British Airways


Waterside, British Airways’ ground-breaking new headquarters building, features over 5,000 units of KI’s 800 Series lateral filing and storage system. British Airways identified filing as a critical aspect of a project which is the embodiment of ‘new ways of working’. Filing, storage and retrieval is seen as a crucial part of the business process, where storing and accessing information swiftly and accurately is an essential element of BA’s drive to maintain a competitive advantage.

"It’s not just about saving space, it’s about saving time." comments John Wise of Mace Limited, who was responsible for the interior design and office planning brief at Waterside.

British Airways embarked on an extensive survey of their filing needs to ensure appropriate storage system configurations would be provided.

British Airways Facilities Manager Alison Hartigan explains their requirements; "We need a filing & storage system that will cope with all types of document in a shared working environment. Hanging files and box files, of course, but also video cassettes, disks and portfolios for example. KI’s solution is flexible, allowing us to meet our current and future needs despite space constraints and the wide variety (and sizes) of media that we use."

When British Airways defined their filing and storage needs for their revolutionary Waterside HQ, change was identified as the driving factor. British Airways operate in a highly competitive environment where success depends on understanding the market and empowering teams to produce solutions quickly and effectively.

"In a sense, the KI filing and storage system is a manifestation of our business analysis." comments John Wise of Mace Limited, who was seconded to British Airways with responsibility for the interior design and space planning brief. "We knew change would happen, so we looked for a filing and storage system which could accept all options within a standard format."

Before placing an initial order on KI for over 5,000 units, British Airways made a thorough appraisal of KI’s ability to deliver through a series of exhaustive criteria. KI met the challenge with resounding success. Constant re-configuration of the cabinets means that KI’s unrivalled engineering and advanced monocoque build are important strengths.

‘Clip-fit’ components allow rapid change, and the ability to move fully loaded cabinets was seen as a vital attribute by the British Airways’ team. Above all, KI’s customer driven TQM approach, which allowed John Wise and Facilities Manager Alison Hartigan to talk directly to KI manufacturing staff, had a significant impact on the final decision to choose KI.
