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4 mobile shelving myths that won’t go away
10th December 2024
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We’ve been harping on about the benefits of mobile shelving for some time now, and the advantages it offers in many situations are undeniable. Yet while it has found widespread use in certain sectors such as medical facilities and libraries, it is yet to take hold as a broader trend across multiple industries.
There are multiple factors at play here, including that it isn’t always the best choice for every organisation. Yet as well as a lack of awareness, there are many misconceptions about what mobile shelving is, how it works, and how it can be applied – from the capacity and aesthetics of the shelving to the types of items it can store.
1. Mobile shelving requires a lot of space
This is one of the most common myths we encounter about mobile shelving, and one of the most illogical. As we often reiterate, the chief benefit of mobile shelving is that it saves space. Mobile shelving units compact shelves together, with only one aisle needing to be created between the shelves you want to access. The shelves are separated, items are retrieved, and then they are compacted back together.
Yet despite this, many people look at the large size of some mobile shelving systems and think that this is a design limitation. The implication is that because the shelves can be rolled apart on floor-mounted rails, this means that the system gets bigger, eating up space in a room. In fact, the ability to compress the shelves means they store more than equivalently sized static shelving units – and can fit the same amount of storage into a smaller space.
In reality, mobile shelving can be as small or as large as you need it to be. This includes not only the typical floor-mounted mobile shelving, but also slide-a-side mobile shelving, or compact shelving units that rotate in place. The objective is to provide as much storage as possible in whatever form factor an organisation needs – matching the system to their precise space limitations and storage requirements.
2. Mobile shelving isn’t adaptable
When someone sees mobile shelving for the first time, or learns of the concept, they will often have certain preconceived notions. One of them is about what can be stored in mobile shelving, and how the movement of the shelving relates to this. They might for instance believe that nothing awkwardly-sized or delicate can be placed on the shelving, because it might be jostled or topple over as the shelves open up.
The truth is that there’s very little which can’t be adapted to fit on mobile shelving. The primary limitation is simply the size of the shelving, with extremely large and heavy objects generally not being a good fit. Delicate objects however are often stored in mobile shelving, and with great success. We’ve provided mobile shelving systems for museums to store priceless artefacts, and for extremely sensitive and valuable document storage.
Either with hand or electronic operation, our mobile shelving units part smoothly and with minimal friction, with no jostling of items inside. Mobile shelving also confers major benefits for storing sensitive items, including the ability to shield items from direct sunlight, to lock them away from illegal or unwanted access, and to more easily apply climate control. The shelving inside meanwhile can be easily adapted to carry many different sizes and types of items, from direct adaptations to the provision of trays, rails, boxes and other accessories.
3. Mobile shelving isn’t aesthetically pleasing
One criticism is less practical or tangible than most: that mobile shelving simply doesn’t look right. Traditional shelving units are said to lend an aesthetic quality to workplaces which are increasingly focused on improving the employee experience, and providing an inviting and homely environment to work in. Mobile shelving units – perhaps by their association with medical centres and GP surgeries – can be seen as looking too surgical.
This belief ignores a few things. One is that mobile shelving is highly customisable, from the practical features inside to the look outside. We offer our mobile shelving in a range of colours and configurations, with the ability to customise the unit to fit an organisation’s brand colours and identity. Just as importantly, however, we also look to build mobile shelving that works for the people within an organisation.
While aesthetics are valuable in the workplace, so is usability, and this is where mobile shelving triumphs. Mobile shelving is extremely easy to operate, and makes it easier to find what you’re looking for, making things easier for employees. It also allows you to concentrate your storage in one or two locations, rather than across many different rooms or areas – improving productivity and reducing the frustration of hunting for the things you need.
4. It isn’t right for every organisation
The successful implementation of mobile shelving in several different sectors should be evidence that it offers benefits for many businesses. Yet a common problem with any product that is particularly visible in a handful of industries is a sort of ‘typecasting’, where the perception is that it solves a problem unique to those businesses, or only works under certain, specific conditions. The same claim has been levied at mobile shelving: that it simply doesn’t make sense and offer sufficient benefits for an office building, a production facility, a warehouse, or some other application.
Mobile shelving will not be the best solution for every storage requirement. Our sister division, Invicta Racking, speaks to this. Different organisations have different storage requirements, and mobile shelving isn’t always the right fit – whether that’s in terms of the items being stored, the throughput of storage and retrieval, or fully utilising the available space. But instead of looking at the stereotype of where mobile shelving is commonly utilised, organisations should be looking at what it can offer them.
Mobile shelving systems can be built to spec in different sizes and formats, with different access options, in different colours, and to securely store many different items. The only commonality in all of these designs is the fundamental advantage of mobile shelving as a format: saving space compared to traditional static shelving. Less space required for shelving and faster access times mean more space for more storage or for other applications, and more efficient use of that storage. This is the bottom line, and it applies to every organisation that uses traditional shelving or filing cabinets – even if mobile shelving had never crossed your mind.
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Mobile shelving may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re considering storage for your business, but it’s a surprisingly adaptable, versatile, and highly efficient format. We hope the points above have highlighted the many ways mobile shelving can be applied – and how Invicta Mobile Shelving can help you solve your storage problems. To learn more, get in touch with us today.
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