Office Lockers and Smart Lock Innovation in a Post-Covid World

Are lockers the new must-have for major corporations? According to Bisley, the south Wales based office furniture manufacturer, the answer is yes.

Lockers are shooting up their corporate order books, thanks in large part to the post-Covid return to the office. More employers are actively looking to provide their employees with secure spaces in which to store personal belongings as they look to maintain cleaner, more hygienic, and streamlined workspaces in a pandemic afflicted world.

Recent locker orders made by large organisations with Bisley include a £1.3m order for a bank in Canary Wharf; a $1.82m order for smart technology lockers for a banking corporation in Palo Alto, California; a $1.1m order for smart technology lockers for a banking corporation in Ohio and a $5m deal with one of the world’s largest banking organisations for two locations in Texas. The order included 8,000 lockers and 350 of Bisley’s new VetroSpace health meeting pods (another popular new post pandemic addition to many offices).

The adoption of lockers is particularly relevant for those organisations adopting hybrid working policies, or clean desk hot-desking policies, or where shift patterns have been introduced to maintain a manageable level of office footfall. Essentially, the key is to reduce the amount of ‘stuff’ in a workplace, and that’s where lockers come into play.

Of course, the locker concept is hardly a new one. Lots of larger organisations have been using them for years, or even decades. In many sectors, like manufacturing and healthcare, they are a no-brainer. But we are now seeing lockers being adopted by smaller organisations, and in different sectors.

But the 2022 locker is different to its predecessors in two fundamental ways.

Firstly, the aesthetics are next level. So much so that we are now seeing lockers being fully integrated into office design and playing an important role in the way the modern workplace looks. What was once banished to cloakrooms or basements is now a firmly established part of the front office landscape. See Bisley’s bespoke LockerWall collection for inspiration.

Secondly, these new gen lockers have got some serious tech installed. Forget about your local leisure centre’s fifty pence slot variety.

The latest locking technology comes in the form of smart lock software, which takes away the hassle of key management, on-site presence, and sub-par security.

They act as a great tool to control access, limiting contact, and allow for personalised features to be added. Hard-wired locking systems can be configured to permit and deny access for users and switch the control of the locker from private, to public, to sharing mode when required. This feature is great for shared office spaces and allows for cleaning to take place, combating viruses left on the surface. This control function can be accessed across multiple worksites meaning you can access all stations from one device. Many hard-wired locking systems have the availability to check the usage of the lock, occupancy monitoring and optimisation too. This maintenance free system can be programmed with alarm security to protect personal belongings when stowed away.

Control tablets can be embedded into your locker configuration, or for an even slicker application with maximum efficiency, certain locks can now be linked up to real-time smart locking wireless networks, controlled via an app on your phone or device, from anywhere in the world.

Staff cards are another benefit of using smart locking systems. They permit companies to manage and update the security access around their buildings as required. By using staff cards and a hard-wired system, staff can enter the building, book meeting rooms, operate lifts, open offices, and access personal lockers. Controlling these functions through a staff card means less touch points through the workplace and a decreased risk of contamination.

Lockers fitted with smart locks are becoming a vital part of the new normal at many organisations.  Hard-wired locking systems mean that there is less risk of contamination and provide ease of cleaning, all whilst looking smart and sleek in a contemporary workspace

As workspaces develop into communal hubs, personal space is essential for employees to feel part of the team and give a sense of belonging. As organisations look to rethink workspaces in a post-pandemic world, it’s likely that we’ll see lockers become a mainstay of office design.

For more information about the Bisley Lockerwall collection visit https://www.bisley.com/products/workspace/lockerwall/

And for more information on Bisley’s lock technology visit www.bisley.com/products/locks/.