Anyone who has managed a warehouse for any length of time has encountered the need for extra floor space. Workers need space to work and transport goods, inventory needs space to be properly arranged, and it’s always been very easy for a factory or plant to start feeling cramped.

It might sound counter-intuitive, but one of the most effective ways to restore floor space in your warehouse is to bring in new installations, industrial storage solutions, and other tools and shelving options. Yes, this sounds like the old “making a mess to clean a mess” conundrum, but sometimes a good warehouse overhaul is just the thing you need to restore lost workspace and maximize efficiency. Here’s a few modifications to consider if you find yourself running out of space:

In-plant offices: Many times, the first place to start with freeing up plant space is to start designating different areas for certain services – shipping and receiving, inventory overflow, and so on. If you have any on-the-floor operation management personnel that find themselves swept up in the hustle and bustle of daily work, installing an in-plant office is the best way to consolidate your administrative duties and free up space on the floor that can be better suited elsewhere. It also gives your paperwork and technological devices a safer place to be stored, away from heavy machinery and the daily grind.

Mezzanines and second levels: In a similar vein, designating a specific area to install an in-plant office can potentially bring the opportunity to install a storage mezzanine or a second level right above it to increase storage. The construction time involved in these is usually pretty minimal, and they allow you to take advantage of unused vertical space to increase your storage capacity without taking away room on the floor from anything else.

Mobile aisles: If your facility deals in a lot of larger bulk items or has a lot of bulk record storage it needs to maintain, mobile aisle systems are an ideal solution to compact the space needed. These aisles move along a fixed track to compact their overall footprint, and the high weight and storage capacity of the individual shelves allow heavier items to be stored without much impact on your available floor space.

The time and effort involved in renovating your warehouse to accommodate new storage might look daunting at first, but once you’re done the impact it will have on your productivity will be noticed immediately – and your bottom line will thank you for it.