Manpower and teamwork were the major components to the retrofit of the 183rd Idaho Army National Guard building. With nearly 500 soldiers using one and a half lockers per soldier, the unit was maxed out in space. The Army National Guard reached out to Spacesaver Intermountain in Salt Lake City to do just that – save space and add efficiency to managing OCIE equipment.
Idaho Army National Guard
Military Gear Lockers Double Space, Provide Efficiency
“The current lockers were falling apart and Capt. James Mandel preferred replacing them rather than piece‐meal them together. The other issue was that the current lockers were 18 in. wide by 24 in. deep by 72 in. high, and weren’t large enough to fit all their gear. Each soldier had two military gear lockers but used one and half of the locker space,” says Ken York, storage specialist and account manager, Spacesaver Intermountain. Though the unit has 500 soldiers, the Army National Guard wanted enough lockers to accommodate nearly 600 soldiers if needed.
“We had to carry more than 250 lockers up two flights of stairs because there were no elevators.”
– Ken York, storage specialist and account manager, Spacesaver Intermountain
The new military gear lockers were going into six different locations throughout the building creating a bit ofchallenge in measurements. “We had to get all the different size lockers to fit and deal with the different ceiling heights,” York adds. Careful measuring and planning was the key to making this part of the project run smoothly.
One of the biggest challenges in the project came from getting the lockers to where they needed to be located. “We had to carry more than 250 lockers up two flights of stairs because there were no elevators,” York says. This added more manpower, time and installation to the project.
Prior to starting the installation, York made sure to have measurements of lockers, stairs, and locations of all the available stairs. In fact, as York and Capt. Mandel were reviewing the premise, one of the soldiers was removing his gear which presented a great opportunity. York had the chance to measure all the gear he had in his locker to understand if the current specifications were correct. “We measured how much gear was assigned and how much space would be needed,” York says. “We decided we needed bigger lockers. We needed to accommodate a 22 sq. ft. opening, so we created a 25 sq. ft. opening.”
The end result is 296 OTR lockers with 592 locker openings that are 96 in. high by 30 in. deep by 30 in. wide with one extra shelf per opening – meeting the goal of providing enough space to double the amount of soldiers.
“The current lockers were falling apart…and weren’t large enough to fit all their gear. Each soldier had two lockers but used one and half of the locker space.”
– Ken York, storage specialist and account manager, Spacesaver Intermountain
