Are you a tech business with critical, sensitive business equipment to move? You can't just toss it all in a box and hand it off to a moving company; many electronics have internal components that can shake apart if not packaged properly, even if the outside box is cushioned. Before rushing everything into boxes and waking up to a jumbled and cracked mess at your new location, here are a few packing and safeguarding concerns to understand before a tech business move.

What Could Go Wrong Without Safe Packaging?

Electronics such as computers, copiers, speakers, and displays have more at risk than dented cases and cracked screens. Even if you protect the outer surface from damage with proper padding, there may be enough impact or vibrations to affect the internal components.

Do you know how well the parts inside your electronics are secured? The answer is different for every type of device and every manufacturer, so it's hard to tell if you're dealing with a a pneumatic tool-locked set of bolts or just a few screws that are shaking loose. Many devices are between those two extremes, but can be shaken closer to loose and dangerous during a rough drive or hitting a few bumps in the road.

One example could be expansion cards inside a computer. Video cards/graphics cards, sound cards, and some network interface cards (NICs) may not be fastened enough to their mounting areas, so the only real security is a wafer-thin connector going into a slot.

With enough shaking, these cards can snap at the connector. The same goes for any devices with circuit boards held together with screws, as some loose screws or ill-fitting bolts may break the boards at their fastening holes, leading to a crack that could break electrical traces. This kind of damage isn't easily reparable, and usually means buying a replacement.

Moving Electronics Into Static And Impact Safety Storage

One way to reduce loose component damage is to tighten the components or take them out temporarily. Especially in computers, removing the components and adding them to anti-static storage is best because it's easier to secure two packages of separate electronics with no moving parts than trying to stabilize one unit with moving parts.

A team of movers can simply add these components to fragile storage. You may need to hire a technician to perform the removal if you're not computer savvy or have no tech staff on hand, or ask the moving company if they have a tech partner who can handle to safety concerns.

Along with anti-static protection, boxes with special shock-absorbing layers can reduce potential damage from rough roads that can't be avoided. Contact a business relocation professional to discuss other services that moving companies can offer.