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[[underlined]] Museum Support Center Storage Equipment [[/underlined]]

At its September 1985 meeting, the Board of Regents was advised that an alternative plan for the collection storage system at the Museum Support Center was under study by the architect/engineer, GSA (the project manager), the contractor, and Smithsonian staff.  This alternative, to replace the inherently inadequate three-tiered metal rack system, calls for the installation of two concrete decks in Pods 1, 2 and 4.  This system will create three levels of storage and will use factory-produced storage cabinets.  The tasks required to accomplish this study have now been completed and construction of the concrete deck system is scheduled to start by early January.

Engineering tests of the existing floor slabs in the storage pods have indicated that additional reinforcement would be advisable to minimize hairline cracking and differential settlement that might affect proper functioning of the shelves, drawers and doors of the storage cabinets.  The reinforcement will be achieved by saw-cutting a number of channels in the existing floor slabs and installing more heavily reinforced concrete pads for the structural posts needed to support the decks.  Known costs for the reinforced concrete pads, for the installation of the decks, and for the acquisition of storage equipment for the initial move of the collections continue to fall within the amounts already appropriated or requested through Fiscal Year 1987.  The contractor has recently indicated to GSA that he is considering a new subcontractor to provide the storage cabinets, but no decision has yet been made.

As has been reported to the Board, savings of $1.3 million from the reuse of presently available storage cabinets have helped to make possible the acceptance of the new storage arrangement.  In future