Safe and Secure Automated Self Storage, which received a Green Building of America Award from Real Estate & Construction Review magazine last summer, has begun hosting technology tours for students. Safe and Secure has been open for business less than one year -- it opened in April 2009, becoming the first self-storage facility in the U.S. to make use of Westfalia's Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems technology. But its facility won the Green Building award because of its many energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly features. Safe and Secure has water-efficient landscaping, low power consumption (an especially noteworthy feat given that it relies on automated technology), pressurization to reduce energy loss, reduced waste production, improved air quality, and green cleaning and pest control. Safe and Secure underwent these measures in order to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council as a green building.
Safe and Secure's first student tour was held the week of December 7 - 11, for 15 different classes of fourth and fifth graders from Tradewinds Elementary School in Broward County, Florida. The students met Paul Talley, the inventor of the patent-pending Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems technology. Talley is also the vice president of Automation for Automated Self Storage Systems. Students learned about the automated self-storage system and how it works, the LEED certification process that allows a facility to say that it is certified as green, and the process that Safe and Secure went through in order to receive the Green Building of America award.
The curricular purpose of the visit was to meet Tradewinds Elementary School's Technology Vision for 2009, "...to utilize technology as a tool to enrich curriculum and instruction, and deliver lessons in innovative ways," and to engage in an activity that matches Tradewinds' theme for the year: "To Keep Our World Clean, Technology Goes Green!"
While they were at Safe and Secure, students were able to see the new automated storage and retrieval equipment from behind the scenes. The building has 539 storage modules, of which 100 can store vehicles. To place an item in storage, a customer drives up to the facility and enters his or her PIN code. Then the storage and retrieval machine identifies the correct module and presents it to the customer at ground level. The building also has a back-up generator to provide power in case of an outage.
The City of Coconut Creek and Publix Super Markets also gave educational presentations at Safe and Secure. Representatives from Publix talked to students about green products, while city officials explained the Coconut Creek's new Single-Stream Recycling Program.
Although Safe and Secure is the first self-storage facility to use Automated Self Storage's new automated retrieval technology, Automated Self Storage has been building self-storage facilities in South Florida and New Jersey for 15 years. It is owned by The Pugliese Co.