Industrial-Grade Outdoor Safety Cabinet Storage

Ultimate Guide to Industrial Outdoor Cabinet Storage

We are all well acquainted with storage cabinets. After all, we all have them in our homes. However, there is also the other type of storage cabinets that are used by myriad industries that we may not know much about. These industrial cabinets are quite different from the regular storage cabinets we use at home on account of their being customized for heavy-duty industrial use.

Difference between Industrial and Regular Storage Cabinets

The very first difference pertains to the scale of use. Quite obviously industrial storage cabinets are built on a much bigger scale than the ones built for homes. Then there is the question of the build which tends to be lighter in the case of regular storage cabinets used at home and much sturdier in the case of cabinets meant for industrial use. Cabinets made for homes are commonly for the indoor type that can store myriad household goods. In technical terms, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) ratings of the cabinets will guide you in choosing for its use, especially if these enclosures will be used to protect electrical wiring or electronic products.

Heavy-Duty Outdoor Safety SolutionsThis is not necessarily true of industrial storage cabinets, where the demand for outdoor cabinet storage is quite substantial, on account of the need to store assets and materials. There are several inherent advantages that industrial storage cabinets possess that result in more efficient operations management. For instance, most businesses, especially those pertaining to large scale projects are required to take stringent measures to prevent theft and pilferage. While large organizations have to ensure that expensive stock is well guarded, even smaller businesses need to secure their assets. Using a metal storage cabinet is a great way of preventing any kind of theft and pilferage at a business site. Equally important is that outdoor cabinet storage helps prevent industrial accidents by enabling the safe storage of machinery and dangerous chemicals.

This prevents the occurrence of industrial accidents and thereby not only makes the workers’ lives safer but also ensure that businesses don’t have to pay any compliance fines or contend with costly lawsuits. With as many as 2.8 million nonfatal and work injuries reported by private industry employers in 2018[1], there is every incentive for industries to make the workplace as safe and secure as is possible. Using outdoor cabinet storage is one of the major ways in which this can be done.

Uses and Benefits of Industrial Outdoor Cabinet Storage

The uses and benefits accruing on account of the use of industrial outdoor cabinet storage are quite a few and very impactful. Let us look at the specific ways in which outdoor cabinet storage can help industries both secure their worksites and considerably enhance efficiency and output:

Storage Cabinets to Avoid Industrial ClutterHelps Avoid Clutter by Organizing Storage

A workplace that has stock lying around will have the employees spend a considerable amount of their time trying to retrieve it, detracting them from carrying out their principal duties. Putting an organized storage system in place helps enhance worker efficiency and ultimately the bottom line of the organization in question. SafeRack Loading Rack Technologies, for instance, makes sturdy outdoor storage cabinets made from heavy-duty 12-gauge steel that can be used to safely store solvents and chemicals and motor oil. They also help in obtaining OSHA compliance for storing fuel and chemicals in their higher gauge steel cabinets.

Storage of Flammable Materials like Paint and Chemicals

It is critically important for flammable materials like paint and chemicals to be stored safely in appropriate outdoor cabinets. One should use what are known as flammable safety cabinets and outdoor chemical storage lockers to safely lock away such materials when not in use. These not only help keep the workplace safe, but they also ensure compliance with strict OSHA guidelines applicable in such cases.

Flammable materials like paints and chemicals have extensive use and applications across industries.  The use of the right kind of outdoor storage cabinets is an absolute must to ensure that there is an efficient and safe deployment of these.

Protection of Expensive Machinery and Tools

There’s a very wide range of machinery and tools used in a large number of industrial sectors that require customized cabinets for their safekeeping and protection. These include items like industrial wrenches, portable magnetic drills, jacks, specialized power tools and various kinds of testing and measurement tools, and so on. Among the companies that make and market these kinds of specialist storage cabinets is SafeRack with its well-established track record of selling the most well regarded commercial and industrial metal supply storage cabinets.

The benefits that accrue to industries and commercial organizations on account of the deployment of industrial outdoor storage cabinets are quite a few. Let’s take a detailed look at what these may be:

Optimal Space Utilization

Every so often businesses that find themselves short of space, do not realize that they can free up a lot of it on their existing premises by the simple expedient of using outdoor storage cabinets which are of the right dimensions. You can optimally utilize large and well-built metal storage cabinets only if they are of the exact measurement required to accommodate the items that require storing. Once you get that right, you will see work efficiency getting exponentially enhanced.

More Organized Functioning

A company’s success is more often than not hinged upon how efficiently it functions. By using metal storage cabinets it ensures that all the tools, equipment and goods required for carrying out a business’s operations in an optimal manner are handy and ready to deploy. This results in much-enhanced efficiency, more so in larger organizations operating across different locations.

The use of such cabinets allows business organizations to organize their inventory efficiently with the help of compartments, labeled cabinets, and shelves. Any professionally run organization worth its while will make full use of the advantage that deployment of metal storage cabinets accords to their business.

