News of lorry parks being built to cope with the delays across the channel will be worrying to any business that relies on stock being delivered via the EU and from further afield. With storage space at a premium and a severe lack of warehouse space, it is tempting for small and medium sized business owners to keep a higher volume of stock on their premises, (when it is available) to see them through periods where there might be supply chain issues.
Often, the best way of maximising stockroom space is to keep building upwards and make the most of the space between the top of the shelves and the ceiling, but this comes with the issue of access to that area and that it can be done safely, and in many cases, by a single person. If you have tall racking and shelving you need a decent ladder to reach those high up shelves, but in a small stockroom this can be easier said than done.
The Roundstep Kickalong step, is part of the furniture in a stockroom or retail environment. These provide easy height access and can be moved even when your hands are full. The pressure locking castors stop the unit moving when there is a weight on it, so you don't need to worry about it sliding away from you, and they're also the right height to be used as a seat, making them perfectly suited to a stockroom environment.
There is a limit to how high you can reach with a kick along step, so you will need a stepladder to access those higher shelves. The Abru chrome step stool with three rungs is fantastic for a stockroom environment, as the deep treads make standing on the ladder for prolonged periods a doddle, (perhaps while doing a stocktake or sorting out items on the shelves), and the handrail at the top allows for better balance and something to support the user at every stage of their ascent and descent. When the Abru step stool is folded it can fit in a space just 12cm wide, so it's idea for keeping behind a door, out of the way, when not in use.
If you have a larger stockroom with the space for purpose built warehouse steps, then the Klime-ezee tilt and move safety steps are ideal for the medium sized stockroom. These are easy to move around and safe to use solo, (although it is always best to have someone else present when using a ladder, we recognise that this isn't always feasible for small business owners and sole traders, so we would encourage the use of the safest access method possible). The wheels are lifted off the ground when the steps are in their functional position, and only make contact with the ground when the unit is tipped towards the user. Deep, non-slip treads with a rubber or PVC coating mean these are safe to use even in environments where moisture or grease may be present, such as food processing and mechanical repair environments.
The tilt and move steps are available with 2, 3 or 4 treads and in all cases have a handrail at the top for stability for the user. They are available in a range of colours, which is a real benefit for food processing use, as the ladder for certain areas can be colour coded for the area of use, for example red for raw meat, blue for raw fish and yellow for cooked produce. Even if you don't need a particular colour for this reason, you could still choose your favourite colour just for fun.
Larger stockrooms may require warehouse steps with extra reach and a wider platform at the top, but it is always best to consider where the steps will sit while not in use – if they can't be moved and stored out of the way, you'll end up with poor access to the lower and middle shelves because the steps are in the way, so do measure up, or even make a template of the footprint of your chosen steps, to see how it moves around your stockroom floor.
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