The cloud is simply a digital file storage system you access through the internet rather than through your network.  Your documents and spread sheets are stored in buildings thousands of miles away from the office and are accessible to you, and other employees, no matter where you are.  So, if you don’t need company servers anymore, maybe it’s time to think about converting the server room to another conference room.  With wireless cloud technology, you can plop down on any computer anywhere in the office, or on the road for that matter, so why do you need your own cubicle?  Work more comfortabley from a large work table, or sit and collaborate with fellow employees and still easily work on or share documents from your laptop to theirs through the cloud.  You don’t need as many non-assigned desks as you do private workstations.  Half you staff may be on the road at any given time anyway, especially your sales staff.  This means using limited space in a more efficient manner, even reducing square footage and high rents with come with that.  This cloud may not bring rain, but it does bring new ways to designe and utilize work space, and Workspace Solutions designers all over it.

If you’re still a bit cloudy on what cloud computing is, here’s a video that can shed some light on the subject.

Some time ago (actually, a long time ago) we talked about a new product from Abco called Keel.  Keel is a modular office solution that was designed by Paul James. It’s all about balance in the workplace. The focal point rests at the heart of the design structure – what ABCO calls the keel: A simple, integral piece that offers extra strength and very easy assembly. A variety of work surfaces, storage units, and accessories will connect to the keel. This allows each workspace—in an open floor plan or private office—to be customized to the needs of individual users and a range of work flow requirements.

The traditional private cubicle is gone.  In it’s place is an office that more efficiently uses space, and encourages more collaboration.  Abco Keel is part of this revolution.  Your next office design will not be like your last one.  Find out how everything has changed for the better.  Talk to one of the office designers at Workspace Solution today about how you can design or re-design your office for the future.  And learn more about Abco Keel here.

During the summer of 2007, Capital Health System, an acute-care and teaching hospital located inTrenton,New Jersey, began tracking every medical file using RFID technology.  What is RFID?  It stands for Radio Frequency Identification.  Every file has a small RFID circuit chip attached to it.  This chip broadcasts an ID signal that can be picked up by special RFID receiving devices.  In other words, if someone take a patient file, and leaves it in another part of the hospital, the RFID receiver can locate it quickly.

Capital Health System manages 5,000 patient files. Each file is tagged with an RFID tag allowing it to be tracked from the moment it is created for a new patient all the way until the file is retained in storage.  The RFID readers can be positioned at various locations around the hospital to report in real time the locations for every file. Effieicieny improves, and liability is reduced.

Hopsitlas are also using RFID technology to:

• Continuously track each patient’s location
• Track the location of doctors and nurses in the hospital
• Track the location of expensive and critical instruments and equipment
• Restrict access to drugs, pediatrics, and other high-threat areas to authorized staff
• Monitor and track unauthorized persons who are loitering around high-threat areas
• Facilitate triage processes by restricting access to authorized staff and “approved” patients during medical emergencies, epidemics, terrorist threats, and other times when demands could threaten the hospital’s ability to effectively deliver services
• Use the patient’s RFID tag to access patient information for review and update through a hand-held computer

The problem at Christiana Hospital in Newark,Del., where the emergency department has 76 treatment rooms that handle more than 100,000 patients yearly, was that triage nurses were losing track of where patients were in the treatment process as they were moved among diagnostic and treatment facilities. The result: The overall length of a patient’s stay was spiking above normal levels, and about 4% to 5% were leaving without any treatment at all.  An RFID system combined with computer software that associates patients with equipment and treatments solved this problem.

Recent surveys show RFID based solutions are really starting to take off in hospitals around the country.  Many hospitals see RFID solutions as part of taking the step into digital record keeping.

Workspace Solutions is teaming with Spacefile, a storage solution company that offers both RFID technology, and innovative physical storage solutions that allow you to store more in less space.

The Bill and Melinda Gatets Foundation built a half billion dollar office facility in Seattle where they hope to solve some of the world’s toughest problems.  The first problem they tackled was how to better utilize office space to use less of it per employee, while increasing collaboration.  The way they accomplished this is strongly influencing new furniture design and office layouts.

