Office Interior Design Blog |

Here are a few ideas to keep your warehouse operating safely

Warehouse safety should be discussed with all warehouse employees. All new employees should be required to take warehouse safety training classes. This is to make sure all new workers are aware of the rules and safety regulations to follow while they are working. Horseplay and fooling around should not be tolerated. When you are doing any manual lifting it is important to follow basic lifting techniques. Train employees in how to lift is one of the most important warehouse safety training topics. Back injuries count for more than 50 percent of lost time and sick days in a warehouse. The docking area in a warehouse is probably the busiest area in the warehouse. It is where all products are delivered to, or sent from. It is necessary to make sure the docking area floors are clean at all times. One of the most important warehouse safety procedures is forklift safety. Forklifts are used everyday in warehouses all over. It is important that only forklift trained and certified employees operate them. They can be deadly if used incorrectly. All employees must be at least 18 years old in order to become forklift certified. Only employees certified to use a forklift should operate them. All warehouse workers should know where the first aid kits are located and have a basic knowledge of how to use them. They should also know where all fire extinguishers are and must be trained in fire safety. You should also have an evacuation plan in place.

If you ask four different people what company culture is, likely, you will get four different responses.  Our culture includes our values, personality and practices of SPACE Inc. The culture determines how our teams interact, problem solve, provide client satisfaction and solve problems.

A company with a strong culture may find they have mutual trust and cooperation, open communication, efficient decision making processes and fewer internal disagreements. Creating and maintaining a vibrant culture is what SPACE Inc. strives to do year in and year out. Building relationships and encouraging teamwork help to enhance and grow company culture. Communicating and empowering team members solidify a strong culture.

SPACE Inc. values its team members viewpoints and styles and this makes our growing company attractive to potential employees and is why our current employees stay!

Add Power and Data to Your Existing Table

Oh…we like this product.  It is called Vault Surface Technology and you can retrofit your existing conference room table with it.  Very clever and it looks great.  The unit can be closed when not in use and the surface becomes flush with the table top.  According to the brochure “Vault is a smart and graceful method using touch-control electronics to conceal or reveal connections on the top of any surface, where easy access to power, data, and display technoloty is needed most.  This value driven solution offers connectivity when open, and low profile elegance when closed bringing functionality to the table.” 

Great solution for existing conference rooms and training centers where you need to access power and data more efficiently.

SPACE Inc has been in business for close to 15years now and we are a Haworth Furniture dealer. SPACE has seen good times and as of recent seen how the recession has effected businesses on every level.  We pride ourselves on serving our clients and helping them come to the best possible solution for their unique situations.  This attention to customer service has just paid off for SPACE Inc for the month of July where they have just turned in over one million dollars in new business for the month.

With all of the talk about the bad economy, SPACE Inc’s sales professionals and designers have been working relentlessly on serving the client’s needs as the number one focus. Even in a bad economy, when customer service is made a priority, customers will be drawn to a company with great customer service.  A lot of companies in today’s market have tried to cut corners to save money and forgot about the customer.  The furniture business is what some might say a hard business to be in right now.  One million dollars in sales for one month shows SPACE Inc has not forgot about customer service and is forging ahead in these hard times with the story “We want to make you feel special”. 

Companies can buy furniture from a variety of venues today, but who will service you after your sale? Who cares some might say.  Haworth is not the cheapest office furniture on the market, but it is one of the highest quality products you will find anywhere, and it lasts for years.  If there was to be an issue with the furniture, SPACE Inc will be there to help, whether it be a warranty issue or if it is just an adjustment that needs to be made on a chair. 

Congratulations to the sales and design departments on turning in a great month and thanks to the rest of the teams for making it all go smoothly.

I have just found the best video to share with you!  It explains the interior design process and helps you understand what you should expect from a professional interior designer.   There is a difference in our industry between professional interior designers and your garden variety “decorators.”  Professional interior designers have college degrees, business experience and have passed a qualifying test called the NCIDQ.  You’ll know you have a professional interior designer if you see the letters ASID or IIDA after their name.  Both of these organizations require NCIDQ certification before allowing designers to join their organization. 

