D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Posts Tagged ‘office design’
November New and Used Office Furniture Sale
Click here to see our New and Used Furniture Specials for November.
Need Extra Space?
If you have to store files, furniture or any miscellaneous items and
don’t have the space in your current office, we can help. With climate
controlled, secure storage, we will take care of your excess content and
keep an accurate inventory for you so you know what’s there.
If you are renovating your office and need temporary off site storage,
we can help. We will break down your furniture, pack your content and
store it. Then, when you need it, we will deliver and place your
furniture as requested.
If you have seasonal staff, and you need to store the furniture and files during the off-season – we can help.
Call us today at 416-239-1931 and save value real estate space and money!
The Sit-Stand Desk Just Got Smarter
If you thought having the option to sit or stand at your desk…with your desk… while you work was great, then you are going to love what the latest models of sit-stand desks offer. They have gotten smarter!
Not only do the latest models of sit-stand desks give you the option of adjusting the height of your desk to facilitate you changing positions while you work, but newer models of sit-stand desks are built with sensors that actually monitor your sit-stand activity while at your desk. Do you get so focused on your work that you forget to change your working position? No worries. These new sit-stand desks will measure how long you have been sitting and will gently and automatically adjust your desk height so that you end up standing while you continue working, then do the opposite when it senses you have stood long enough—at least that is true for the sit-stand desks that adjust electronically. Some sit-stand desk sensors will also adjust the height of a desk based on the arm or hand height of a user while in either working position. Of course, these desks work best for user’s that remember to change their position.
For those who are health conscious or want to reach/maintain certain health goals, there are sit-stand desks that are also built with sensors programmed to measure the number of calories its user burns as well as sit-stand activity during the workday. Some of these desks even have a touch-screen display no bigger than the size of a mobile phone screen built into the desk which allows its user to pre-set activity goals and sit-stand height levels as well as see their health progress during the day. (As an interesting side note, did you know that a person burns 20% – 30% more calories while standing compared to when sitting?)
Other smart features of these sit-stand desks include connectivity to blue tooth and other smart devices that allow its user to control the lights and thermostat in a room.
What is best about these new sit-stand desks is that in most cases, they remain ergonomically friendly, optimizing the comfort level for users and minimizing pressure on one’s feet and back.
So, are you in the market for a smart sit-stand desk?
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D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
References:
Jolly, Jennifer, “Smart Desks to Keep you Moving”, Wired Well, New York Times http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/smart-desks-to-keep-you-moving/?_r=2&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=undefined&action=keypress®ion=FixedLeft&pgtype=Blogs
Stir Kinetic Desk, http://www.stirworks.com/stir-kinetic-desk-m1/
Office Link Group, “Axis Electric Height Adjust”, http://www.officelinkgroup.com/index.php?page=product&categoryid=93&sco=2
5 Elements That Help Bring Nature Into Your Office Space
April 22nd is Earth Day, a day in which people were reminded to protect, value and maintain the environment. For some, it meant planting a tree or two. For others, it was a reminder to go green by consuming less energy, utilizing renewable energy or choosing less pollution-inducing ways to travel from one location to another. For the office space design world, however, it is an ever developing trend to find different ways to bring nature into the immediate work environment.
Here are just five elements of nature that have inspired office space design specialists to incorporate the outdoors into an office space design:
- Living plants – From potted plants to entire gardens, living plants have been the most common used elements in bringing the outdoors into an office space design.
- Moving Water – The movement or flow of water is said to have tranquil calming effect on people who need to take time to clear their minds and prepare for new tasks. Hence, water in the form of small pools, fountains and/or waterfalls has been another element commonly used to bring both the sights and sounds of nature into an office space design.
- Wood and/or stone materials – Whether it is in the panelling, the floor, the furniture, the accessories, or a major part of the architecture, natural wood or stone finishes are becoming more and more popular in office space designs.
- Patterns and textures of nature even in the non-nature items – Sometimes fabrics or artwork with pictures or patterns from nature, or the use of “golf green” in certain areas of an office space has been used as an effective way to incorporate nature into an office space design.
- Life itself – Though not for every office, creating an enclosed area where small birds can fly and sing freely or fish can swim has been used to effectively create an outdoor nature experience within an office space design.
Companies and design specialists recognize the invaluable relationship between nature and people. Humans are more productive, creative and innovative when exposed to a natural environment, maybe because of the increased oxygen levels or the calmness and tranquility it imposes on the mind. Nature comes alive when humans recognize and take care of it. Hence, bringing this “eco-system” into an office space design makes sense, especially for companies wanting to have the cutting edge within their industries.
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D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. If a renovation or relocation of your office space is in your plans, please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.
5 Common Mistakes Companies Make When Designing Their Offices
Planning for the correct amount of storage
Understand what you are storing, why you are storing it and make sure it’s not just a catch all place for all the indecision’s your staff make. Storage is too often used to conceal clutter. Effective storage creates efficiencies while creating an environment that is both esthetically appealing and practical. Different storage solutions can provide time saving functionality that boosts productivity and frees up space for other office uses.
Getting employee input
The right office design will help make your business run better.
Involve employees in deciding how the space will look and feel. Employees often have insights into what an operation needs and may have that wasn’t obvious before but may prove valuable. Their involvement in decision-making gives them a voice in something meaningful which increases engagement and improves performance.
Talk to your employees and ask how the old space has worked. Which features have been good or bad, and why do they feel that way? Don’t assume the old layout is necessarily the best to help drive business. Also consider letting employees name common areas such as conference rooms. That way, they can put their stamp on the space.
If you have the time and resources, consider setting up some common work areas, each decorated in one of the color schemes most popular among employees. They can then try the different settings to see how they feel about them.
Besides giving employees a voice in the new office’s aesthetics, encourage them to discuss practicalities, too. Ask for a wish list of items for the new space, such as a coffee bar or certain type of storage, which could help make work a better place to be.
Plan for growth
It’s hard to know the future. Often, we are planning to grow, but just how much, how many more staff and what’s the time frame.
When you’re designing your office with growth in mind, it’s important to look at ways in which space can be reconfigured to accommodate differing team sizes.
It’s crucial to incorporate adaptable, flexible spaces into your present office design. These spaces can be used for ad-hoc meetings or general relaxation areas for existing staff but can also be re purposed as more formal workspace when necessary or for events and presentations.
Think carefully about your office furniture too. Once you have invested all your money in your latest technology or spent a fortune on the best talent, it might be tempting to skimp on the furniture budget.
Not enough open and/or private spaces
One of the most significant decisions in developing a company’s culture relates to the division of office space. Open space, division into offices, team-based division, mixed offices, a small or a big kitchen – each one of these decisions will affect the way the company functions.
In theory, an open space office sounds like a great idea – an open atmosphere, accessibility for everyone and, of course, an optimal utilization of space. Most open spaces are usually quite noisy and are not that conducive to actual discussions. Many people are easily distracted by every phone call, joke or noise around them.
Acoustics
New open concept designs are often filled with hard surfaces like polished concrete, open ceilings and lots of glass, that give a wonderful open feeling to spaces. But there is downside – increased noise levels.
When noise enters the workspace, creativity and productivity go out the window. That’s why manufactures of office furniture have thrown themselves into designing elements that limit and absorb excessive noise, creating pleasant workspaces that improve performance. The trend for open-plan designs, particularly in new workspaces, has put sound at the forefront of design.
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of Choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If a renovation or relocation of your 2,000 – 25,000 sq.ft. office space is in your plans, contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. We guarantee that by the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your office renovation/relocation project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931, email [email protected] or visit our website for more information and to complete our contact form.