If you are short on floor space but still need everything to hand, mobile shelving is usually the answer. It puts the same amount of storage into a much smaller footprint by getting rid of the wasted aisles between static shelving bays. Instead of an aisle at every bay, the bays sit on tracks and roll together, so you only open the one aisle you actually need.
Mobile shelving mounts shelving bays onto wheeled carriages that run on floor tracks. The bays close up against each other when not in use, and you wind or push the one you want to open. Because you no longer need a permanent aisle at every bay, a room that held, say, six static bays with six aisles can often hold far more shelving in the same space, or the same shelving in roughly half the room.
That is the whole point of it: you are buying back the floor that fixed aisles waste. In a stockroom, archive or parts store where space is tight and rent is not cheap, that trade is an easy one to justify.
It earns its keep where floor space is limited and stock is accessed regularly but not constantly. Archives, records, medical and laboratory stores, spares and consumables all suit it well. If every item is picked every few minutes by several people at once, static shelving with open aisles may flow better. But for the far more common case, occasional access to a lot of stored items, mobile shelving wins on space every time.
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A fair question, because static shelving costs less per bay. The honest way to decide is to work out the cost of the floor space you would free up. If you are paying for a bigger unit, or turning away stock because you have run out of room, the space mobile shelving hands back often pays for the system in a couple of years. If floor space genuinely is not a constraint, static shelving is the cheaper call and there is no shame in it.
For heavier or palletised storage the answer is different again, and you are into pallet racking or vertical storage racks territory rather than shelving.
Get those right and mobile shelving is one of the most cost-effective ways to expand storage without expanding the building.
What is mobile shelving?
Shelving mounted on wheeled carriages that run on floor tracks, so bays close together and open only where you need access. It removes fixed aisles and stores far more in the same floor area.
How much space does mobile shelving save?
By removing an aisle at every bay and keeping just one movable aisle, mobile shelving can roughly double storage capacity in the same footprint, depending on the layout.
Is mobile shelving suitable for heavy items?
Yes, within the rated load per shelf and per bay. For palletised or very heavy loads, pallet racking or vertical storage racks are usually the better fit.
Does mobile shelving need special flooring?
It needs a level, sound floor for the tracks to run on. Most commercial floors are fine, but very uneven or damaged floors may need attention first.
