WEIRD WEDNESDAY: A Low Tech Solution To A High Tech Problem

This story comes from Alex Papadimoulis of The Stalled Server Room. It was originally posted on 6/24/08.

According to Papadimoulis, one company was forced to move from its second floor space to another location on the first floor of the same building when its lease came up. The request seemed easy enough, aside from the slight disruption caused by the move. However, there was an unfortunate sticking point; the company would not have space (or the money, for that matter) to move its server room and all of the accompanying equipment from the existing second floor location.

So here's the weird part. Papadimoulis reports, to accommodate the new second floor tenant (who wouldn't want to deal with the inconvenience of interruptions from people traipsing through to work on the server room):

"building management and the company's executives came up with an alternative: wall off the server room door and build a new one. It seemed simple enough, but there was, however, just one small hitch. The only available wall to install a door was adjacent to the women's restroom. Inside the handicapped stall." (Pictured below.)

Here is a copy of the memo sent by the building management company as an explanation for the "creative" space planning resolution.

From: ---- --------
Sent: Monday, May 5, 2008 4:37 PM
To: Everyone
Subject: Server Room Access

Hi all.

As you all are aware, we have new tenants that have moved into the 2nd floor suites. The access to the server room is now via the women’s bathroom.

There will be a sign on the woman’s door that can be changed from OPEN to CLOSED and vice versa.

Should you need to enter the server room, please change the sign to CLOSED. Once you are done, please change it back to OPEN.

Once you enter the bathroom, you will be able to access the server room via the handicapped stall. Please close the stall door prior to entry, just in case someone doesn’t see that the bathroom is closed.

I know this isn’t ideal, but if we adhere to this protocol, I don’t think anyone will be disrupted.

Thanks! Let me know if you have any questions.

---- --------
Building Management


Questions? Gee, where do we start?

Many thanks to Jo Katz for submitting this story to FacilityBlog.

Cannon Hygiene Launches New Web Site

The site is part of the England-based company's introduction to the United States market. Located at www.cannonhygiene.us, the site is designed to provide information on the company's full range of products and services.

Cannon Hygiene, based in Atlanta, GA, is a franchise now located in eight U.S. states and Puerto Rico.* The company provides comprehensive restroom hygiene services and products for commercial, educational, medical, and government facilities.

The new Web site includes descriptions, images, and video of the company's products and services, as well as detailed information on how cleaning professionals and others can become Cannon Hygiene franchises.

"Although we're new to the U.S., Cannon Hygiene is actually more than 50 years old and is well established in more than 30 countries around the world," says Doug Calvert, president of Cannon Hygiene, Inc. "However, visitors will find the information on the new site is very specific to the U.S."

The site includes information about the negative health and environmental impacts of improperly handling and disposing of sanitary waste. And it addresses the potentially harmful bacteria and viruses that can be contracted by cleaning professionals and users when improperly handled.

"Our goal is to take restroom hygiene to a higher level," adds Calvert. "We believe that our industry must take a leadership role in protecting health and promoting restroom hygiene. Hopefully, the site reflects this as well."

* Illinois, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina, Virginia, California, Massachusetts, and Georgia

About Cannon Hygiene, Inc.
Cannon Hygiene is one of the world's top restroom hygiene service businesses. Based in Lancashire, England, it is responsible for maintaining health and hygiene standards for some of Britain's royal households including Buckingham Palace. Today the company's products are found in more than 30 countries around the world. Cannon Hygiene's wide range of products and services is tailored to the needs of companies and organizations large and small.