies were able to consolidate their storage needs, which allowed them to store more in a given space (such as the warehouse), or use the saved space for other purposes (such as the warrants area).  But there was more than just significant space savings. For example, Palm Beach County was able to secure everything in their armory by using rollok doors, while Martin County helped solidify the chain of custody of their evidence with pass-through evidence lockers. Purchasing departments and records areas benefitted, too.

As is often the case, stuff can be difficult to apprehend. For these two agencies, the case of the stuff storage problem was solved by deploying a multiple product approach. The need for building expansion was pushed back for years by using high-density storage. Productivity increased by having stuff conveniently stored and easy to find. No, they didn’t become “stuffless”, but their storage rooms are now roomier, their space is put to better use and the stuff they do have is stowed away, organized and well protected.

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When it comes to storing evidence, there is a lot of stuff to plan for – weapons, stolen property, narcotics, money, biological evidence, and more. The value of this evidence diminishes if it is not properly stored and tracked. 

Here are six tips for planning Evidence Room storage:

1. Conduct site visits to other police agencies, and learn from their experiences – see what others with similar situations are doing and ask how it’s working for them. A lot can be learned from the successes and failures of others.
2. Place evidence lockers so they can be conveniently accessed from within the Report Writing Room – typically evidence is tagged and packaged in a Report Writing Room, so it is beneficial for the evidence lockers to be in there, too.
3. Build “pass through” lockers into the common wall between the Report Writing Room and the Property Room – this helps protect the chain of custody of the evidence.
4. Avoid standard lockers that have simple “gravity” locks – these types of lockers can be breached, making it easier for the evidence to be tampered with.
5. Vary the size of openings within the evidence lockers – evidence, like most stuff, comes in all shapes and sizes so it is important to have lockers with a variety of compartment sizes.
6. Specify a woven wire gate on the property room side of the locker – this improves visibility to see if anything is in the lockers.

This information is based on the article, “Evidence Depository Lockers” by Officer Steve Berdrow of the Burbank Police Department. The article can be found in “The Evidence Log”, a quarterly publication of the IAPE. Jason Konz, from Spacesaver, originally blogged about this topic on their Storage Solved blog, you can read his full post here.

For more information on Evidence Storage check out Spacesaver’s Public Safety Storage Solutions site.

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Indiana Jones: “Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?”

Sallah: “Asps… very dangerous. You go first.”

Remember that classic exchange from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark? Yet despite all of the snakes stored at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (they have more than 10,300 cataloged specimens of amphibians and reptiles), you can bet that an Archeologist like Indy would love to explore all of the collections there. We recently had an opportunity to do just that. The museum, located in Martinsville, Virginia, is home to a collection of more than 10 million items (and growing). These items collected locally and from around the globe, provide the basis for in-house, national and international study. Research at the museum is focused on Invertebrate Paleontology, Vertebrate Paleontology, Recent Invertebrates, Archaeology, Mammalogy, Marine Science and Geology. Specimens in these collections are stored in special conditions to reduce damage caused by fluctuations and extremes in temperature and humidity. Most of these specimens are susceptible to deterioration caused by extended exposure to light. For these reasons (along with space conservation and item accessibility factors), a number of special considerations were taken in the design of the storage systems required for these collections. Spread out over several rooms within the museum, Spacesaver powered high-density mobile storage systems allow the museum to continue adding to their collections without expanding their storage areas. These powered mobile systems include synchronized drive systems designed for smooth acceleration and deceleration of the carriages to minimize vibration and jarring. On several of these systems, special toe kicks were installed on the bottom of the end panels to enable curators to open aisles in the system – even if their hands are full. Delta Designs Museum Cabinets are prevalent on many of the mobile storage systems. These museum-grade cabinets help protect against light and other environmental hazards and can be configured to store items of all shapes and sizes. Wide span shelving is used in several areas to store over-sized items such as geological samples, fossils and mammal specimens. Other unique design features include storage shelving that has perforated shelves that facilitate air flow and the flow of fire suppressant agents in the event of a jar breakage. Some of the shelving has clear plastic shelf fronts to protect jars and small specimen vials. There are also smooth-gliding roll-out trays and drawers for organizing and protecting small finds. Powered high-density mobile shelving can also be found in the museum’s library which houses over 7,000 titles in a collection which includes books, journals, and magazines.

