The modern office environment places great demands on space management and efficiency with storage, employee comfort, and health and safety all major considerations. All these aspects call for better designed and organised workspaces and the increased demand for storage space within the workplace requires office designers and managers to find more workable solutions to create the best – and most efficient – work environment possible. Here are aspects of office storage solutions for you to consider:
Clear Workspace
For any office space to be organised and efficient it must be tidy and free of ‘clutter’ and the starting point of a clutter-free office is your desk! The office desk is where the bulk of the work is performed and where you will spend most time, so it needs to be organised and clear. Make full and efficient use of the office drawers and different compartments provided with the furniture to ensure the actual worktop surface is as clear as possible – keep the items you need/use the most in the top drawer for easy access and store the least used items in the bottom drawer (space permitting). There are different styles and sizes of office desks available, so choose desks that will be the most practical for the space you have. The bigger desks with many compartments obviously offer you more storage capacity within the desk itself, but using a minimal office desk will free-up more floor space in the office for other storage facilities or containers. With the rise in home and hybrid working, many offices now have standing desks, thus creating more storage space.
Shelving
Seems an obvious suggestion for storage, but how you position and use the shelving can make a big difference. Shelving is ideal for office supplies, files, books, and other documentation and can be installed and organised as you wish within the shape and capacity of your office space. Open shelving offers easy access to whatever is stored on them, and shelves are ideal solutions to otherwise ‘empty space’ within an office – they can be installed in awkward spaces, and corner shelving units are easily fitted to ensure all possible space is of practical use!
Mobile Storage
Different forms of mobile storage has become popular – where many offices may have fixed storage units in place which when full, or items need to be moved for archiving purposes, the storage units need to be emptied and the items stored elsewhere – by employing mobile units they can simply be moved to another location without the need for emptying or disturbing the actual items! Mobile pedestal units and rolling carts are good examples of the mobile storage available – another advantage of which is their mobility makes them extremely versatile – they can be moved to any location when reorganisation takes place, or if space needs to be created on a temporary basis for a specific project/period, as well as making the office space easier to clean thoroughly as they allow access to all the floor space!
Vertical Space
Often an overlooked source of space in an office is the height – whilst most floor space will be taken up with standing cabinets, desks, and such, often much of the wall space goes unused! We have already discussed the different kinds of shelving that can be installed against the walls, but you should also consider racking and using the full height of the office. Storage installed higher up the walls is ideal for the lighter items in the office and by simply purchasing a set of ‘library ladders’, all the space can be practically and safely accessed! By using a combination of both the vertical and horizontal spaces available you can greatly increase the storage capacity of any office!
Organised Space
If creating an office ‘from scratch’ as such, then designing a proper layout will give an office workspace a great aesthetic look, as well as providing the most efficient and effective environment for all aspects of work including organised storage. The layout should be flexible and, if incorporating some of the mobile storage elements we mentioned, it will then be adaptable and ‘future-proofed’ to accommodate changing requirements within the business.
Modular Storage
Whilst the traditional shelving, racking and storage units are useful storage solutions, they are not easily ‘upgraded’ – consider modular office furniture which will allow you to increase storage capacity as and when required, by simply adding another module component to the existing installation. These modular units are also versatile as they can be easily moved or rearranged to suit changing requirements within the business environment.
Off-Site Storage
There are many reasons why office storage may become an issue through being cluttered and inefficient – the business may have grown, stock accumulated, and increased paperwork and administration requirements can lead to limited and inefficient use of space. Another consideration is to rent a business storage unit – these professionally managed and secure storage facilities are ideal for storing important archived paperwork and records, along with other office equipment and supplies, ‘freeing-up’ vital office space and allowing you to establish a better organised, efficient, practical, and generally enhanced workplace for yourself and your employees.