To read the whole story, click here

We’ve commented here on our blog about some of the exciting new design ideas we’re seeing and using in office design today. Here’s a great article that talks about what’s driving some of the radical changes in office design. Read it here.

Remember the old TV commercial where actress Sally Struthers asked us if we wanted to make more money? And the answer was, “Sure, we all do.” Here are a few ways for you to make more money, without a whole lot of effort (Thanks to ABCO, one of our fine office furniture suppliers)
Buy Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Fluorescent bulbs use less energy, emit less heat and last longer than those incandescent bulbs.

Weather Strip Doors and Windows
You may even be eligible for a tax deduction.

Recycle Paper
There are two sides to every piece of paper. Just avoid re-using paper with confidential info on it. Shred that.

Turn Your Equipment Off
At one time, the computer people told us to leave our computers on. Now, it is perfectly OK to turn them off or put them into sleep mode when not in use.

Replace Your Inkjet with a Laser
Laser printers aren’t expensive to buy, and they cost a whole lot less to use than ink jets.

Use a Programmable Thermostat
Set it once and forget it. Why heat the office or showroom if no one’s there?

Another way to save money is with used office furniture, the good kind that we carry here at Workspace Solutions. Check out our used page here.

(Fourth of a four part series on Office Furniture Trends for 2012)

During 2012, we’ll be designing more open offices than ever before, with fewer cubicles, and more common work areas.

Cubicles sales peaked in 2000, when they accounted for nearly 37 percent of all office furniture sales. That’s fallen to about 26 percent. Companies now prefer more open spaces that make it easier for employees to work together.

Workers used to spend most of their day at a desk or cubicle, report to a conference room for meetings, then tread a familiar path back to their workstation. Now, companies are setting up more gathering areas in “in between” spaces, where workers can hold informal conferences, chat with colleagues, or plop down with a laptop. Workers like the flexibility, and companies encourage the collaboration.

More and more employees aren’t even in the office most of the time.  They may be outside sales people or they could be working from home.  Why waste precious office space on people who are rarely actually in the office.  Common work areas and tables provide these workers with what they need to be productive during those rare times they are physically in the building.

The equipment we use and the way we work keep evolving, and so must our office designs.  2012 promises to be a year when we will see many of these changes take place.

As usual, we here at Workspace Solutions will keep you up to date on our “What’s New” blog.

(Third of a four part series on Office Furniture Trends for 2012)

Most of us like the idea of saving the world’s resources for future generations, but it hasn’t always been easy to put our money where our heart is.  Happily, this is changing.

Office furniture stores like Workspace Solutions are now awash in green goods. Furniture made from recycled content, low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints that emit fewer greenhouse gases, organic fabrics and Energy Star business equipment that uses less electricity have become commonplace. The best news, they are price competitive with ordinary, non-green counterparts. Our top office furniture suppliers all feature green lines and products, and are introducing more every day.

Voi from Hon

 Productivity is key for any piece of office furniture. White laminates provide a clean, blank work space that can spur creativity for the user.

It is refreshing and brings brightness. Previously shunned due to its strong reflective quality, white is becoming a popular option for the office. White is the sum of all colors and has no negative connotations. It can be used as both a main color and a contrast color. White creates room and size, brightens up and allows room to breath. It lends exclusivity and drama to spaces or objects. Black against a white background delineates and emphasizes form and design.

It may not be right for everyone, but more and more, white has become a color of choice in office design.  What do you think?  Are you ready for a white desk?

We used to design every work station the same way, and each worker just had to adapt. Today, we design work stations for the task that person will actually be performing, thereby increasing their efficiency and productivity. The downside to doing this in the past was having to mix and match furniture from different manufacturers or style lines. With the new Voi line from Hon, we can now make all of your office furniture look the same from the boardroom to the reception area. Voi gives us the ability to create incredibly flexible offices with a common look. Every desk and work station can be different, yet colors and surfaces all match.

Check out the Voi Video, or contact Workspace Solutions to learn more about Voi from Hon.