Indiana Jones: “Take this. Wave it at anything that slithers.”

In the end, we didn’t need torches to wave around at any snakes during our expedition, but we did get to see a lot of neat stuff while we were there. You can see photos from our tour to the left. If you would like to learn more about the Virginia Museum of Natural History visit their website. For more information on Spacesaver museum storage solutions click here.

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We wanted to let you know that the steel Modular Casework product line from Hamilton Sorter is certified for SEFA 8 Metal Laboratory Grade Casework standards. SEFA, which stands for Scientific Equipment and Furniture Association, is an international trade association. They provide testing, tools and best practices to assist manufacturers, specifiers and users evaluate the safety, durability and structural integrity of laboratory casework and complimentary items.

Hamilton Sorter’s powder coated steel welded cabinets meet these stringent tests for powder coat finish, wall, tall and base cabinets. The evaluation includes cabinet and shelf load capacity; door and drawer impact and cycle tests; and surface finish resistance to chemicals and hot water.

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Spacesaver has introduced two new Revit models in their Design Resources library. You can now download models for Mobile Storage with Cantilever Shelving and Double-Wall Shelving (case type) and start using them today. For more information check out Spacesaver’s blog Storage Solved, or head on to the Design Library.

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Matt Tourdot shared this video on Spacesaver’s Storage Solved blog. It is a great example of the “less is more” theory.

Gary Chang exhibits the value of creativity when it comes to saving space and organizing stuff. He gets the power of innovation in the effective use of space. His tiny apartment is cooler, better organized and arguably more user-friendly than most of our much larger spaces.

The issues he faced are no different than those that we face every day. Cramped spaces abound. Not enough room to put all of our stuff. At work, at home; in the equipment room, the storage room, or the file room in the basement. At the armory, the library, the precinct, or the warehouse. When it comes to tight spaces, organizational challenges and storage headaches, Gary Chang understands that Stuff (and how you store it) really does matter.

Originally posted by Matt Tourdot of Spacesaver on their Storage Solved blog.

(The design of his apartment looks similar to the Seattle Public Library Gift Shop design that we discussed here.)

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Last week we provided a definition of Modular Casework. Today we’ll give you six reasons to consider it in your next interior design project:

1. It’s factory produced – The manufacturing of Modular Casework takes place in a controlled environment with computer generated machinery that can make precision cuts and guarantee measurements. 
2. It’s quickly installed – Modular Casework ships in modules that are ready to install, cutting the installation time to about half that of millwork.
3. It’s reconfigurable – Unless there are seismic concerns, Modular Casework is not actually bolted to the wall or floors.  The base cabinets are leveled and ganged together.  The upper wall cabinets are fastened to a zip rail.  The modules do not have to be damaged or disassembled in order to reconfigure or relocate – making it very easy to reuse when needs change.
4. It’s repairable – Doors, drawers, hinges, and end panels are much easier to repair than traditional millwork, because Modular Casework components are engineered to disassemble and reattach.
5. It’s depreciable – Modular Casework is treated like furniture and depreciates on a seven year schedule (as opposed to millwork, which is classified as permanent construction and requires 39 years to depreciate.)
6. It’s specifiable – Drawing millwork is a tedious, time consuming task.  But Modular Casework can be drawn in software by a local representative.  Or, with BIM software, it is simple to drag and drop your options into a space with ease, assuring that you get the design you intend.

Speaking of BIM, you can get your Hamilton Sorter Modular Casework Revit models here.

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Modular Casework is fast becoming THE alternative to built-in cabinets. Its use is spreading from offices to laboratories and from hospitals to schools. Problem: Webster doesn’t offer a definition for “Modular Casework”. Answer: we decided to suggest a few of our own.

mod•u•lar [moj-uh-ler] case•work [keys-wurk] / [kās-werk] (noun)

1. Storage system designed to be customized, re-configured, re-located and re-used

2. Furniture that looks built in, but isn’t

Consider your office environment. There are several areas well suited for modular casework. Areas like community workspace, copy/fax/print areas, mail rooms, break rooms, kitchens, libraries, and other spaces that have specific activity and storage needs. But what if those needs change? Modular casework is designed to change with you, and that’s the gist of what it is as a “product”.