The Durability of Metal Cabinets Protects Materials

A workplace site is a tough environment for both men and material. It is just as well that metal cabinets are tough and durable and can provide protection to the materials they store. Besides, they last for a very long time, making investing in these worth every single penny. The best part is that it is quite easy to maintain metal cabinets. All that one needs is a piece of damp cloth to clean these with. If at all these cabinets get rusted on account of the rough conditions in which they are kept, a simple coat of paint will often take care of it.

Portability

An outdoor storage cabinet can be taken from one location to another with comparative ease when compared with something like a shelf, which one may find more difficult to lug around. This provides businesses with considerable flexibility. For instance, one could transport important goods stored in such cabinets simply by moving the latter to the required place.

Flexibility

Outdoor storage cabinets come in myriad shapes and sizes thereby affording you the flexibility to use the kind that ideally suits your specific requirements. A storage cabinet may be designed for holding just documents, paints or hardware or anything else. Some cabinets have removable shelves that provide one with the flexibility of customizing these the way one sees fit.

Time and Cost-Effectiveness

The lack of effective storage has a direct and pronounced negative impact upon the kind of time required and cost accrued in the completion of a project. That, in turn, hurts the bottom line of a company.  Using industrial outdoor storage solutions takes care of this problem effectively and makes productivity and profits soar.

Protection Against Fire, Chemicals & the Weather

The safety of a business’s infrastructure and other physical assets is critically important to a business’s financial viability.  Amongst the biggest threats posed is the risk of fire. A lot of the time this risk is on account of the practice of using indoor storage cabinets in an outdoor environment. Such cabinets are especially ill-equipped to handle flammable goods like paints and chemicals on account of the fact that these are not properly ventilated leading to the buildup of dangerous vapors inside that are susceptible to catching fire or exploding. That this is a real risk is brought to the fore by the following statistics-there were as many as 37,910 fires reported to  U.S. fire departments every year in the 2010 to 2015 time period resulting in 16 civilian deaths and as much as $1.2 billion in direct property damage.[2]

Companies must use the appropriate outdoor storage cabinets that are fire-resistant. There is, in fact, a whole range of such cabinets available that one can use in an outdoor environment. These are of different shapes and configurations like tall cabinets, under-bench cabinets, and recirculating air filter storage cabinets that one can deploy depending upon one’s requirements.

OSHA has prescribed strict guidelines for the storage of chemicals and these are divided into 6 classes with varying flashpoints and boiling points.[3] Chemicals must be stored in the right kind of outdoor chemical storage cabinets. Not only do outdoor storage cabinets protect valuable inventory against loss through theft or damage due to fire, but they also protect against the vagaries of weather as well. Weatherized cabinets that provide total protection against the weather see extensive use across industries, including the critically important power distribution one.

Securing Hazardous Waste

Storing hazardous waste is a very important activity as any spillage can prove to be disastrous.  There could be extensive damage caused to expensive machinery and equipment and serious injury caused to the personnel working on the site. It is an absolute imperative that organizations that handle hazardous waste make a provision for storing it in dedicated hazardous waste storage cabinets.

Substances hazardous to health are known by the acronym COSHH or Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. These need to be stored in COSHH metal storage cabinets to ensure that there is no contamination possible on their account.  Any substance that is reactive, volatile, unstable or corrosive can cause a threat to human safety and is, therefore, best stored away safely in COSHH cabinets. Access to such materials has to be severely restricted and for this purpose, COSHH cabinets come enhanced with reinforced doors and highly secure locks.

 

Common Hazardous Substances Used in ManufacturingSide Effects to Exposure
Ethylene Oxide (Used in manufacturing various industrial chemicals)Chronic exposure causes mutagenic physical changes as well as an impact on reproductive health, cancer, and neurotoxicity. Respiratory problems including lung infections as well as headaches, nausea, headache, cyanosis, and diarrhea are some other outcomes of exposure.
Formaldehyde (Used in the manufacture of resins)Even short-term moderate to high exposure to this known human carcinogen can be fatal to humans. Low-level long-term exposure can lead to eczema and respiratory problems.
Cadmium (A waste product produced by electric arc furnaces used in the metal production industry)

 

Exposure to highly toxic cadmium causes cancer. It affects the body’s reproductive, respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neurological and renal systems.
Toluene (Used in the metal production industry)Exposure to toluene can be through the eyes, skin, breathing and swallowing and can immediately make one sick. Exposure to it in a concentrated form can lead to respiratory problems, loss of consciousness and even death. Pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of toluene may give birth to children with congenital defects.
Methylene Chloride (Used to clean and degrease metal)

 

According to OSHA, this is a potential workplace carcinogen that may cause cancer and negatively impact upon the cardiovascular and central nervous systems as well as the liver if inhaled.
Benzene (Used in petroleum refining)Short term exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness, dizziness, unconsciousness, and death. Long term exposure can impact the production of blood and bone marrow in human beings. It is also known to have caused leukemia in workers who have gone on to die from it.
Butadiene (Used in petroleum refining)According to EPA, Butadiene this can be considered a human carcinogen in the event of long-term exposure. Extremely high levels of exposure are responsible for blurred vision, vertigo, headaches, fatigue, and fainting. It could also damage the central nervous and cardiovascular systems
Hydrogen Sulfide (A by-product of oil and gas refining)Its property of collecting in low lying areas on account of it being heavier than air makes it very dangerous as inhaling it can lead to death. It is not only highly toxic but inflammable as well, making it a clear danger to workers.

