Our small company (about 30 employees and growing) will be moving to a larger facility later in 2014. The construction is now at the stage where decisions will need to be made with regard to placement of electrical and data outlets.
We are looking for some companies that are experienced in assisting with the selection and layout of furniture to maximize our space and functionality and can advise us where electrical and data outlets should be placed. We will be purchasing furniture for an additional, much larger conference room, break room and additional offices. We also will be expanding our Sales and Engineering office which will mean adding more cubicles and redesigning the layout to fit into the new space.
We are in Maryland. I am seeking recommendations of companies that sell office furniture that can also assist us in this planning process and give us some options along with quotations.
I also would appreciate any input/advice from anyone that has already experienced an office expansion. What questions I should ask? What potential problems might be anticipated? Can you think of anything that might be overlooked? Is there anything that you learned the hard way that you could share? Thanks in advance for your help!
Submitted by: Violet
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Our office recently moved into a new space. While we employees didn't have a say about the selection and layout of furniture (that was handled by our directors), I will suggest that when it comes to electrical outlets, more is better. It's easier (and cheaper) to put them in during construction rather than afterwards. Also, keep in mind that filing cabinets can block electrical outlets so make sure they are accessible once the furniture is in place. Enjoy your new space!
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Anonymous on
6/18/2014 7:10:49 AM
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Thank you ALL for your help! You have given me a great jump start and probably saved me a few headaches! AEAP peeps are a fabulous resource!
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Violet on
6/16/2014 2:29:55 PM
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I have worked with Storr Office Environments and they are an authorized Steelcase dealer (http://www.storr.com/).
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Anonymous on
6/16/2014 1:29:16 PM
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When our new building was built, the office supplier (desks, cabinets, etc) measured from the set of plans and did not take into account the space left after the inside walls were built. So they need to measure after the dry wall is up and pipes to the roof are dry walled in. As some offices had corners and some had vents walled around the original desks planned did not fit into the corner. Also the walk ways around the cubicles did not meet ADA width, so we had to shorten up some of our cubicle walls and loose a counter that was slated for work space in order to get all the insides correct.
Also, when ordering chairs, make sure you sit in the chair where it will be used (for instance at a U shaped desk). Some of the chairs are so big, that when in them, you cannot back up and open up a drawer behind you, without pulling the chair all the way out of the "U" type desk. Save extra carpet too, for spills or patching.
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Julie Minegar Stasi on
6/16/2014 1:16:34 PM
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If you already have good working relationships with local office supply vendors, check with them to see if they have the capacity to help you plan your placement/furniture needs, etc.
I would caution that whoever you choose, check into whether or not they will be able to offer the same brand/size of cubicle walls/structures in your particular sizes years down the road if you choose to expand even more and have to redo areas. The company I work for in the Midwest recently ran into that issue with cubicle walls and we are having difficulty finding some additional walls that will work with the ones we already have in place but are no longer available.
I would also recommend you work closely with your IT staff. They can be quite helpful when it comes to placement of electrical outlets, network outlets, phone outlets, etc. They may also recommend equipment that makes meetings go much smoother (i.e. projector already built into the meeting room or digital screens that you can connect your laptop to for presentations, etc. Good luck!!
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Kelly Dodson on
6/16/2014 1:07:25 PM
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I am not familiar with the Office Supply/Furniture companies in your area, howveer, most that carry the Steel Case furniture and other furniture products will frequently have a design representative on staff who can assess the work space and make recommendations based on the number of co-workers who will share the space and the type of technology you plan to use. I would suggest that a couple of designs be evaluated in an effort to project for growth as well as the immediate needs.
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Debbie on
6/16/2014 1:07:23 PM
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