Current Case Studies

case study - FORT KNOX RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Family-owned and operated Fort Knox Records Management is set to become a contender in the archival industry with the first four-level, 15 metre high records management facility in Australia, with the capacity to store two million archive storage cartons. "Display & Storage Group (DSG) met all of our requirements. DSG had the nous to determine that if we added one more floor of racking and mezzanine in height, Fort Knox would be able to add an additional 50,000 carton capacity to our storage area," said Fort Knox General Manager, Guy Wilson.

The 10,000 square metre facility at Altona North in Victoria has four levels of internal racking each at three metres high, a specialised media vault and a two million carton storage capacity.

According to Fort Knox Records Management general manager, Guy Wilson, the new records management storage area is only the first stage of their development plan. “When we decided to relocate to the Altona North facility the single most crucial component of the development was to find the right partner to ensure that the build and fit-out was on-time, on-budget and that it met all of our Accreditation and Occupational Health and Safety requirements,” Wilson said.

Fort Knox found an experienced partner that would help them build and install all their racking and mezzanine, and also project-manage the design of the site and coordinate the electrical, lighting, fire protection, sprinkler systems and media vault.

“Display and Storage Group (DSG) met all of our requirements. DSG had the nous to determine that if we added one more floor of racking and mezzanine in height, Fort Knox would be able to add an additional 50,000 carton capacity to our storage area. In the records management industry this is a significant benefit,” he said.

“We actually had DSG erecting and installing the records management storage area around the builders. DSG had to ensure that every element of all four floors was built in the right sequence to be able to hand over each stage as a fully-certified and completely operational area.”

DESIGNATED AREAS

According to Wilson, the records management storage area is actually like a separate building within the Altona North facility. “The unique features of the storage area include the 15 metre high, four-tier mezzanine structure and the pallet-loading area,”he said.

The solution incorporates selective pallet racking and mesh flooring, staircases, hand rails, a pallet-loading area, pallet gates and associated equipment. In previous facilities Fort Knox loaded and unloaded pallets into a gated system and then pushed them across the floor with a forklift, resulting in extensive floor damage. For the Altona North facility,DSG developed a two-deep pallet flow carton live storage system that sits above floor level. The pallets are pushed on rollers ensuring that future floor damage is minimal.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Fort Knox custom-built a 200-square-metre fire-rated media vault within the Altona North facility. The media vault is a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment to protect electronic media from dust, heat, humidity and other air-borne contaminants.

The media vault is purpose-built to ensure maximum protection for critical information – from computer backup disks and tapes, media tapes, to vital business records and film records. With a fully-monitored fire protection system in place, all electronic records are safe from fire and water damage.With a six-hour fire rating, FM200 Fire Gas Suppression and an environment maintained at a constant 18 degree Celsius and 50 per cent humidity all records stored in the media vault are safe.

All stored items at Altona North are individually bar-coded and with the O’Neil Software system ensuring that every record is tracked and traced at any time; irrespective of whether it is at the client’s warehouse, in transit or in the warehouse.

The Altona North facility is protected by a state-of-the-art security system which includes glass break sensors, movement sensors, cameras through the facility and camera monitoring systems. Additional security features include door read switches at all entry and exit points and a sealed warehouse only accessible to authorised personnel. The Fort Knox facility is ‘locked down’ during the day and only grants entry to authorised personnel and vehicles.

According to Wilson, stage two will commence within the next eighteen months and will enable Fort Knox to progressively and effectively manage company growth.With stage one now complete and fully-operational Fort Knox can start to reap the benefits of this innovative facility.

DSG developed a turn-key solution with stage one offering growth potential of 2 million cartons for the business.