How do you organize all the bits and bobs that you use in your shop, on you projects or on the jobsite? Do you have a system or do you let chaos reign? With the variety of organization options available the real key to an effective organization strategy is to make it simple, fast, and to make elements of the system immediate identifiable.... and colors enter the chat!
COLORS
Colors can significantly impact our brains by acting as a powerful visual cue, enhancing memory retention and allowing for faster information processing when used strategically to categorize and differentiate items, essentially making it easier to identify and access specific information at a glance. So using colors as the foundation of our organizational systems can be an amazing way to find efficiency in the shop.
When we started Forged 3D, we searched for a way to squeeze every bit of efficiency we could out of both our physical space and our everyday workflows. We tested a variety of organizers to store and access the materials we needed to keep on hand for prototyping and the small batch manufacturing jobs we were taking on. When we settled on the Tanos Systainer3 Organizers the variety of colors available for the latches were one of the driving forces behind the decision.
Now it didn't hurt that the grid system allowed for a adaptable and scalable organizational system... And the fact that we could quickly grab an organizer with all the components needed to complete a task or assembly was without a doubt on the requirement list... However, the colors really pushed it over the top.
Why you asks? Because with a simple glance we can quickly narrow down which organizer or set of organizers contains the assets required to move things along... Need a metric fastener... Look for a sky blue latch first... Label second... Need a construction fastener... Look for a daffodil yellow latch... Need a project specific set of assets... Look for a anthracite grey SYS3 Organizer with a sapphire blue latch.
THE FOUNDATION
This is the foundation of our system. SYS3 M 89 Organizer in Light Grey we designate latch color to mean the following:
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Sky Blue - Metric
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Carmine Red - Standard
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Daffodil Yellow - Construction
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Deep Orange - Electrical
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Signal Black - General Duty (Black Fasteners)
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Traffic White - Plumbing
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Festool Green - General / Mixed / Shop Maintenance
SYS3 M 89 Organizer in Anthracite with Sapphire Blue latch we designate to be associated with project work
SYS3 M 89 Organizer in Sapphire Blue we designate to be associated with accessories for tools, such as bit cassettes bins containing bits, drill bits, etc.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
We extend our use of colored latches beyond fastener, bits and bobs to Systainers containing tools as well. We always try and utilize a latch color that would coordinate with the tool or item the Systainer is storing. And while we could further extend the analog to having the body of the Systainers in a variety of colors as well, we try and stay with Light Grey, Anthracite and Sapphire Blue Systainer bodies and only vary the latch color.
We've found the visual clutter of having too many variations in the Systainer bodies to be distracting for us. As with every organizational system, your choices may be different and the system can easily be adapted to fit your shop.
WHAT'S IN THE BOX
So that tackles what's on the outside... Latch color and Systainer body color... But they always say its what's on the inside that counts. So how do we handle using colors inside of a Systainer?
Circling back to one of the reasons we chose the M 89 Organizer, its grid and bin system. So it's only logical that we use that bin system to further refine our organization. In mixed use SYS3 Organizer we will use our SYS-ORG bin colors to designate the type or measurement unit of a fastener. For example, we typically have two (2) SYS3 L 89 Organizers that serve to hold general use fasteners and materials that might be used at any time in the shop, around the house or on a jobsite.... Wago lever connectors, dry wall screws, picture hangers, structural screws etc.
Each one of these would typically reside in a bin that is colored to match the type of connector. Wago lever connectors in a deep orange bin, dry wall and structural screws in daffodil yellow bins and picture hangers in a standard light grey bin.
AUGMENTING SYSTEMS
We further use bin colors in conjunction with our SYS-ORG Bit Cassette Bins and the existing Tanos / Festool bit cassettes for the SYS3 system to organize our driver bits, drill bits and misc tooling. Festool Centrotec bits are stored in a standard bit cassette which is inserted into a Festool Green 100mm x 175mm x 34mm Stackable SYS-FIT Bit Cassette Bin, metric drill bits use the same cassette but are in a sky blue bit cassette bin, imperial drill bits in a carmine red cassette bin, self-centering bits used for hinges and drawer slides in a deep orange cassette bin (thinking Blum colors here).
Again the focus here is that all of the bins scream something to our brain to allow us to quickly identify what might be in the bin without a great deal of thought or consideration.
WRAPPING UP
All told, this system has dramatically improved our ability to quickly identify what we are looking for when scanning the shop or jobsite. And then further discover what we really need once we are inside of an organizer with a disparate assortment of fasteners and assets. Best of all its adaptable and can be customized to how you work or what colors fit your own patterns.
We hope this post sparks you to think about how you organize and we'd love to hear from you on how you kit out your shop or organizational system to best fit your needs and workflows.