Epic Fail – When An Office Renovation Ignored Document Storage Needs

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Although planning began back in 2008 for the renovation of the Marble Palace, as Augusta, Georgia’s, municipal building is known, the current execution of the design has left storage in a serious muddle. In a recent meeting with the project architects, Commission Clerk Lena Bonner asked, “Why is it that my storage space, my access to my records, has to be at four and five different places?” Commissioners voiced concerns about the security of records as well as the scattered placement of records storage, and pointed fingers at the local architect whose space plans seem to be creating more problems than solutions: http://bit.ly/1hIYlLr

Sounds like a job for High-Density Storage Man…!

 

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 Photo © mario beauregard – Fotolia.com

When Assumptions Meet Reality: The Truth About High Density Storage

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Ugly, expensive, inefficient…that’s what people always assume about high-density storage systems. But after a closer look, they frequently quote the movie Casablanca: “I was misinformed.”

Myth 1. It’s expensive

REALITY – Do the math. High-density mobile storage, at $2-3 per storage inch, is actually cheaper than traditional lateral files at $5-6 per storage inch.

Myths 2 & 3. It’s inefficient and restrictive

REALITY – In an 18’x30’ space, a high-density mobile system increased storage capacity by a whopping 316%. And it’s not just for storing documents; almost anything, from baseball bats to archaeological artifacts, can be shelved in high-density storage systems.

Myth 4. It’s unsafe

REALITY – It’s not just for the first floor any more. Thanks to good engineering, the floor rails of mobile storage systems spread the weight over a large area, making the systems safe for use on upper floors.

Myth 5. It’s ugly

REALITY – Today’s high-density mobile storage offers modern, clean lines and the ability to customize finishes to complement the highest of high style designs. Custom paint? Graphics? No problem!

Welcome to the truth – and beauty – of high density storage.

 

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 Statistics–J. Weber Photo © Andrey Kuzmin – Fotolia.com

Vintage Police Photographs from the LAPD’s Storage Archives

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When Los Angeles Police Department reserve officer Merrick Morton and LAPD historian Lt. John Thomas began researching historic criminology photos, they didn’t expect to find a treasure trove of stunning black-and-white images dating back to the 1920’s, systematically stored in the vast 47,500 square foot Los Angeles City Records Center. The LAPD’s Special Investigations Division was the nation’s first crime lab – the precursor of CSI – and photography was a standard part of their forensics procedures as far back as 1925. Hundreds of boxes of case files, each with their accompanying evidence photos, were discovered in the Records Center, and Morton and Thomas have now preserved some of the best images as noir style art photos.

Recording events ranging from the Onion Fields gangster killings to the arrest of the notorious Manson family, these photographs are considered to be exceptional examples of historical art. Selected examples were recently included in the prestigious Paris Photo exhibition, and prints can be seen at Morton’s gallery: http://www.fototeka.com/lapd/index.html. These extraordinary images could easily have been lost or destroyed if not for the efforts of Morton, Thomas, and the dedicated document storage pros of the L.A. City Records Center.

 

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 Photo © aruba2000 – Fotolia.com

From Museum Storage to Exhibition: The Story of an Artifact’s Travelling Companion

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You may have sat next to one of them on a transatlantic flight, or walked behind one of them on the way to baggage claim, or stood in line with one of them at Customs. You didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but these people were members of an exclusive and little-known clan: the art couriers. When museums loan their fine art or rare historical artifacts to other museums, they call on the services of professional art couriers to accompany the items from storage to exhibition venue. Each courier develops specialized skills; for example, Lynn Grant, who wrote this story, is a rigging expert and is often hired to travel with heavy, bulky artifacts: http://bit.ly/1iHdiHv

As Grant points out, it seems like a glamorous job, but if you’ve ever experienced a delayed flight or a visa issue, imagine how the problems would multiply if you were responsible for the safe arrival of priceless works of art. Nevertheless, for art experts with itchy feet, it can be an ideal career!

