Science Museum, Swindon
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"Enough shelving to stretch between our two manufacturing plants in Telford and Brierley Hill, near Dudley." Link 51 Project Manager, Rob Dakin highlights one of the key statistics of a major storage facility completed by the UK's leading shelving system supplier for a nationally significant archive and library, to become operational in Wroughton, near Swindon, Wiltshire in October 2007. "With Phase I now finished and Phase II due for completion in September 2007, we will have a centralised resource that will provide secure storage and an excellent means of accessing the wealth of industrial, scientific, engineering and medical information that we hold," comments Senior Project Manager, David Wilson. He points out that the development has been designed to maximise the capacity of two enclosed structures, one of which has been constructed inside a World War II aircraft hanger‚ - allowing appropriate environmental conditions to be created. "Some 18.5 km of Link 51 'Stormor' shelving is at the heart of Phase I with a further 10 km following on in Phase II," continues Rob Dakin. "The vast majority has been installed as a mobile facility which, because only specific access aisles need to be opened at any given time, allows the majority of the resource to be kept in a 'closed' position - thereby maximising storage capacity within the available floor area." Typically seven bays of back-to-back shelving, each 1.1 metres wide, provide up to seven shelving levels throughout, with static shelving runs used to divide the mobile areas into easily moveable sections - operation is via ergonomically-designed hand wheels. The shelving runs on parallel tracks mounted onto the floor where timber infills provide safe, level access throughout the facility. "The decision to specify our Stormor product reflects on the design of the system which, because of its slim profile, allows shelf widths to be maximised," adds Rob Dakin. "Additionally, the clip together design of Stormor will allow Science Museum, Swindon to reconfigure the shelving facility if required in the future, while a list of optional fittings such as cupboards and pull out trays could also be added if needed." The Science Museum, Swindon is now benefiting from the completion of the first phase at the new purpose-designed resource. This major project to re-house the Science Museum Library & Archives from its original store in South Kensington, London will see up to half a million individual items, primarily journals, books and historic documents, held on one of the largest Link 51 shelving installations ever completed. Apart from the installation of the shelving system itself, the work has also demonstrated Link 51's ability to take on a key project management role. "From managing health and safety and regulatory issues to project scheduling and supplying on-site support facilities, our role in this context commenced from the point where the shells of the new buildings were made available," explains Rob Dakin. "This allowed us to stay in control of all aspects of the fitting programme to ensure tight time constraints were met and that the transfer of books and records was able to commence on the specified date." The decision to focus the archive and library facility in the new, purpose-constructed resource in Swindon pays testimony to the importance attached to the materials held, and the need to make them available. "We believe the selection of our Stormor product in the volumes required demonstrates key benefits of the product design and our ability to meet the installation and project management requirements for such a high profile programme," concludes Rob Dakin. "We are delighted to have played such an important and central role in the project." | |
