Why a raised floor works…
Good day everyone! Thanks for clicking on todays BLOG! It has been some time since I sat down to write one of these, I am pleased to say that we here at Cook’s have been extremely busy as of late, and we cannot thank everyone for the support and trusting us with your projects.
Anyways….todays blog post is maybe a slight “rant,” but I have always said that there’s a fine line between passion and crazy! I have lived and breathed raised access flooring for over 12 years, I have seen over 4 million sqft installed and each and every project brings with it new challenges and new findings!
I was at an establishment yesterday, they had a Christmas tree setup in the corner of the room, the power however was nowhere close and they had to tape a cord across the floor ad also place a sign above the little “on/off” switch to ensure no one tripped! Now, is this establishment in need of an access floor system? Some would argue that certain places don’t need the flexibility, don’t need to be able to run power etc. But I always ask the same questions, are they not in need of it because the just don’t have it? For example, if this location had raised access floor, they could have easily plugged in the tree, no need for tape and signage etc. Simple thing, just a Christmas tree, however, let’s extrapolate this to say a larger commercial office space, or educational setting - instead of a Christmas tree lets use the example of an additional employee, or desk. How do we get power or communications to that desk? With a raised access floor all of the infrastructure is under the floor, ran freely allowing for connections anywhere on the floor plate! So you can easily move people, desks, computers, etc. This also stands true for when you need to update technology….Take a school setting for example, 10 years ago the connectivity needs of the students was FAR less than what it is today. If the school had an access floor system, adding USB, fiber optics, more power etc. is super simply, and doesn’t involve costly construction practices, you simply add cables with ease!
I always enjoy discussing raised floor and I always use the example of a casino (could be because I thoroughly enjoy them…) the reason for using the casino is because it makes so much sense! Having the power under the floor makes plugging in slots and powering tables so easy! Then imagine moving these units around? How much easier that is with a raised floor! Now take a casino of 10-15 years ago, the machines looked a lot different, nowadays they require additional power and data in comparison to the “1-armed-bandits” of old! So adding power, network cables, data etc, when you have a raised floor system is simple, cost effective, and doesn’t require closing down the casino to make these changes! Imagine a casino having to shut down for 24hrs or more to do some construction? I read that on average a casino can take in $1,500,000 to $3,000,000 per day!!! (How Much Does A Casino Make A Day? (Breakdown) (thecoldwire.com)) Now imagine shutting that down - you can’t! Having a raised access floor would allow them to simply rope off an area, lift some panels, make their adjustments and hardly even disturb the gaming floor, some could argue not having a raised floor would cost money! ;)
In all seriousness, you could make similar arguments for every establishment, no one wants to have to work in a construction zone, its messy and really disturbs the day. And the costs of shutting business down, or unproductive employees is insane! A raised access floor literally eliminates al of these issues. Not to mention the garbage that’s created from construction - we can leave that for another topic!
Thanks to everyone for clicking on, I really cannot thank everyone enough for all the support - please continue to trust us with your projects, we are super happy to be a part of so many great stories along the way!
Until next time - take care!
