The problem
A firm in the Bay Area called us recently to see if we could solve an upcoming record management filing problem. The space set aside for record storage in a pending move was much smaller than their existing space. Could we help?
The client has legal files, currently stored in Pendeflex folders in lateral and vertical cabinets. They have four, 42” wide, 5-drawer lateral cabinets and 40, 25” deep, legal width 4-drawer vertical file cabinets. The file cabinets are full of files with about 1 Pendeflex holder per 2 filing inches. We calculated they have about 4,611 filing inches of records (12 filing inches per foot). Although spread out in their current facility, these 4 lateral filing cabinets and 40 vertical filing cabinets would need to be stored in a room about 20 feet by 15 feet in the new location (or about 300 square feet). Over time, the cost of the 4 lateral file cabinets and 40 vertical filing cabinets was about $16,000 that works out to about $3.50 per filing inch.
Space Needed for Existing Filing Cabinets
Since the client only had a 15 foot by 12 foot room in the new location that could be dedicated to corporate records, the client called upon us for a solution.
The Solution
High Density Storage will come to this client’s rescue. A 15 foot by 12 foot room can be outfitted with a high density mobile storage system with 1 fixed shelving unit and 4 movable shelving units. Each carriage holds a 76” tall, 7 opening, legal depth filing shelf unit. By converting to side tab filing (the professional way to store records), taking advantage of space above eye level, and eliminating wasted space (aisles), the high density system will store 6,076 filing inches in this small space, a 39% increase over the current filing capacity of their lateral and vertical cabinets. Plus, an added benefit, this solution only requires 180 square feet of space, 39% less than the alternative 20 x 15.
High Density Storage Plan
Another benefit of this solution is the elimination of the Pedeflex hanging files. Eliminating the Pendeflex hanging files freed up an additional 242 filing inches, the equivalent of almost 2 ½ vertical file cabinets. RefBPCH-0006
The investment required to install this system the high density mobile system is about $20,700. So while the investment amount is more (about 29%), there is more storage capacity (about 39%) and the space requirement is less. This solution works out to about $3.40 per filing inch. And the customer continues to get the benefit of reduced space by lower lease rates and building costs such as heating and air conditioning.
You can see a quick 50 second video of the moving aisle high density storage system concept at
Call us for a personalized recommendation to save you space
If your organization is running out of record storage space (or any storage space), give us a call at 408-656-1709. We provide a no obligation assessment within a day or two and can often double or even triple the items you can store in the square footage you already have.
