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Consumer Containers?

• dredmorbius 5y ago
  You'll find numerous consumer containers, many in fairly consistent forms: https://www.walmart.com/browse/home/storage-containers/4044_90828_1230056 https://www.walmart.com/browse/home/storage-containers/4044_... Note that the problems here are somewhat different, and the drivers to standardisation are especially lacking. In shipping, bulk containerisation faced two key problems: - Opposition of dockworkers, for whom break-bulk was make-work. - The failure to standardise on a single uniform form factor across multiple proposed standards, with the critical necessity that containers be stackable on ships. The Vietnam War, and the United States Navy's logistics problem of having to shipi materiel to a relatively low-capability destination, finally established the TFU (twenty-foot unit) size as a standard. Note that most shipping containers are actually forty feet in length, but that that's an even multiple of 20. In shipping, the principle requirement is that containers be stackable, in the thousands, on a given ship. Access to the contents is not a key requirement. That is, there's no need to be going in and out of a container whilst it's on the ship. It's loaded once, at the point of origin, and unloaded once, at its final destination. The ability to move a container from truck to ship to train is critical. In residential consumer storage, accessing what is in containers is the principle concern. Most designs are top-opening, meaning that stacked containers (the most convenient bulk storage option) mean having to unpile the stack, find the relevant container, remove it, access what's wanted, and re-stack everything. Front-opening cheap stackable storage is possible, but is more difficult to design and reinforce against crushing. Conventional home storage solutions instead revolve around the convenience of access over density and modularity: shelves (no need to unstack), cabinets, closets, drawers, and the like. These are fitted to their specific enclosures or rooms, rather than being designed to be aggregated in the thousands as with shipping. The goal is to: 1. Contain objects. 2. Provide ready access to them. 3. Keep them out of site / uncluttered in space. 4. Protect them from the environment. "A cool, dry, dark place." 5. Occasionally: provide some measure of security against unauthorised access. Different household / consumer items also have different storage requirements: food (fresh vs. dry bulk), clothing, electronics, tools, hardware, papers, digital media, etc. It's challenging to provide a single size or container that suits all items. TL;DR: the needs and constraints differ. Consumer storage is a large extant market, it's just not standardised as shipping containers are, because that's not the principle driver.
  • dredmorbius 5y ago
    Also: Milk crates. https://dairycrates.com/milk-crate-history/ https://dairycrates.com/milk-crate-history/ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28284172 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28284172