Busy Week!

This past week was really busy!! We had two bids that we worked on. For the first bid, I worked a bid for a student lounge area. This was at a higher education facility. The rooms we worked on were a café, lounge, office space, classroom areas, and occasional seating spaces. The spaces were all very large so this bid package took a very long time. First, I ordered all the samples for the bid packaged. Next, I drew up a floor plan and made sure to check the plan against the quote to avoid any mistakes. After fixing the mistakes I found, I began working on the three-dimensional renderings. The last step I did was organizing and pulling all appropriate product literature.

The next thing I worked on was a reconfiguration of a space ORI worked on a few years ago. The space is now being used for a different purpose so the space needed to accommodate the new job constraints. This was a harder project for me because it was a product that I was not familiar with. I asked the sales people a lot of questions but they were very helpful.

Steelcase Group Work

New Computer!

The past week was very busy at work. First I got a new computer to work on a new program called CET. CET is a program for Steelcase dealerships and is much faster than CAP. A cool thing about CET is that it builds the furniture for you, supports and all! Such a time saver! I was able to work on more projects than usual because of this new program.

First, I worked on a revision for a student lounge. The space was for international students and the idea was to have lounge seating so students can both work and socialize. For this project I specified both Jenny and Campfire seating. In addition to the campfire booths I put personal tables for students to do homework or study if needed.

Another project that I worked on was a small office space in a healthcare environment. The customer meet with a lot of patients in this space to go over treatment plans. So the customer wanted a peninsula top for meetings, a return and then a desk with overhead storage. The peninsula had two “player” guest chairs and a five high bookcase situated on the adjacent wall.

Work

This week at work I was able to do many new things. First, I created a new option for a waiting room that I worked on last week. The customers wanted to see a less expensive option, the Gratzi by Lay-Z-Boy. This option was cheaper mainly because it was used ganging options. This meant that the tables and chairs were attached together. In addition to saving money, this also saved space. I was able to fit in a total of six additional chairs. This was great for the customer’s financial situation and allowed for them to serve more patients.

Next, I had to do a reconfiguration on an office in a higher education facility. This space had a curved wall which called for unconventional furniture solutions. The users required guest seating, a peninsula, a desk, and a return. The storage requirements included a tall storage cabinet, two pedestals (box-box-file, and file-file) and a lateral file. The long list of requirements and storage layout called for many revisions.

Lastly, I worked on another space for residents. They needed six desks with box-box-files and chairs. Additionally, they wanted a hutch that would attach to the wall instead of sitting on the desk. This was utilize the already small desk surface- 42’’ wide. The next thing that I did was use armless chairs that were smaller than the normal task chair.

Space Planning!

This week I worked on many different projects. First, I began by doing a few revisions on projects that I started before spring break. Then I began to work on a higher education space. The client needed a lounge area for the entrance of the space. The client was not exactly sure what they were wanting so I space planned a few different options. Additionally, I sent the customer a few material options.

Next, I space planned an open office space that needed eight stations. One of the stations was private with 78-inch high panels and a sliding door. The remaining seven stations were 66-inch high stations with sliding doors as well. For the panels, I used stacking monolithic panels. Because of this, I could achieve the additional height requested. Additionally, the segmented panels allows for different upholstery options. This is desirable for most clients. All stations included a peninsula, return and desk. The peninsula had two guest chairs to accommodate customers. The stations also included a box-box-file, an overhead hutch for storage and a file-file. This project took me longer than usual because I used a system that I wasn’t very familiar with.

Lindsey came to visit!

Finally, I was able to work on cleaning up the resource room. While I was gone there was a big project and the resource room was a mess! I was able to straighten it up and get it looking back to normal.

Work!

It was another fun week at the office. Of course it was busy, but I enjoyed getting the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects. First, I drew a space for installation purposes. The furniture was already ordered so a floor plan was all that was needed for the installers. This helped insure that everything was placed correctly. The next project that I did was a well patient room in Bowling Green, KY. For this space fourteen chairs were needed and a forty-two inch diameter table. The table was to be located in an area with games for children.

The next space that I worked on was an office space. The customer wanted a thirty- by-sixty workstation with a fifty-four inch return. Their storage needs were meet with a box-box file, file-file and an overhead unit. This work surface was freestanding so I had to build the supports up. I used a end support, modesty panel along with the box-box-file to support the thirty by sixty work surface. The file-file and a flush mount bracket supported the fifty-four inch return.

Lastly, I got to work on an orthodontist office and waiting room. The waiting room I used arcadia domo stools. Since this was for a pediatric office it was important to use products that would appeal to children. I also used a modular furniture piece by Gressco in the children’s game room area. I also space planned a staff lounge and conference room on the second floor of the office.

Revisions!