Storing and handling hazardous materials

Industrial Applications of Metal Storage Cabinets

Metal storage cabinets lend themselves to extensive use across many industries. That is so on account of their ability to survive in the rough and rugged outdoor environment, like this wardrobe and bin drawer storage cabinet. It is as true of the manufacturing industry, as it is of the construction and oil industry. As a matter of fact, the toughness and versatility of metal storage cabinets see them being used in diverse industrial situations and scenarios. From making automobile dealerships turn in a profit to ensuring that an aircraft supplies business makes the optimal use of its storage space, metal storage cabinets make all the difference. They can make a loss-making business enterprise turn in a profit.

  • Metal storage cabinets are known to turn around bad and hopeless situations in business to efficient and profitable ones. A Maryland based developer of holographic data storage systems was able to put in place a cost-effective and space-efficient system in their new chemistry lab that used cabinets and workbenches of the right kind of strength and quality. Saferack has this state-of-the-art computer cabinet that can protect your machine and data from fire or any accident.
  • A Volvo dealer that makes more money selling parts than automobiles credit their success to the very efficient storage system that they have been able to put into place. That has helped them lower inventory costs, make it faster and more responsive, and better the use of floor space. However, it is truly in the outdoor space that metal storage cabinets prove their worth in the most adverse of circumstances.

Secure your data with a metal computer cabinetSafeRack, for instance, supplies its storage cabinets across industries. These cabinets can store solvents and chemicals, pesticides, janitorial supplies, motor oils, fuel, pool chemicals, pool cleaning supplies- you name it. Their metal storage cabinets are ubiquitous across job sites and plants.  The heavy-duty industrial steel used in their construction makes all the difference and makes them easily withstand all the rigors that they will be subject to in a worksite setting.

It is not surprising therefore that their cabinets are used as garage storage units, metal storing cabinets for supplies at construction sites, and for storing supplies in tool rooms, janitorial spaces, and as well as plan rooms. These cabinets also see use in fuel tank farms to store tools required in certain areas to enable flow control systems.

Storage cabinets are an integral part of worksites across industries and locations, like this metal bin cabinet that has a 3-point locking system for an added layer of safety storage for small parts.  Whether it is an office, industrial warehouse, auto dealership or a healthcare facility storage cabinets make things smooth, efficient, and space. Any business that is worth its name would not only like to conduct its business efficiently it would want that fact to be known to its customers. Making them come to a worksite that is marked by clutter and piled up stock is not going to do the business’s reputation any good. On the other hand, one can impress potential customers with a display of thorough professionalism as exemplified by the proper and secure storage of tools, supplies, and other inventory.

Another very vital application of industrial storage cabinets is in the storing of personal protective equipment. This is critically important, as not doing so might jeopardize the security of personnel and pose a grave risk at construction sites, warehouses, plants, and factories.

Conclusion

The role of outdoor industrial cabinet storage in making businesses across industries run safely as well as efficiently is enormous. From smoothening operations to ensure safe work conditions and from enhancing inventory management to ensuring compliance to industry regulations, industrial cabinet storage renders invaluable service to all manner of industry.

Businesses regardless of the scale of operations would do well to take this aspect of their business seriously, if they intend to make a mark for themselves. Fortunately, there is a large number of outdoor storage solutions available in the market that they can choose from. Any investment that they make in this regard will more than pay for itself shortly. Businesses who have deployed the right kind of outdoor storage solutions swear by its efficiency as some of the examples in this article have shown.

If you run a business and are contemplating going in for an outdoor storage solution, you would be well advised to consult with industry experts like SafeRack. They would be able to guide you on the exact nature and type of storage cabinets you should be investing in. Whatever be the nature of your business, you can always have an outdoor cabinet storage solution specially designed for you. The advent of the digital age has enhanced efficiency levels across businesses and organizations. This has resulted in a scenario where businesses have to necessarily adopt best practices across function or risk being left behind by the competition. The adoption of best-in-class storage solutions is a part of this process.


[1] https://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm

[2] https://www.nfpa.org/-/media/Files/News-and-Research/Fire-statistics-and-reports/Building-and-life-safety/osIndustrial.pdf

[3] https://www.justrite.com/news/flammable-safety-cabinets-vs-outdoor-chemical-storage-lockers/