If your office is like many other offices around the world, then floor space is probably at a premium. You may have to maintain hard copies of essential documents, samples, and other various items, but space in storage areas and on shelves is running low. What do you do? Move to a new office to satisfy storage needs? Store documents offsite and pay monthly storage fees until the end of time?
Needless to say, when storage is running low, things can become cluttered and stressful. Even as businesses move to paperless or reduced paper operations, that doesn’t change the fact there could be decades of documents that need to be stored.
And it doesn’t stop at paper documents either. Years of supplier-provided samples, company uniforms or stationary can quickly eat up valuable storage area. For example, our own office must contend with a constant influx of new product brochures and binders of fabric swatches.
This is where high-density storage comes into play. As storage space begins to run low, businesses need to think creatively, and high-density storage is often the answer. In this blog, we will discuss the features and benefits of high-density storage to help you determine if this method of storing documents and other types of items is right for your office.
What is High-Density Storage?
High-density storage is a storage solution that makes the most of the space available. These storage solutions are designed to have a minimal footprint while still being able to store a large volume of goods or documents.
The idea is that by implementing a high-density storage solution, businesses can use their space more efficiently, creating additional storage space while reducing the required footprint, all without taking the expensive step of moving to a larger office.
Chances are you have seen high-density storage in the past without realizing it. This storage comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Many doctor’s offices utilize high-density storage for patient files that need to be maintained and securely stored.
Doctor’s offices often prefer document storage solutions that are large filing shelves that can roll along a track, allowing doctors or nurses to access the row of files they need and compressing the walkways between rows they don’t need, using a fraction of the space a traditional filing system would require.
If you are a parent of a young athlete or you’ve spent time playing sports yourself, then you know how messy and cluttered a locker room can become. High-density storage solutions aren’t just for paper documents, binders, and folders. Sports teams and recreation facilities can use high-density storage to help free up space within cramped locker rooms and help keep athletes organized.
High-Density Storage Saves Time
According to research, employees spend 19% of their day searching for information. In many cases, this information may come in the form of paper documents in their office. That is an enormous drain on time and productivity that could be resolved by merely improving storage and filing practices.
Think about your most productive employees and what they could do if you waved a wand and magically made them 10 to 15 percent more productive. Sounds great, right?
The good news is that you don’t need a magic wand. Not only is searching through a mess of poorly-stored documents a substantial waste of time but storing documents offsite can also be very time-consuming.
Employees have to organize files to be sent offsite or deliver the files themselves. Once the file is required, the employee has to wait for delivery or pick it up themselves. What if the documents needed were just a few steps away and easily organized within a high-density storage unit? Document storage would be far less frustrating and time-consuming.
High-Density Storage Saves Money
Speaking of offsite storage, not only is it time consuming and inconvenient, but it also costs a lot of money to store documents securely. Even climate-controlled self-storage units, the most affordable of offsite storage methods, can cost upwards of $200 per month.
Professional, secured document storage is significantly more costly than a self-storage unit. Businesses with minimal storage needs could be paying thousands of dollars per year for offsite storage.
There are also cost benefits beyond just the cost of storage itself. By freeing up floor space within an office, high-density storage gives greater flexibility to businesses. This space can be used for new staff as the organization expands, developed into a collaboration space, or turned into a client lounge area. The possibilities are endless and, best of all, your business doesn’t need to move into a new, larger, and more expensive location.
In contrast, high-density storage is simply a one-time, up-front cost. While the purchase and installation of high-density storage solutions can add up, the recurring monthly cost reductions quickly make the investment worthwhile.
Over time, as businesses eliminate the need for offsite storage, increase the productivity of their employees, and make better use of existing space without having to move; high-density storage proves to be the best value option for storing items and documents.
Simplify and Improve Storage
High-density storage is the perfect solution for businesses who want a streamlined, cost-effective solution to their storage woes. By bringing in a high-density storage solution, you can both reduce your storage costs and improve productivity.
Still wondering if high-density storage is the right solution for your business? Request your free consultation, and we can walk you through the options, show you real-life examples of successful installations, and answer any other questions you may have.
Cory Porteous
Marketing Manager
Office Interiors
