LOCKER ROOM DESIGN
Planning a locker room or changing room is simple and depends on several factors. Whether it’s for a restaurant or bar's staff room, a school, gym, or any other designated locker area, the same basic principles apply: it is important to make the most of your available space whilst allowing for enough free movement in gangways while the lockers are in use.
Is there a need to keep work wear and day wear separate? Will your lockers be required to hang garments, store holdalls or provide a safe place for personal effects? What type of locks do you require? Key cam locks or padlock fittings? This guide will take you through everything you need to know.
LOCKER ROOM LAYOUT
The key to a perfect layout is to achieve a balance of comfort and usability whilst optimising your available space. So, the first requirement is to establish the number of users and available space allocated for the lockers. It is important to ensure that there is sufficient room for clear access at all times, so consider carefully your placement of lockers or changing room benches so that they do not obstruct the pathway.
Some layouts cater for more seating arrangements, and give more space for customers to change footwear and hang clothes. You can easily combine island seating and lockers, as the lockers can be fixed flush up to the wall to maximise every inch of space. For example, you could designate the outer perimeter of your space for nested lockers, and use double-sided island seating in the centre of the room to provide the best of both worlds for your guests.
Elite Lockers' island seating is highly durable and constructed from a solid welded steel frame. This gives the seating outstanding resistance to physical stress which is unavoidable during long term use in busy commercial environments. They are ideal for customers who will change footwear, whether for work, on-site training or leisure. Island seating units offer plenty of hooks for clothing and towels, which makes them ideal for the workplace or in gym facilities.
Design Your Changing Room
Take a look at the graphic below to get a good idea of how best to use the space available to you when designing your own locker room area. Your lockers should sit back-to-back in order to make the most of your space.
Will you need space for benches? If so, it's a good idea to leave at least 1.5m of space between lockers. But if your lockers are just for staff to store their belongings during their shift, 1.2m should be enough space for lockers that are face-to-face.
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Types of Lockers
Once you have decided on how best to use the space available to you, it is then necessary to establish what size of locker compartment would be suitable.
Size
If your staff or customers will be using the lockers for holding large bags, you may need 450mm deep lockers as opposed to the standard 300mm deep lockers from Elite.
The size of your lockers needs to accommodate the needs of your staff or customers. For example, to hang a a uniform you will need a full length or half-length space, whereas if your lockers are primarily going to be used for storing personal effects, smaller lockers will be the smarter investment.
Material
There are two main materials that lockers are made from: steel and plastic. Steel lockers are best suited for indoor use, whereas plastic also benefit from being suitable for outdoor use.
Garment Lockers
If you provide laundered staff uniforms for your restaurant or bar, then garment lockers are great for keeping fresh clothing ready for your employees. Garment lockers have individual locked compartments to hold clothing items, but can also be opened via the service door to be loaded with uniforms and clothing items. Elite Lockers' range of garment lockers range from 5 to 15 door models and can be raised from the floor to allow for cleaning underneath using their own specific locker stands.
Sloping Top Lockers
Many lockers also feature a sloping top, which is designed to help prevent the build-up of dust and debris on top, keeping the changing area neat and tidy and helping you maintain a hygienic changing area.
Wire Mesh Lockers
For storing items such as cleaning chemicals, cleaning equipment and PPE safety clothing that needs to be kept safe but easy to get access to, wire mesh lockers may be the best solution for you. Wire mesh lockers offer high visual security and also benefit from being ideal for airing damp clothes, so work wear such as overalls can be hung up and dried in time for the next shift.
TIP:Personal effects lockers are also suitable for hotels to store guests' valuables in a secure place away from their room, behind reception.
LOCKER STANDS
With hygiene and cleanliness such a crucial element in the maintenance of changing room facilities, locker stands allow access to the space underneath lockers, ensuring your whole floor space can be cleaned thoroughly and to an immaculate standard.
The other benefit of the locker stands is that they feature adjustable feet, working brilliantly on slightly uneven surfaces and giving you the choice to change the height of your lockers to ensure they nest together evenly.
LOCK TYPE
Security is one of the most important factors in a locker, as they are are primarily designed to store items safely. When considering a lock type, you'll need to consider security, convenience, on-site management and ultimately what is best for your environment. There are two lock types to choose from: cam lock lockers and padlock lockers.
When it comes to personal items, your staff may prefer to use a padlock to secure their lockers as opposed to a key cam lock for better security. Cam locks offer convenience in the work place for items that need to stored safely and can be accessed quickly by the key holder.
Elite lockers benefit from inter-compartmental security as well as the outer lock, with selected doors reinforced with steel profiles making it difficult to gain access to the adjacent locker.
Permanent locking solutions may be updated to include card readers and RFID locks, plus 4 digit mechanical combination locks. This is perfect for hotels, universities and on site contractors where a user may use a locker regularly over a set period of time.
EXTRA STORAGE
Secure steel cabinets are ideal for storing equipment, medical supplies and cleaning chemicals, keeping them safe and secure. Some of the benefits of Elite Lockers' lockable cabinets include a high shelf loading capacity, hardwearing construction and an antibacterial coating which protects against MRSA & E-Coli.
If you're going to be using cam lock lockers, it would be advised to make sure you have a suitable key cabinets to store the keys for staff, guests or clients to use.
FLOORING
Depending on your environment, there are many practical flooring solutions which are designed specifically for use in changing rooms and leisure facilities to reduce trip hazards. Anti-slip matting improves safety by reducing the risk of slipping on wet surfaces, and protecting your clients.
For instance, around shower rooms and swimming pool walkways, flexi-deck tiles work perfectly as they have drainage holes to channel moisture away from walkways and provide a safe, sturdy and even platform for your customers to walk over. The other benefit of flexi-deck tiles is that they can be fitted with bevelled edges which blend into the tiles, leaving no gaps or obstructions to trip over, and making them comfortable to walk on whilst barefoot.