A Patently Good Filing Idea

The north London office of Forrester Ketley & Co, a firm of patent and trademark attorneys, had expanded to such an extent that the filing system had become a liability. With upwards of one thousand files handled every day, each one by up to nine people, misplacing of files had become a constant problem.

Rackline, specialists in storage solutions, and its filing services division Filing Heaven, were called in to provide an effective solution.

A full audit, carried out by Filing Heaven, found that the current filing arrangement was split between two rooms and the accounts department using a combination of four and five drawer filing cabinets and static shelving. Very large files were stored on top of the cabinets and folders had labels attached in different places depending on their storage location. This lack of continuity and order made for additional confusion and delays when searching for files.

To solve Forrester Ketley’s problems, Rackline recommended a combination of Monotrak mobile shelving together with Pirouette rotary storage units and static shelving, made-to-order to accommodate working surfaces within the system.

By installing high-capacity units such as the double-sided Pirouette cabinets (which hold the equivalent of five and a half drawers of traditional filing) more than 75 linear metres of shelving were released. This represents an increase of 41 per cent in storage capacity without utilising any additional floor space, meaning files that would normally be archived can remain on site longer and there is still room for further growth.

Filing Heaven also designed a bespoke wallet to accommodate differing thicknesses of files. Incorporating an end tab to enable the index to stand out, each file was also colour-coded to guide the user to the correct area in seconds and make misfiles stand out immediately.

Rackline’s sales director, Andy Walker, said the system would almost eliminate lost and misplaced files. “The system is designed to reduce retrieval times by more than 40 per cent and minimise the delays that are unacceptable for a business dependent on a fee-paying clientele, to whom time is money.”

In order to minimise disruption, the changeover was carried out over two weekends by a team of Rackline and Filing Heaven staff, who together rehoused almost 6,000 files.

Colleen Willis, administration manager at Forrester Ketley, said, “Although we were initially unsure about making such a large financial investment, it has proved to be extremely worthwhile. We are confident that the increased organisation and efficiency will lead to long term savings.”

Rackline is the leading manufacturer of complete storage systems in Europe with an expanding portfolio of clients and 15,000 installations in a wide variety of sectors. Other firms in the legal sector to take advantage of Rackline’s effective storage solutions include Clifford Chance, DJ Freeman, HSBC Actuaries, The Land Registry, TLT Solicitors and Eversheds.

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