File storage and document storage, especially when be archived or stored with a company that specialises in information storage is made easier with the use of barcodes. In point of fact, barcodes have revolutionised industry and retail worldwide.
The concept of tracking things automatically was first investigated in 1932. A team of students at Harvard University explored the concept of using punched cards to select items from a catalogue given to the customer. The idea was explored by others for some years later, but unfortunately it was later abandoned in the end because the required technology was not available at the time. These days barcodes are a vital part of many file storage systems.
This year, 2010, will mark the 58th anniversary of the first barcode that was patented by two Americans, Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. However this patent was for a ‘bull’s eye’ type of concentric circles design rather than the familiar set of straight lines used now. The research into how to produce an efficient system of tracking items no matter where they were used began with a remark overheard quite by chance.
Silver, a graduate of an Institute of Technology in Philadelphia, heard a local food store chain boss ask one of the Institute’s deans for a method of automatically reading the information about any item of produce. So Silver and Woodland in 1948, began to test different methods of doing this, including the use of inks that glowed under ultra-violet light. However, this method proved to be unreliable and too expensive for commercial use.
Although many people just view lounge, bedroom, kitchen and bathroom doors as objects to keep in the warmth and provide privacy when needed. The enterprising person sees a way of storing things away. In the kitchen, for example, the under the sink cupboard door can be converted into a rubbish bin by the simple addition of a frame from which to hang a carrier bag. Not only giving a little extra floor space in the kitchen but also a way of recycling your shopping bags. Shelving can be affixed to the wall for extra storage of crockery or spices.
The storage of seasonal items is always a nightmare, gloves, wool caps, scarves, mittens which are not needed during the warmer weather which occasionally occurs in Britain, are sometimes thrown into drawers never to be seen again.
A better idea would be to hang a shoe or sock storage rack from the back of the spare bedroom or cellar door and store them away there, ready to be used again in the cold weather.
Coat racks that can be hung from the door are also available as are single coat hooks. These hooks may also be used as a place to suspend a multiple clothes hanger. These particular hangers are ideal for the storage of ties, trousers or sports gear.
A shoe rack hung on the inside of the bathroom door may also be utilised as a perfect place to store extra toilet rolls, bathroom cleaning items, spare face flannels and shower gel or bath salts. In the kitchen a similar storage could be used for kitchen cleaning items.
More than ever before, companies have become concerned about managing their content. By content, I am referring to information. A great deal of information in an average organisation is unstructured. Office documents, paper documents, images, computer generated reports, email and web content for example.
In the past, effectively managing document and file storage was simply a matter of having an efficient filing system and plenty of storage shelves.
Information Technology has caused a massive increase in the volume of data and organisations need to put strategies in place to keep control of this information so that it can be made best use of. Companies also need to make sure the information is not a liability to them and they can reduce the cost of storing it as much as possible.
Quite a lot of the unstructured content is what is termed ‘fixed content’ – information in its final form. The content will not change, but information about the content might change during its life span. Other content types are created as dynamic content objects, office documents and web content for instance. This simply means that they will be changed or modified over a period of time. However, eventually, much dynamic content becomes fixed as well.
Since most unstructured information is fixed or will become fixed, it seems logical for a company to seek storage solutions for fixed rather than dynamic content. Fixed content management solutions can deal with the costs and challenges associated with distribution and access to data using paper-based or microfiche methods.
In all environments that need storage shelving systems, the buyer of the shelving system need to take into consideration; the suitability of the shelving unit for his or her particular needs, how long it will last and how versatile the system is.
Typically there are several solutions to this problem. For example, low profile shelving systems will help the buyer who needs to make the best use of vertical storage space and will need to access his or her stored items quickly and efficiently. Usually the shelves in one of these systems will have a load bearing capacity of up to 800 lb. This capacity will depend upon the steel gauge and the size of the shelf selected. There may be widths of up to 48 inches available.
Wide profile shelving systems will be ideal for longer spans. The shelving may be made of chipboard or steel wire mesh. These units are capable of coping with very demanding storage needs. Load capacities, again depend on the size of the shelf and are up to 2500 lb. The shelf widths available are up to 96 inches.
For businesses, especially small retailers, that may have a tight budget to stick to, there are also available, channel beam shelving systems that include a special v-beam design that will give heavy duty support for shelves. These systems will be useful for a good many storage solutions in stock rooms and warehouses without breaking the buyer’s budget. The warehouse or shopkeeper can also use them in conjunction with storage boxes.
The one place in the garage that is probably disregarded more often than any others as a storage space is the ceiling. For example, it is the perfect place to store bicycles while they’re not being used. Seasonal items such as skis, snowboards, tents and camping equipment could be placed in this storage space. If you have a storage box for the car-roof that is only ever used on holidays then the garage ceiling might prove to be an ideal storage place for it. The Christmas tree, lights and decorations would be another ideal collection of seasonal things to be stored here as well. Ladders are another item that could also be easily stored under the ceiling.
Manual hoists with load bearing capacities from 45 lb to 250 lb are available with both single and double pulley systems although typically only the lighter load bearing hoists would employ a single pulley system. You could also use a hoist to secure a purpose built rack that can be lifted and lowered to store your smaller items. Electric hoists are also available and are typically very easy to install and use.
For a more permanent solution, several sizes of platforms are usually available that are lightweight and constructed from steel and steel mesh to make them strong and durable. It is possible to use them to store plastic storage boxes that will hold a variety of small and large items such as children’s toys, document boxes and files and other odds and ends.
