Case Study
Practical Return-to-Workplace Solutions from Real Companies
Our
designers and furniture experts, together with their clients, have outlined
practical solutions to assure you have a safe and efficient return to the
office. No matter your company's industry, size, or budget, you'll find
valuable solutions that meet social distancing and health & safety
guidelines.
Scroll to the content that's most relevant to you:
- Corporate, Food & Beverage Company - Collaborative Spaces & Meeting Rooms
- Corporate, Technology Company - Desks and Benching
- Government, Transportation Company - Workstation Typical
- Education, State University, Higher & Continuing Education - Unassigned Workstations
- Healthcare, Non-profit, Medical Research Institute - Reception & Entryway
Please note, the renderings below are designed in the same style to protect the privacy of our clients, their brands, and office standards.
1. Corporate - Food & Beverage
With a quick fix, this leading grocery store maintained functionality and flexibility in their offices collaborative and meeting spaces
Overall product & services needed to complete - Low
Collaborative Space
What Changed & Why It Works
- They rearranged their sofas to meet social distancing guidelines.
- Removed and stored unnecessary items such as pillows and accessories to reduce the number of surfaces that could be touched and or needed additional cleaning.
- Don't sacrifice functionality and flexibility. This client's solution allows for two collaborative spaces for smaller groups or one space for larger groups just by moving space division.
Other Solutions to Consider
- Add individual lounge chairs for a solution to substitute the multi-seat sofa.
- To add another layer of protection, consider using bleach-cleanable fabrics and textiles on your furniture. Believe us when we say, there are tons of bleach-cleanable materials available.
- Plants and biophilia are essential elements of a workplace as they improve overall employee well-being, productivity, and mood.
Products Featured
Symbol Modular Lounge, Lasso Ottoman, Eames Plywood Dining Chair, Plex Tables, Eames Tables, Canvas Group-Based Dividers
Meeting Room
What Changed & Why It Works
- Our team helped this client by reducing the overall capacity in the room to ensure each employee can maintain a safe 6-foot distance.
- Removed furniture is now stored in our warehouse facility until there is a need for the client to increase capacity.
- Meeting room signage and scheduling technology were updated to reflect the new capacity numbers and communicate to employees when the rooms are dirty, clean, booked, etc.
Other Solutions to Consider
- Consider implementing room scheduling software into your return-to-workplace strategy. This technology can make maintaining the health and safety of your employees much easier. Robin, a conference room scheduling and desk reservation company, allows you to communicate with employees easily, what room/desks are dirty or occupied, and what rooms/desks are sanitized, clean, open, and ready to use.
- For times when employees need to take private calls, phone booths make it easy for people to do so. A regular cleaning schedule between users will be necessary or place a sanitation station nearby if a regular cleaning schedule is not practical.
Products Featured
Headway Table, Exclave Media, Setu Stools, Eames Plastic Stools, Everywhere Tables, Robin Scheduling Software
2. Corporate - Technology Company - Desks and Benching
This global internet and technology company safely distanced all 90 desks without losing a seat
Overall product & services needed to complete - Low
What Changed & Why It Works
- By increasing space between desk by 1-2 feet, and adding fabric panel screens and mobile dividers between each work surface, employees are now able to keep their desks and maintain physical distancing.*
- Encouraging good hygiene and cleanliness, we added open storage and organization accessories to the worksurfaces and sides of their work area. These cubbies and organizing accessories, enable employees to keep personal items off their worksurfaces so they may be cleaned thoroughly and act as barriers to maintain boundaries.
Other Solutions to Consider
- For free address or unassigned hoteling work areas that use one large table, consider modesty screens to keep the division between users.*
- To reduce the number of adjustment surfaces to clean, the Cosm chair was designed specifically around an automatic user-adjustment. As a bonus, it also won the Best of NeoCon Gold Award for “Ergonomic Seating.” Its sophisticated ergonomic design instantly responds to your body, movement, and posture to provide natural balance and total support.
Products Featured
Canvas Channel, Renew Sit-to-Stand Tables, Tu Pedestal Files, Logic Surface-Mounted Power, Aeron Chairs, Pari Screens, Ubi Worksurface Storage
3. Government - Transportation Company | Workstations
This simple trick used by a local transportation company turned a pre-COVID-19 workstation typical into a solution that works
Overall product & services needed to complete - Low
What Changed & Why It Works
- This client's four-pack workstation typical was able to meet health & safety guidelines with a simple orientation reconfigure to ensure users/employees were not facing each other.
- Canvas Vista is a system of desks with an intelligent design that trims the size of workstations, freeing up space for more people or diverse settings. By using every square inch smartly, it provides compression without compromise.
Other Solutions to Consider
- If organization and open storage accessories don't work due to limited space or a small workstation typical footprint, sanitation stations ensure your employees have all the resources needed to stay healthy.
Products Featured
4. Education - State University, Higher & Continuing Education | Unassigned Workstations
This local university relies heavily on unassigned workstations for its students. By looking from the student's perspective, this team developed a thoughtful solution that focused on cleanliness and user-experience
Overall product & services needed to complete - Medium
What Changed & Why It Works
- Change workstation finishes to a bright white, so dirt and grime will stand out more. The white surface encourages end-users to clean their work area more often.
- The Cosm chair was added to the workstations. Designed specifically around an automatic user-adjustment, the Cosm was a smart choice for reducing adjustment surfaces that needed to be touched.
- Instead of increasing the height of walls, our design team suggested the client add glass stackers to provide an additional barrier while still creating a sense of openness for the end-user/student.
- Added Ubi work tools for personal belongings and organization, non-cluttered worksurfaces mean less to clean.
- Added sanitation stations to give employees quick access to cleaning supplies to use throughout the day.
Other Solutions to Consider
- If organization and open storage accessories don't work due to limited space or a small workstation typical footprint, sanitation stations ensure your employees have all the resources needed to stay healthy.
- For free address or unassigned hoteling work areas that use one large table, consider laminate modesty screens to keep the division between users.*
- To reduce the number of adjustment surfaces to clean, the Cosm chair was designed specifically around an automatic user-adjustment. As a bonus, it also won the Best of NeoCon Gold Award for "Ergonomic Seating." Its sophisticated ergonomic design instantly responds to your body, movement, and posture to provide natural balance and total support.
Products Featured
Canvas Wall-Based System, Tu Storage, Sayl Task Seating, Cosm Task Seating, Ubi Work Tools
5. Healthcare - Non-profit, Research Institute | Reception & Entryway
This medical research institute's solution shows why safety starts the moment your employees enter the office and how to achieve it.
Overall product & services needed to complete - Low
What Changed & Why It Works
- They reconfigured the entryway by removing and storing extra furniture to help employees maintain health & safety protocols and reduce the risk of virus spread within the office.
- Added a custom plexiglass screen to the reception desk.*
- A sanitation station at the entrance ensures employees enter the office with disinfected hands and masks in place.
- If granted access, employees are required to put their belongings and personal items in lockers to reduce the overall spread of germs from items.
Other Solutions to Consider
- Temperature reading technology makes it very clear whether you can enter or not and help them to maintain a safe office. Let us know if you'd use this technology in your office.
Products Featured
Canvas Wall Based System, OFS Mile Marker Lockers, Plex Lounge Seating, Compass Sanitation Station
We have created a My Resource Library board, which highlights all the bleach-cleanable fabrics that you can specify (there are hundreds to choose from). Take a look here.
