Planning and Designing Collaborative Work Spaces – Cisco Systems® Case Study and Design Considerations
In 2004, Cisco Systems® set out to design work spaces to promote collaboration, improve productivity and cut costs. The result of their planning, work and findings can be reviewed in detailed by downloading the Cisco Case Study http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ciscoitatwork/downloads/ciscoitatwork/pdf/Cisco_IT_Case_Study_Connected_Workplace_POC.pdf
When researching their work and how it might apply to other organizations, I noted with interest a comment from a Cisco IT manager regarding needs of employees articulated during brainstorming sessions. One frequently mentioned need was for quiet areas to be used for short period of times during the day. Another mentioned personal lockers for belongings like purses and lunches and larger filing cabinets for employees whose job required them to store forms or records.
I researched the latest offerings of office furniture products available in San Jose and Silicon Valley, and found a couple of new products that would be very helpful in meeting the above needs for small quiet places, personal lockers and filing cabinets (both big and small).
Coming next – info on personal/portable locker space.
Planning and Designing Collaborative Work Spaces – Personal Storage Space
As discussed earlier, in 2004, Cisco Systems® set out to design work spaces to promote collaboration, improve productivity and cut costs. The result of their planning, work and findings can be reviewed in detailed by downloading the Cisco Case Study http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ciscoitatwork/downloads/ciscoitatwork/pdf/Cisco_IT_Case_Study_Connected_Workplace_POC.pdf
When researching their work and how it might apply to other organizations, I noted with interest a comment from a Cisco IT manager regarding needs of employees articulated during brainstorming sessions. One frequently mentioned need was for quiet areas to be used for short period of times during the day. Another mentioned personal lockers for belongings like purses and lunches and larger filing cabinets for employees whose job required them to store forms or records.
Today we are review new products that would be very helpful in meeting the personal locker storage needs of mobile/hotelling personel.
In an agile and dynamic workspace, one of the challenges to success can be the loss or lack
of a defined personal space for employees. “Hive” seeks to solve this vital need in a unique way.
Made from wood, the “Hive” system was developed keeping in mind how people would work in the new agile office. They wanted to be able to locate these units in corridors rather than in locker rooms. Therefore they had to be made fun and flexible. You can interchange doors easily and change graphics quickly.
Each worker gets one level as their permanent office base. This unit is their address. This is where physical messages or messages are left. They get about 39 inches of personal storage space to put their
hotbox (more on that later) and other important belongings.
When you combine the small, movable Hive and the personal storage of Hotbox, clutter is removed from the workspace. You no longer need a pedestal. And each desk can now have many users.
Shared desks becomes more viable since one Hive replaces the need for up to 3 personal pedestals for each desk.
Coming next – space saving large filing storage systems.