In 1978 a company patented a shelving system that was both adjustable and wall-mounted. It consisted of a vertical slotted wall mounted support and shelf support brackets which slipped onto the bar. The support brackets varied in length to hold different depth shelves. The system is easy to mount and has an extremely versatile design in that in can be made use of either as a single shelf or from floor to ceiling.
The original was clever, but it did have some problems. The bars are of an unattractive appearance and the combination of these bars has an unfinished look. As a result of these drawbacks, the systems are mostly used as cheap, utilitarian shelving systems, in for example, garages, garden sheds and other places where appearances are not important.
Another, more important problem was shelf instability. It is possible to displace shelves from brackets and brackets from the bar if accidently knocked from underneath. Situating too much weight on one side of the shelf could cause it to tip over. The brackets themselves could twist around as well if hit.
Another company set out to design a system to solve all of these difficulties, but still be inexpensive and easy to assemble. Another benefit of the new system is that it has an attractive appearance and could be used anywhere in the home.
The new system has a heavy duty steel insert which is similar to the original design but the inserts are cased in plastic and this has solved the twisting problem.
Plastic storage boxes can be put to use in a wide range of areas. Since they are strong, durable and waterproof, they can withstand a great deal of abuse when being used to pack away small items during a house move, for example. In the home itself, plastic storage boxes are useful, depending on their size, for the storing of anything from books, paper or documents to food both in the fridge and the freezer.
The material, plastic, is remarkably versatile and is used in the manufacture of thousands of products, toys, medical equipment and even clothes, for example. In the 1970s, items made out of plastic were thought of as being “cheap and nasty” – the way this attitude has changed as the age of Information Technology has come upon us with PDAs, mobile phones, personal and laptop computers, is truly amazing.
Before the first synthetic plastic was developed, naturally occurring substances such as gutta-percha, derived from the sap of certain trees, shellac, produced from the secretions of a tiny scale insect were used as plastic material. The horns of animals could also be used, but would need to be softened by being boiled in water.
The first synthetic plastic was developed by an American inventor, John Hyatt, in 1869. He found that the plant material cellulose when plasticised with the addition of camphor could be used as a cheap substitute for ivory. The material became known as celluloid and for 30 years was the only plastic of any importance for commercial uses. As a storage solution, plastic boxes are affordable, very practical and can look great too.
Those who have work benches or work tables might want to consider building items of furniture for their children’s bedrooms that are unusual, fun and practical as well.
Bunk beds in the shape of a camper van for example. The design will take up more room than a conventional set of bunk beds. However, although the finished unit will be about 18 inches longer than usual, it will have a large tray on the top deck which will hold a light, a selection of books and soft toys. The bottom deck will hold a writing desk and chair where homework could be done as well as any other tasks; artwork for example, with the budding master artist not making as much mess on the bedroom carpet. Shelves can be fixed to the wall under the bed too for extra storage.
If you want to screw the camper to the wall, it is recommended that you take about ten minutes to decide which way around the camper van should face. You need to make sure that plenty of natural light falls on the surface of the desk. When you have worked this out, it will then be possible to decide in which side to fit the door in order for it to face out into the room.
A fun alternative idea for an only child’s bedroom would be a double decker bus shaped bed. In this case, the bed would go on the top deck. On the bottom deck would be a desk in the driver’s cab and behind that room for toys, school equipment and so forth. Storage solutions for the home which are stylish and practical.
In the workplace, storage is always a problem. Managers need to balance the documents and paperwork to be placed in archive and items that will they will want to be available for day to day use. They should also take into consideration the amount of space taken up by any storage system.
One storage system that may be ideally suited for this purpose consists of a frame with the potential to store as many or as few items as necessary. The frame fits against a wall and once secured will provide a sturdy and yet lightweight basis for the storage.
Several storage units are typically available to be attached to this particular frame. An open storage unit, for example, usually has plenty of room for the storage and organisation of files, documents, envelopes, items of stationery and so forth.
If they are stacked vertically, a lid is only needed for the top unit. Sometimes there is an open storage unit with a fixed centre shelf. This provides more flexibility and better storage for small items.
For the storage of larger items, work wear, tools or reams of photocopy or pc printer paper; there are bulk storage units. Lightweight but strong, these usually have adjustable shelves which may stored flat when not being used.
Wire baskets, made from heavy duty steel mesh are ideal for the storage of items that may need to be easily seen. Bottles, mail and work clothing are some of the things perfect for this sort of storage unit.
Many people now store their video and music collections on disks, either DVD or CD. Some will have downloaded them from the Internet, legally of course, and burnt them to disc so they have a hard copy in case their computer breaks, but now have the problem of storage. If you are an avid collector; your selection of music and video soon begins to take over the room unless you find an effective and space-saving method of storage for them.
Carousel storage racks that have a relatively small footprint with optimal storage of disks are always popular. Racks that fit against the wall on top of your computer desk are also a good way of keeping your collection of downloaded music or video organised and tidy. Sometimes, if you have bought your recordable DVDs in a spindle and stored the recorded videos in a canvas container, the empty spindle can be reused to store your computer media. If you have, for example, a sheet of plastic that would otherwise be thrown out, you could make separators out of it, to keep the disks from being scratched so easily.
As far as video is concerned, a DVD recorder with an installed hard drive will store quite a few hours of films and shows. Although it is a good way of storing the media, these devices can be quite expensive. The more storage time on the hard disk then the more costly it will be. Music can be stored on the PC’s hard drive but has the disadvantage that it takes up room and begins to slow your computer down. It is also useful to have a backup in case your computer malfunctions and all the data is lost so having adequate CD & DVD storage is a must.