3. More than just a product. It is a system of manufacturing that gives you the versatility and look of built-in millwork with the value and precision of a CAD driven, factory produced product, with a 7-year depreciation schedule, and a limited lifetime warranty.

Consider your investment. Millwork is classified as permanent construction and requires 39 years to depreciate. Modular casework, on the other hand, is treated like furniture and depreciates in 7 years. The ability to specify finishes, surfaces, hardware and other elements can create a look that fully integrates into the interior design plan. Set-up and installation is simplified, because it comes from the factory as finished components – saving time and money. Reusing the components as departments move, or needs change is a snap. So, you aren’t throwing your investment away or leaving it there when you go. (Just because it looks built in doesn’t mean it has to act like it.) Flexible, modular, usable. Mr. Webster…take note!

{We recently had the opportunity to visit the BJAC’s architecture office in Raleigh, North Carolina to see firsthand how they incorporated modular casework into their office. They use base cabinets, wall cabinets and shelving in the print/work area, base cabinets and wall cabinets in the kitchen and shelving in the library. One of the design features of the office is clear, corrugated polycarbonate panels on metal studs used for walls and partitions. The fact that the casework and shelving is finished on all sides turned out to be key – due to the transparency of these panels (the backside of the shelving in the print/work area is visible.) In the kitchen, the customization of the casework allowed for aluminum framed glass doors to be used, which worked well with the overall look of the office. The shelving in the library was designed to allow for binder as well as flat file storage and was built around a work area and laminate chip samples. To the left are some photos from our visit.}

To learn more about Modular Casework you can visit our Modular Casework pages.

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10. Optics
09. Side arms
08. M-16s
07. M-4s
06. Gear
05. Super soakers…

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Spacesaver is at it again. They have added Revit models for Universal Weapons Rack (UWR) secure weapons storage systems, and 4-Post shelving systems. To read more about these solutions visit Spacesaver’s Blog Storage Solved. You can download these Revit models at the Spacesaver Design Center.

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This is a new Universal Weapons Rack from Spacesaver. As you can see it goes all the way up to 84″. The original Spacesaver Universal Weapons Racks (UWR) are 45″ high. But reminiscent of a Nigel Tufnel guitar amp in the movie Spinal Tap, these go to 84″.

You may be thinking, well yeah, but why not just stack one 45″ high rack on top of another (you can do that you know). And that’s a good point, but these new weapons racks go up to 84″. Here are a few reasons why:

1. You can reduce the numbers of doors and locks by half – think about all the issue and inventory time that would save you.
2. The two-tiered 84″ high cabinets require much less vertical space than the stacked 45 inchers (which takes about 92″ of clearance).
3. Like the original UWR, the 84″ high cabinets provide security features that exceed military standards and retractable doors that save you space and provide safety for your armory personnel.

The original 45″ high UWR still provides a great solution, if the potential for deployment with the racks is inevitable. And stacked 45″ cabinets give your armory flexibility to configure and reconfigure your rooms as needs change. But now you have a chance to turn it up to 84.

A thank you goes out to Brad Tusing at Spacesaver for the valuable information he provided. If you would like to learn more about Universal Weapons Rack visit Spacesaver’s UWR page here.

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When it comes to the military, there is no limit to the size, shape or type of stuff on hand. Have you seen all the different weapons they have? Not to mention readiness packs, tactical equipment, parachutes, helmets, boots and utes – the list goes on. And when there’s that much variety in the stuff you’re storing, it’s going to take more than one way to store (and secure) it all. Military-certified Universal Weapons Rack (UWR) weapons storage systems from Spacesaver are made with all those weapons in mind, and they are also a great fit for ammo and optics, too. Hanel Lean Lifts use vertical lift technology to make the most of available room heights and provide greater storage capacity for parts and equipment on a smaller footprint. Add in Spacesaver shelving and high-density storage systems, and you have a great combination of space saving storage options for all of the various stuff (from large to small) that needs to be stored – while limiting possible SNAFU’s along the way.