 

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 Photo © Elnur – Fotolia.com

Air Force Boots Get Their Marching Orders From RFID

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When you’re shipping thousands of pairs of military boots each month, as combat footwear supplier Wellco does, shipping errors can get expensive; to quote a famous senator, “Pretty soon you’re talking about real money!” So when Wellco made the commitment to RFID, they jumped in with both feet. Each and every pair of boots Wellco makes for the Air Force gets an RFID tag, while cloud-based software tracks the order. RFID scanners identify and verify the contents of shipping cartons, and further down the line, additional RFID tags identify the cartons assembled on pallets, adding another layer of order verification. Senior Network Administrator David Mason reports greater fulfillment efficiency and a considerable reduction in expensive order errors. Read the whole story: http://bit.ly/1hIik7f

 

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 Photo © michaklootwijk – Fotolia.com

Rising Cost of Commercial Real Estate – Are You Feeling the Squeeze?

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Eight months ago, The Kiplinger Report predicted a steady increase in the cost of commercial real estate in the U.S.: http://bit.ly/1iIDjfi Prime office space was forecast to increase by 2.6% in 2013, and 2.8% in 2014. Warehouse space, too, was predicted to rise by 2.6% in 2014. Have these predictions turned out to be true? What’s your experience? How are you managing to fit more into less?

 

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 Photo © mariiya – Fotolia.com

Working in a Fishbowl, and Five Other Trends in Laboratory Design

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People are naturally voyeuristic. It’s a trait which reality television has taken advantage of for some time. Now other industries, from restaurants to research labs, are turning this human habit into an opportunity for better management and positive public relations by showcasing their workplace processes in “fishbowl” facilities. As Jennifer Webb states in Lab Manager Magazine, research labs benefit from this new openness in several ways: Investors and others can see and appreciate the lab’s capabilities; regulators can observe the lab in action without disturbing ongoing research; and natural light improves researchers’ productivity – an important factor for both cost control and employee retention.

Of course, the fishbowl trend has implications for space utilization, storage, and workstation aesthetics. Webb discusses six new trends in lab design which enhance the public face of research labs while keeping infrastructure costs in check: http://bit.ly/1ueF3R7

 

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 Photo © vangert- Fotolia.com

Can Automation Systems Keep Customers Happy AND Save Money?

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Remember the old days, when you’d send in your Lucky Charms box tops for a magic ring, and the order form said you’d get your ring in six to eight weeks? In Kid Time, six to eight weeks was forever. We wanted that magic ring right away!

Maybe it was the memory of that “want it now” feeling that spurred the development of modern material handling systems capable of routinely delivering shipments in just one to five days. These dramatically reduced fulfillment times are due in large part to automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). In addition to improved efficiency, AS/RS improves space utilization through increasing storage density, both vertically and horizontally. It can be a great way to keep real estate costs under control. Chelsea Tarr discusses the benefits in MHLnews: http://bit.ly/1jdR44l

So, kids, send in your box tops now, and that AS/RS system will ship your ring in just a few minutes!

 

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 Photo © Eva Vargyasi – Fotolia.com

When A Good Storage System Can Be A Matter Life And Death

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When police investigators examine a crime, they collect bits and pieces of evidence by the dozen, everything from DNA evidence to the proverbial “smoking gun.” Every item has to be catalogued and stored for the use of detectives and courts, and without a well-organized high density storage system, key evidence can go missing. In cases involving capital murder, missing evidence can send the wrong person to death row, or set a murderer free. Evidence expert John Vasquez discusses several such cases in a story for The Austin Chronicle, including that of accused murderer Hank Skinner and the blood-stained jacket that could exonerate him, or send him to death row – a jacket which has disappeared from the police evidence room: http://bit.ly/1mAK3h0

 

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 Photo © filipemfrazao – Fotolia.com

Where Did It Go…?

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Have you ever had that bewildering experience of going to a favorite restaurant or familiar landmark or retail store, only to find that it’s no longer there? If you go to Olpin Group’s headquarters in Yorba Linda, you’ll have that same experience – because Olpin Group has moved.

On March 17, 2014, we relocated to spacious new headquarters at 3520 E. Enterprise Drive, Anaheim, California 92807. Thanks to our clients old and new, we’re experiencing an ever-growing demand for storage solutions ranging from mobile filing and automated retrieval systems to wall lifts and RFID.

Even the high-density storage experts can find themselves running out of room!

 

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 Photo © Karen Gunther