This video is from ASID and it provides a great explanation of the services you should expect from your professional interior designer.  Take a look…

Northwood University - Sloan Building

Over the past 2 months SPACE has opened its doors to a business management class from Northwood University so they could analyze our business and use us as a case study for their final exam.  They were to develop a marketing plan and offer suggestions for improvement in what we already do.  The class was divided into 9 teams, so the interaction was varied, intense, and encompassing.

The project caused all of the SPACE managers to open their minds to this generation’s ideas and methods of communication.  In a few years, they will be driving the bus we’re on and this exercise taught us how they’re going to do it and what we have to do to stay on board.

Each presentation delivered at least one nugget of “Ah-ha!” that we could take back and use.  Updating our website and improving our online presence through social media were big topics of discussion.  One of the more valuable pieces we pulled from the project was the SWOT analysis done by each team. 

Overall, we learned what SPACE, Inc. has to do to maintain relevance and a market presence using today’s media options.  In turn, we provided a real-world opportunity for the students to present a marketing plan to a “client” like they will when they enter the business arena.  It was a great experience for both sides and a win-win for all of us.

At SPACE Inc.we utilize “goto meeting” when it is not convenient for a traditional face to face Project Coordination Meeting. This allows all parties involved (electricians, data, communications,facilities managers, customers, just to name a few) to attend these meetings with out leaving their office. This saves everyone time and money. The Project Teams at SPACE Inc. sends out an invitation via email to everyone involved. The invitation supplies everyone instructions on when and how to log into the meetings. Through the use of each persons telephone and computer with Internet capabilities, everyone can hear and view the SPACE Teams meeting as if they were right there in the same room. This is just another way that SPACE Inc. puts customers first.

SPACE Inc.’s Clients First! Process is a unique way for us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. Everything we do revolves around our process and our Core Values.

Flawless execution, communication, and outstanding products provide our clients with a “wow” factor to be envied by our competition.

Space planning and office interior design can be a fun and exciting process. We survey our clients before and after they have worked with us. We want to be sure we have given them exactly what they expected and more.

These results directly impact every member of our team in our performance reviews and carry monetary value in the form of raises and bonuses. We work as a team and as such give 110% to not only meet our client’s expectations, but also that of our team members.

Continual improvement through more efficient use of time, more effective processes and procedures, better communication, and a myriad of other opportunities makes SPACE, Inc. a vibrant, growing company.   Improving ourselves and our company takes many forms and can range from minor tweaks to major changes in how we do business.

Over the years SPACE team members have implemented processes and suggested improvements that have led to “Best Practice” status in our company.   One of the best practice procedures we developed, our installation packet, has been adopted by others in our industry and applauded by our subcontractors. 

How and where do you find potential best-practice applications?  SPACE management encourages benchmarking other companies that do something particularly well.   Consultants have been used to improve our operations and provide personal growth.  SPACE employees attend seminars and training opportunities that foster development and implementation of process changes and time-saving techniques.  SPACE team members attend industry product training, application conventions, and business expos to network, learn, and adapt suggestions and recommendations to our way of doing business.   Continual self-improvement is also encouraged and opportunities are provided by SPACE to enhance communication techniques, improve people skills, and build team members’ knowledge base. 

SPACE, Inc., as a Preferred Dealer for Haworth products, has access to the Dealer Best Practices site Haworth sponsors.   This forum allows us to see what tools other dealerships use as their best practice.   It prevents wasting time re-inventing the wheel and provides optimal methods for enhancing business performance.

There’s no growth without change.  Using best-practice methodology to create change ensures that we’re doing something already proven to work successfully.

As you seen in my previous blog about continuous training, at SPACE Inc. our Operations department takes what we do seriously. In addition to the Haworth Installation certification training  we have an extensive in house training for our installers. Our installers as well as our Project Managers have recently attended leadership training which allows each and everyone one of them to be comfortable whether they are leading form the top, laterally or up word. Speaking of our Project Managers, they too are part of our departments commitment to continuous training. They are currently perfecting their Haworth product knowledge by attending product specification training for each product line that we currently sell. This week it is Compose training that the installation group will also be attending. SPACE, Inc. believes in allowing all it’s employee’s the opportunity to grow.

This is just one of the reasons that we all enjoy working at SPACE, Inc..