Storing a wide range of stuff is not limited to our armed forces though. In our mission to put an end to the tyranny of stuff, we find organizations everywhere that wrestle with the same issue – how to store all of their varied stuff in less space. And often the answer is not one storage solution but a combination of multiple solutions that solves the problem. And strikes a blow to the tyranny. Hooah!

(The photos to the left highlight multiple storage solutions we have provided at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. For more information on military storage solutions from Spacesaver, visit Spacesaver Military Storage Solutions .)

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Good news for Revit users! Spacesaver has added Rotary File Cabinet models to their Revit object library. You can visit the Spacesaver Design Resources area here to download the new models. In addition to Rotary Storage, you can also find models for Mobile Storage, Cantilever Shelving, Lockers and Evidence Storage.

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The dictionary defines a herbarium as (1) a collection of dried plants systematically arranged, or (2) a room or building in which such a collection is kept. We also see it as another opportunity to store unusual stuff. We know that high-density mobile shelving is great for storing flat files. Who knew that it would be a great application for storing flattened plant specimens! The herbarium at the University of South Florida in Tampa, which opened in 1956, stores over 250,000 plant specimens from all over the world. A quarter of a million unique plants – amazing! And they add between 2,000 and 4,000 new specimens each year. Some they find and log themselves from their backyard, while they receive others from one of their over 100 herbaria partners around the world (as a member of an exchange program). As part of the program, they received a rare Rhodesian plant with only two leaves. Now that is unusual!

It looks like there may be a secret to winning NCAA men’s basketball championships. Back in December we told you the story about On-court rivals that share an off-court storage solution. At the time, the UNC Tarheels were the defending NCAA champs, but we didn’t see the connection. With Duke’s victory last week sealing up their NCAA championship run, the connection became much clearer. Duke and UNC both have Spacesaver high-density mobile shelving systems for their basketball operations storage, and they have won the last two championships. Mars Blackmon thought it was the shoes, but maybe it’s the storage. We’ll have to wait until next April to find out for sure.

To that end, the Broward County (FL) Library System and Nova Southeastern University did something unique. They partnered together to build the largest library in Florida – the five-story, 325,000 sq. ft. Alvin Sherman Library and Information Technology Center. This multi-use facility is run by the university and houses a full service academic library, public library, classrooms, computer labs, study rooms, exhibition gallery and an auditorium. The entire facility is open to Broward County residents as well as university students, faculty and staff. This is a true case of public and private sector working together for the common good.

Now, back to the question of space. Spacesaver high-density electrical mobile shelving was used on several floors of the library for both the public and academic library storage. These systems nearly doubled the capacity for their book storage. It makes you wonder how much larger this building would’ve been without them! Because this facility is open to everyone, safety and ease of use were a top priority during the design of these systems. The touch button controls make the systems intuitive to operate. The safety system can sense if someone is in an aisle, lock that aisle open and then reset itself to be moved again after that person leaves. It can also sense if someone enters an aisle that is being closed, and stop the aisle from closing. Completely safe…consistently simple.

These days it seems rare to see the public and private sectors agree, much less come together to build for the common good. When it comes to storage, however, everyone is on the same page – how do you fit more stuff in less space? Broward County and Nova Southeastern kept it simple. High-density mobile storage from Spacesaver. The perfect answer for political harmony…and stuff matters.

( To the Left are some photos from this project. If you would like to learn more about library storage you can visit Spacesaver’s Library Solutions site here. )

From syringes and needles to tape and dressings, there are plenty of small patient care items to store. Spacesaver tackled this need for bin storage, but also created a system to house shelves, work surfaces, slat walls, pegs and other productivity boosting storage options. Plus, by being modular, easily adjustable and adaptable, FrameWRX invites change. It exists for flexibility and re-purposing – just the kind of traits that healthcare facilities look for. But the need for small stuff storage spans way beyond just healthcare. Libraries, military bases, public safety departments and business offices have all benefitted from FrameWRX. Which begs the question, what small stuff are you sweating about?

(The photos to the left are of two of our most recent FrameWRX installations at Presbyterian Hospital Endovascular Lab in Huntersville, NC and Carolinas Medical Center Radiation Oncology Department in Charlotte, NC. Both of them found FrameWRX to be an ideal solution.)