
Cargo van shelving ideas play a vital role in your business. It serves as a locker, storage cabinet, workbench, and office when your employees are on the go or at the job site. When workers can easily find tools, supplies, and equipment, the job gets done quickly and efficiently. What’s less obvious is that work vans also serve as a calling card for your business.
A poorly organized, unreasonably messy work van speaks volumes about your business, even if this is the wrong message. Now, think about the opposite. Imagine a van that is perfectly organized from floor to rooftop. Even though it can be a bit worn and dirty at times, your work van is a model of efficiency and ingenuity.
TIPS FOR A WELL-ORGANIZED VAN
Upfitting a van is an exercise in how knowledgeable you are about your trade and what is needed on the go. If you have upfitted a van before or purchased one that was used, you’re probably intimately aware of its virtues and shortcomings. Chances are, there were a handful of frustrations that made the workdays longer and made you actively long for the day when you could replace the old work van with something new. Use these frustrations as inspiration for designing the perfect work van.
Place large and bulky items near the doors – Nothing is more time consuming than needing a bulky piece of equipment and having to pick through the van just to get to it. By positioning important things near the door, they are easy to remove at the job site and stow away when the job is done.
Make everything accessible – Make sure tools and materials are easy to get to with no latches, straps, or barriers blocking the items you need. Everything needed for a certain task should be accessible in a single quick motion, which cuts down on fumbling and increases efficiency.
Label everything – A place for everything and everything in its place. Labeling makes it easier to put things in the correct location. Also, a labeled space with nothing in it means something is missing, making a visual inventory so much easier. Even the most disorganized crew member should be able to effortlessly navigate the cabin and put things back where they belong.
Make space for multiple tools – Frequently used tools can fail, so when designing space for electric screwdrivers, for example, allow for two or three of them instead of one.
Don’t forget lighting – Lighting matters, even during the day. A well-lit cargo area means better visibility and a safer work environment.
Build task-oriented toolboxes – Depending on what your van is used for, a great way to organize it is by task. Each task gets a separate tool kit filled with everything necessary to complete that specific task.
Things will get dirty, and that’s OK – A work van is meant to get dirty. A typical workday will see mud tracked in, dust and dirt settled in corners, and cheeseburger wrappers balled up and thrown on the floor. A great design can alleviate the mess with strategically placed trash cans, flooring that is easy to clean, and a modular design that makes deep cleaning a snap.

