Every school that moves to shared devices hits the same wall about eighteen months in. The devices are fine. The problem is that nobody can reliably say where they are or whether they're charged, and the teacher who ends up plugging them all in on a Friday afternoon is quietly getting sick of it.
Choosing what fixes that is mostly a matter of answering four questions in the right order: do the devices travel, how many are there, what's the largest one with its case on, and who needs to get them out of the cupboard. The PC Locs range covers all four answers, so it's a useful way to walk through the decision.
1. The wall-mounted station: PC Locs Carrier 15
What it is. A charging station holding fifteen devices in three baskets, mounted to a wall or a counter and locked with a keyed stainless steel padlock.
Who it suits. A school with one shared set that lives in a single classroom or resource room. It's the least expensive way per device to charge and secure a set, and it takes no floor space at all.
The standout point. It's genuinely universal — iPads, tablets, Chromebooks, laptops and MacBooks all fit the same unit, with wire racks included for anything too large or too thickly cased for the baskets. If your fleet is a mix rather than one device type, that matters more than any other spec. The Carrier 15 charging station is where most schools start.
2. The USB-C station: PC Locs Putnam 8 and 16
What it is. A charging station for 8 or 16 devices running USB-C Power Delivery, mountable to floor, wall or desk.
Who it suits. Schools whose fleet has already moved to USB-C, and schools that expect to grow. It stacks with a pedestal and bracket, so an 8-device station this year can become sixteen slots next year without replacing anything.
The standout point. It arrives pre-wired. Anyone who has spent an afternoon threading sixteen cables through a cabinet will understand why that's on the list. Charging status lights sit on the outside, so the state of the set is visible without opening the door, and the integrated combination lock means there are no keys to lose — with a master override for the times a combination gets forgotten. See the Putnam 8 and 16 charging station.
3. The side-loading trolley: PC Locs Revolution 16
What it is. A mobile trolley taking sixteen Chromebooks or laptops, each into its own rack, loaded from the side rather than the top.
Who it suits. Schools where the devices travel between rooms but the corridors and classrooms are tight. Side-loading gives a narrower footprint than a top-loading trolley of similar capacity.
The standout point. Individual racks mean each device has a defined home, which makes a missing one obvious at a glance rather than at the end of term. The Revolution 16 side-loading trolley is the format to look at when floor space is the constraint.
4. The class-set trolley: PC Locs Carrier 30
What it is. A thirty-device trolley on wheels, loaded from the top into carry baskets.
Who it suits. A full class set that moves between classrooms, especially in primary schools where several students collect devices at once.
The standout point. The baskets. Each holds five devices and is built to be carried one in each hand, which means pack-up becomes something students do rather than something the teacher does after the bell. Several children can collect at once instead of forming a queue at a single trolley door. The Carrier 30 charging trolley is the class-set answer.
5. The smart locker: PC Locs FUYL 15
What it is. Fifteen individually locking bays, each with USB-C Power Delivery and AC power, opened by PIN or RFID.
Who it suits. Schools running a loan pool, or any school where the IT office has become a queue. This is a different category from the others — it isn't about charging a set, it's about handing devices out without a person standing there.
The standout point. Accountability. Every bay is separate and the system records who opened which one and when, so a device that doesn't come back has a name attached to it. A student who breaks a device at nine can collect a replacement and be back in class within minutes. See the FUYL 15 smart charging locker.
How to choose
Start with movement. If the devices leave the room, you want wheels. If they stay put, a station costs less and takes no floor space. This single question rules out half the range and is the one most schools answer last.
Then measure. Take your largest device with its case on and check it against the slot dimensions, not the model name. A 13-inch Chromebook in a rugged case is not a 13-inch Chromebook. PC Locs publish a printable measuring template for exactly this, and it's worth ten minutes before you commit a few thousand dollars.
Then count, and add a few. A class of 28 is better served by a 30-slot unit than a 30-device set crammed into thirty slots. Devices get added, and spare slots get used.
Then think about who opens it. If a staff member has to be present for a device to come out, a station is fine. If you want students or teachers collecting independently, that's a locker, and the price difference reflects a genuinely different job.
A note on budget. Charging infrastructure is one of the few school technology purchases that outlasts the devices it holds. Steel construction and universal fit mean the same unit generally takes the next fleet as well as this one, which changes how it should be weighed against an annual device line.
Not sure which way to go? Tell us what devices you run, how many, and whether they travel — we'll narrow it to two or three and quote on them. Browse the full PC Locs range to see the options side by side.