This past week was crazy with all the weather. However, I was able to make it into work and got the opportunity to work on some fun projects! The first project that I did was three waiting rooms that a customer needed for a healthcare space. The problem that the customer was struggling with was choosing between a three seater and a single seat. The three-seater brought down costs, which was helpful for the tight budget. However, the customer preferred to use the single seat because it allowed for flexibility. I ended up using both a two-seater with the single seat option. Additionally, I incorporated bariatric chairs into the design. For each waiting room I gave the customer two options. The options had different coffee and side tables along with different configurations. The customer ended up preferring oval coffee tables and the option with more side tables. After a few revisions I was able to give the customer and option to show her boss. This week I will be working on 3D’s for this project.

Next, I was able to clean up the resource room and continue my goal of making the space “binless”. I spoke to a few fabric reps and told them that their bins were available if they wanted to pick them up. All were very thankful and are planning on coming by to collect their bins. I also ordered a few more vinyl’s that could be used for healthcare projects.

Back to Work!

After a week off from the bad weather, this week was really busy! The first project that I worked on was a “document storage room”. The sales person had previously completed the offices space, but the company needed additional storage for their documents. The space was very small but had tall ceilings, so we specified more vertical storage solutions. We ended up using four, forty-eight inch wide and eighty-inch tall storage cabinet. Additionally we used four, four-high lateral files. A four- high lateral file refers to the number of drawers that the file has. The customer also wanted a workspace to sort through documents. I put a seventy-two inch work surface in the corner with a three high lateral file. I placed the lateral file underneath the work surface so it could support the desk.

Next, I worked on an office space in a large corporate office space. The customer required a large amount of work surface space due to the job description. While working on this space, a problem that I encountered was how narrow the space was. This definitely limited the layout options for this space. The customer also stressed that she wanted us to focus on noise control. Because of this, I added monolithic panels along the work surface for noise control. This also helped achieve her goal of a more private office space. The user has a job where she deals with sensitive documents. The panels help in eliminating some of these privacy concerns.

Another Week!!

This week I went to work and mainly was in contact with different manufacturers about ordering specials or a product. A special is when you have to make an adjustment to an order by changing the typical configurations of the product. For this special I was ordering mail slots for a business that needed furniture and storage for a mailroom. The problem was that the space had to fit 200 mail slots and the storage unit the sales rep specified only had 170. So when I called the manufacturer of the line we had to specify additional shelves for the space to meet the requirement of 200 slots. Once I figured out the number I had to call the local representative and place the order and put a rush on the order.

Next, I went on to do a new drawing for an IT company that needed power though their worktables. They decided to go with Bivi, a benching system by Turnstone (a company is part of Steelcase). Because the customers requested the workstations to be centrally located, the users would not able to get power through the wall outlets. So I had to specify a worktable that had power in the table.

After this, I was able to send different upholstery options to a customer. This customer bought seating from the company a few years before and they needed to be reupholstered. Unfortunately, the previous textile had been discontinued. I was able to select a few different options that were similar to the previous upholstery.

More Drawings!

Even though it was not a busy week I still helped to do a number of different things. My first task was to complete a revision that I started the previous week. The customers decided that they did not want to have guest chairs anymore so I went back and changed the drawing to match the new quote.

Next, I helped check a drawing and quote with a sales member. This consisted of making sure the correct number of supports, work surfaces, and storage solutions were ordered in the quote. The sales member would ask me to count the amount of work surfaces or any given item, and then we would check that it matched the quote. This took awhile because it was a larger project.

After checking the quote, I helped draw up a waiting room for a hospital space. This consisted of making sure an appropriate amount of bariatric chairs were in the space. The goal was to get as much seating in the space as possible. So there wasn’t a lot of focus placed on specifying coffee tables or tables for magazines. After the drawing was done, I helped the sales person pick out a vinyl. The customer only wanted vinyl options because it was easier to clean in healthcare settings.

Finally, I ordered new samples from manufactures that did not come in to the office and update themselves. For the most part, I ordered textiles that contained crypton or had a protective coating.

Another Week Interning

This week I began by continuing on going “bin-less” from last week. Next, I worked on revising a drawing that I did the previous week. The customer decided that they wanted a different sized table for their break room. I went into CAP 20/20, and changed the table to the appropriate size. I still thought the table was a little too big for the space so I dimensioned the area from the table to the wall to make sure the customer knew it would a tight space.

Next, I worked on a “reconfig” for a customer that was renovating their current workspace but wanted to keep the existing furniture. The goal was to buy as little furniture as possible but still have an efficient work environment. After a few iterations, we decided that there was only one pedestal, and two returns that we needed to purchase! It is always helpful to use pedestals because it doubles as a work surface support and storage!

Finally, I worked completing two new projects. One project the customer wanted to incorporate existing furniture with a height adjustable desk. Height adjustable desks have been shown to increase circulation and help with ergonomic issues that many employees suffer from. I was able to draw up two different options and email them back to the customer.

This week it was important for me to focus on time management and being prompt in completing design request forms for the sales team.