Need work van shelving ideas for your fleet? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, you’ll discover some of the best solutions to help you bring a bit of organization to your fleet.
Table Of Contents
- Professions That Need Work Van Shelving
- Benefits Of Installing Work Van Shelving
- The Best Work Van Shelving Ideas
- Work Van Shelving Ideas: Extras
Professions That Need Work Van Shelving
A cluttered and disorganized work van is like a cluttered and disorganized desk — it distracts the person using it, causes significant delays, and detracts from the professional image you’re trying to create.
Work van shelving can bring order to the chaos. Professions that need these work van shelving ideas include:
- Carpenters
- HVAC technicians
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Locksmiths
- General contractors
- IT professionals
- Cleaners
- Window washers
- Landscapers
- Handyman
Really, any profession that uses a variety of tools, parts, and supplies as part of their day-to-day activities can benefit from these work van shelving ideas.
Benefits Of Installing Work Van Shelving
1) Organization
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of these work van shelving ideas is the organization that comes with them.
Having a place for everything — and putting everything in its place — is one of the first steps toward the type of true organization that can help your employees feel less stressed on the job.
Organization also opens the door to the other benefits on this list so, in essence, it’s the foundation of a more productive work environment.
2) Efficiency
Implementing any or all of the ideas on this list will improve the efficiency and productivity of your team.
When your technicians can find the equipment they need quickly and without hunting or digging through a pile of gear, they’ll be able to accomplish more during the workday. That, in turn, translates to increased revenue and profitability for your business.
3) Professional Image
Few things do your business better than a professional image. And, when your fleet vehicles are away from home base, they’re the tip of the spear, so to speak, in establishing and maintaining your company’s identity and brand.
That fact underscores the importance of installing work van shelving in your vehicles. How so?
Think of every passerby as a potential customer and the open doors of your fleet work vans as a type of advertising. What impression are your vans making?
4) Quick Access To Small Parts
For industries that rely on small parts to get the job done right — e.g., plumbing, HVAC, and electrical — these work van shelving ideas are the perfect storage solution.
Most shelving units include bins that keep small parts separated, organized, and easily accessible.
When your technicians can access these necessities quickly — instead of hunting through stacks of gear — they’ll be less stressed and more productive throughout the day.
5) More Space
Even the simplest work van shelving takes advantage of the vertical space along the walls of your vehicles and frees up more of the valuable floor space your team needs to get their work done.
However your technicians take advantage of that floor space, it makes the work van a more flexible, user-friendly tool that they can use in a wide variety of situations that may come up during the workday.
The Best Work Van Shelving Ideas
1) Prefabricated Work Van Shelving Systems
The first entry on our list of work van shelving ideas is the prefabricated metal system.
These solutions come in a wide variety of sizes, heights, and build materials (e.g., steel, aluminum, and composite) and are often both adjustable and customizable to fit your business’s unique needs.
You can choose between components such as open shelves, large and small drawers, and cabinets with locking doors (just to name a few).
2) Custom Shelving Systems
Custom shelving systems are designed especially for your fleet and commercial vehicles and can be laid out in a way that will maximize the utility of these mobile workspaces.
Though they may cost a bit more than the prefabricated option, they are often a more versatile solution for the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC industries.
3) Corner Shelving Units
If your business works with items like flooring, siding, or sheets of plywood that require large, free spaces to transport, you may find corner shelving units the solution to your storage needs.
These shelf systems are often modular — meaning you can install one, two, three, or as many as the height of your work van will allow — and include units with open racks, drawers, and locking cabinets.
4) DIY Metal Shelves
If you have the tools and know-how to shape and form aluminum or steel, DIY metal shelves may be just the solution you’re looking for.
Building your own storage system allows you to configure the setup to the exact specifications and needs of your team, your fleet, and your business.
In addition, choosing the DIY option is often cheaper than both the prefab and custom systems mentioned earlier in this list of work van shelving ideas.
5) Plastic Shelving Systems
As an alternative to the metal options on this list, you could choose to install a plastic shelving system. Some companies manufacture modular storage solutions that mount easily to the walls of any work van.
Once you hang a sheet of plywood over the metal van wall, you can configure the plastic shelving system to the unique needs of your business — and even reconfigure it at a later date if need be.
6) DIY Wooden Shelves
DIY wooden shelves are another great option for bringing a bit of storage and organization to your work vans.
Wood is a bit easier to work with than metal and even with the most basic tools (e.g., a drill and a saw), a novice can put together some very useful shelves.
The one drawback to wood shelves is that, once assembled, they tend to weigh more than metal shelves.
The extra weight can reduce your fleet’s miles-per-gallon and increase the overall fuel costs necessary to keep your vehicles on the road.
7) Under-Floor Storage
While not technically work van “shelving,” under-floor storage can add even more utility and flexibility to your storage and organization system.
Before installing your choice of shelving solution, build a platform on top of the existing floor of the work van. This provides more storage for large items (e.g., sheets of plywood) without taking too much away from the shelves that sit on top of it.
If you don’t want to go the DIY route, you can purchase all manner of prebuilt solutions — some even come with drawers for even more storage options.
Work Van Shelving Ideas: Extras
1) Labels
As mentioned earlier in this article, the work van shelving ideas on this list pack a huge amount of organization into a small space.
You can improve on that organization even more by labeling what goes where on each shelf and in each drawer.
2) Interior Lighting
The interior of a work van can be a dark place. Add to that the fact that technicians are often at work before the sun comes up or after it sets, and you can see why it’s essential to add interior lighting to your fleet vehicles.
LED strips are the perfect solution. They’re easy to install, don’t use a lot of power, and add just enough light to make finding tools and parts quick and painless.
3) Ladder Racks
Most trades require a ladder at some point during the workday. But those bulky objects take up a lot of valuable interior space that would be better served with shelving units.
Instead, mount a ladder rack on the top or side of your work vans for a better use of space.
4) Hooks
Hooks are another great extra you can add to the work van shelving ideas discussed earlier.
Hooks allow your technicians to hang (and quickly retrieve) frequently-used items on the wall to preserve the floor space for other items or purposes.
5) Tank Restraints
If your business uses compressed air or chemical tanks on a regular basis, consider installing restraints on the wall to keep those items upright and stationary.
Such restraints are simple enough to install — usually just an adjustable bracket at the top of the tank and an adjustable bracket at the bottom of the tank — and provide a level of safety and utility that you can’t get just by setting the tank in the cargo hold.
Work Van Management Made Easy
Whichever work van shelving ideas work best for your team and your business, you can manage your entire fleet better — whether you use cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, semis, or construction equipment — with Coast.
The Coast fleet card provides controls and visibility that work for your business, as well as an online expense management platform that empowers you with real-time information related to your fleet.
For more information on how Coast can help you control fleet costs and streamline your fleet management program, visit CoastPay.com today.
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