Self storage units, also known as self-service storage units have become an important staple in the lives of many busy people. These storage facilities lease space to small businesses or individuals and the space leased can be used for a variety of purposes. Even though people have grown familiar with the idea of self storage few know the history behind the storage unit. Most people believe that self-storage units are a recent invention when they have been in existence for a several decades.

The first self storage companies were established in the mid 1970s. These companies began leasing units of various sizes to individuals and businesses in need of additional storage space. The initial rules put in place by self-storage companies prohibited individuals from sleeping or otherwise living in their storage unit. They also prohibited the resale or subleasing of the storage units. Overtime more rules were put into place to prevent individuals and businesses from storing potential hazardous materials.

Throughout the years the self storage industry has continued to grow rapidly. As more people all over the world move on a regular basis the need for private storage facilities has grown rapidly. Individuals moving for personal and professional reasons have started using self storage facilities to store furniture and other items between moves. Even after moving many people have chosen to use self storage units as a convenient way to store seasonal items and other belongings that are inconvenient to have around at all times but are too valuable to throw away.

Many of the first self storage units were located in urban areas and were part of larger buildings. Quite a few businesses and even public schools leased out storage space to the general public. In some areas huge self storage facilities existed that had elevators and other features to help customers get to and from their storage units. Overtime self storage facilities were opened that catered to individuals storing large items such as cars, boats, and RVs.

Self storage units come in a wide variety of sizes designed to fit the needs of individuals with a few items or people needing to store enough furniture to fill a house. Storage units start out at units that are no bigger than the average walk in closet and go up to the size of a two car garage. Most self storage units can be accessed by using a metal door that rolls up in a way that is similar to the average garage. Initially self storage units were built using concrete and metal with the renter being asked to provide their own lock. Over the years construction has become more secure as features are added to interest new customers.

Self storage units now come in climate controlled and cold storage units. Climate controlled units are well constructed and insulated in such a way that the temperature of the unit remains constant. These storage units remain dry and comfortable which helps prevent molding and other forms of damage that sometimes occurs when items are in storage. Cold storage self storage units are also offered to provide small businesses and others a way to safely store food items and even wine for long periods of time.

Regardless of whether a person needs traditional storage, climate controlled storage, or cold storage they are charged a monthly rental fee. These fees are usually determined by the type of facility being used and the size of the storage unit. Over recent years self storage facilities have developed a contract that has be signed by all individuals leasing self storage units.

These contracts usually state the individual renting the storage unit will not store hazardous material in their unit, will not attempt to live in their unit, will pay their rent on time each month, and also promises that the individuals property will never be touched or disturbed by the staff or management of the facility. If the renter does fail to pay their rent a lien is placed on their storage unit and the contents of the storage unit can eventually be auctioned off. In recent years storage facility auctions have become a popular way for collectors and resellers to gain access to second hand items cheaply.

Self storage facilities have also changed their security methods over the past few decades. As outdoor storage facilities became popular storage facility owners began seeking new ways to protect their customer’s property. This has been done with the help of advanced technology such as keypads and codes used for gaining access to the storage facility, video surveillance used to monitor the property, and even gates and fences designed to deter criminals.

The advancement of self storage facilities seen to date are only the first of many. As millions of individual’s world wide lease self storage units for personal and professional use the self storage industry will continue to change and grow.

You might think that making a metal pegboard system is a no-brainer, and you’d be right – if the pegboard was a lousy product. Ironsides Storage Solutions’ Holey Rail™ provides a window into how inventiveness and quality control can improve even the most innocuous items around your household. In fact, that’s the point; if a garage storage solution gets noticed, that usually means it isn’t working properly. The Holey Rail™ design team used the following process to create a better steel pegboard system.

Research and Competitor Testing: Ironsides Storage Solutions began because it saw a need in the storage system market. With space at a premium in many modern houses, homeowners increasingly resorted to improvised methods to get their property off of garage floors. The team acquired first hand experience with other systems as they were actually being used – and often, overloaded. This allowed them to find stress points and other common problems to focus the design of their own products. Aside from the Holey Rail™ itself, this also influenced the design of the company’s peg hooks and Pegstrapper™ systems. One of the most important insights that came out of this process was the superiority of an extruded steel pegboard system over simply cutting holes into a steel plate.

Prototypes and Product Testing: Once the team zeroed in on its objectives it was time to create prototypes. No product is perfect the first time it’s manufactured, so prototyping allows a manufacturer to iron out any issues with the product or manufacturing process before it gets released to the general public. Eventually, Ironsides Storage Solutions satisfied itself that it had found the best way to manufacture extruded metal peg boards, peg hooks and other products at a consistently high quality. This also helped the company develop effective customer support. Complete knowledge of the product means Ironsides Storage Solutions can properly advise consumers on how to properly install and use its products.

Quality Production: The next step is to adapt the process to a working production flow. Without an efficient manufacturing process that still preserves the product’s quality, time and materials considerations would create a spike in production costs that the company would have to pass on to the consumer. Ironsides’ team eventually got efficient production down to an art, enabling them to offer a quality product at a competitive price.

Continual Quality Management: Ever since the Holey Rail™ was released, Ironsides has kept on top of product quality. This has two aspects: response and improvement. Response tracks the rare defect or issue to its source. After examining the flawed process the team changes production to ensure that the issue never arises again. Improvement refers to the effort to gradually increase product quality beyond even the standards of current production. In the case of steel pegboards, this involves responding to customer and distributor feedback, and exploring different material dimensions, mounting methods and supplemental products. In many cases this paves the way for entirely new products, such as the modular storage system Ironsides Storage Solutions expects to release in the near future.

Each of these steps helps ensure that something as basic as a garage storage solution works better than any ad hoc alternatives and demonstrates that even products that tend to fade into the background are the result of intelligence, research and hard work.