Office Technology Archives

NeoCon 2019 Winners

CONTRACT MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES NEOCON 2019 WINNERS

Every year, Contract Magazine hosts the Best of NeoCon Competition which surveys the latest and greatest in commercial product design and highlights standout entries in various design categories. The 2019 winners were announced during an awards breakfast on June 10 at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, where eighty-three awards and recognitions were given, including six Editor’s Choice awards, eight Innovation awards, and a Best of Competition prize. Below are all winners from this year’s competition. Drumroll and envelopes please!—Here are the Best of NeoCon 2019 winners:

Acoustic Panels & Solutions

Gold: Snowsound: FLAT
Silver: Luxxbox: Linea Acoustic LED Lighting System

Acoustic Privacy & Modular Solutions

Gold: OFS: Leant To
Silver: Framery Acoustics: Framery 2Q

(Image Source – OFS: Leant To)

Architectural & Decorative Glass

Silver: Skyline Design: Oblique & Chevron

Architectural Products

Gold and Best of Competition: OFS: Obeya
Silver: Connectrac: Flex

(Image Source – OFS: Obeya)

Carpet: Broadloom

Gold: Tarkett: Tatami System
Silver: Mohawk Group: Textural Effects

Carpet: Contract Area Rugs

Innovation: Mohawk Group: Connecting Neurons Definity

Carpet: Modular

Gold: Patcraft: Deconstructed Felt
Silver: Shaw Contract: Suited

Case Goods

Gold: HALCON: HALO Office
Silver: Herman Miller: Geiger One Casegoods

Conference Room Furniture

Gold: Nucraft: Alev
Innovation: Tuohy Furniture Corp.: Meich Tables
Silver: Andreu World: Reverse Wood

Education Solutions

Gold: VS America: JUMPER
Silver: Keilhauer: Buncha

Flooring: Hard Surface LVT & Planks

Gold: Patcraft: Handloom
Innovation: Metroflor Corp.: Metroforms with Attraxion Magnetic Attachment Technology
Silver: Milliken & Co.: Change Agent LVT

Furniture Collections for Collaboration

Gold: Steelcase: Flex Collection
Innovation: Teknion: Bene Box
Silver: STYLEX: Free Address

(Image Source – STYLEX: Free Address)

Furniture Systems & Enhancements

Gold: Watson Furniture Group: Cloud 9 Rail
Silver: HALCON: HALO Office

Furniture: Benching

Gold: Innovant: Cross Benching

Healthcare Fabrics & Textiles

Gold: Designtex: Biophilia 2.0
Silver: CF Stinson: Chiaroscuro Collection

Healthcare Flooring

Gold: Teknoflor: Coordination Collection
Silver: Mohawk Group: True Hues

Healthcare Guest & Lounge Seating

Gold: Kwalu: Prizzi Lounge
Healthcare Patient Seating
Silver: Spec Furniture: Tailor HD

Lighting: Decorative & Hospitality

Gold: Eaton: Shaper Sense Acoustic LED Luminaires
Silver: LightArt: Acoustic Wing

Lounge Furniture Collections

Gold: Haworth Inc.: Cabana Lounge
Silver: Andreu World: Rap Sofa

Movable Walls

Gold: Teknion: Tek Vue
Silver: Allsteel: Beyond Pavilion

Office Accessories

Gold: Allsteel: Radii
Silver: Watson Furniture Group: Cloud 9 Cart and Garage

Seating: Bar Stools

Editors’ Choice: Martin Brattrud: Cumbia
Gold: Davis Furniture Industries: Muse Barstool

Seating: Benches

Editors’ Choice: Nienkämper: Heartbeat
Gold: Green Furniture Concept: Nova C Perch
Silver: Allermuir: Axyl Bench

(Image Source – Allermuir: Axyl Bench)

Seating: Conference

Gold: OFS: Kasura
Silver: Davis Furniture Industries: M75

Seating: Ergonomic Desk/Task

Gold: via seating: Younique
Silver: Nightingale Corp.: NLC

(Image Source – Via Seating: Younique)

Seating: Guest

Gold: Allermuir: Kin
Silver: Andreu World: Gala

Seating: Outdoor Contract & Hospitality

Silver: Andreu World: Nuez Outdoor

Seating: Sofas & Lounge

Gold: Andreu World: Rap sofa
Silver: Green Furniture Concept: Nova C Recliner

Seating: Stacking

Gold: Sandler Seating: HDS 1.1
Silver: SitOnIt Seating | IDEON: Mika

(Image Source – SitOnIt Seating: Mika)

Signage & Wayfinding

Gold: Takeform: Lucid Refined Interior Signage
Silver: 2/90 Sign Systems: SafeCare Signs

Space Dividers/Partitions/Screens

Gold: Clarus Glassboards: Flex Wall
Silver: Naava: Naava Flow

Tables: Communal & Task

Gold: Nucraft: Epono
Silver: Davis Furniture Industries: Inform

(Image Source – Nucraft: Epono)

Tables: Height-Adjustable/Training/Work

Editors’ Choice: Versteel: Sky
Gold: Watson Furniture Group: Cloud 9 Desk
Silver: Senator International: Array

(Image Source – Senator International: Array)

Tables: Occasional

Editors’ Choice: Studio TK: Freehand Occasional Tables
Gold: Nucraft: Alev
Innovation: Davis Furniture Industries: Lift

Technology-Integrated Solutions

Gold: Steelcase: Roam
Innovation: Connectrac: Flex
Silver: National Lighting: Revive

Textiles: Upholstery

Editors’ Choice: Wolf Gordon: VEER
Editors’ Choice: Luum Textiles: Future Tense Collection
Gold: HBF: Lost & Found
Innovation: Haworth Inc.: Haworth Knits
Silver: Momentum Group: Architectural Textures Collection

Wall Treatments

Innovation: Momentum Group: Woven Silica
Silver: Designtex: Metallic Wallcoverings

Workplace Technologies

Gold: CF Stinson: designMix with colorAI
Silver: FreeAxez: Gridd Mobile

See NeoCon 2018 Winners
Resources: www.contractdesign.com

Creating a Great Office Design to Boost Employee Potential

Creating a great office design that appeals to the people who work there is a recent, and important trend in office layout and planning. Does your office provide an environment that’s productive and comfortable? Have you taken a holistic look at it? Interestingly enough, past design principles that rolled out in the 1950’s are still very strongly in play today. Read on and learn how to evaluate your workplace to help create a great office design that can help boost employee potential.

When Offices Started Shifting

The layout of offices from the industrial era of the 20^thcentury were usually set up in a hierarchy. Employees were meant to come in and serve the company with little thought given to the employee experience. Heavy manufacturing of automobiles and steel, along with aerospace, fueled much of the nation’s economy and provided high-paying jobs for executives and for laborers. Office design and planning usually reflected the rigid patterns needed to produce the end products. The workplace was typically “rote and uninspired” as author Nikil Saval describes in his book Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace. A new view came along during the mid-century, wrote Saval, when two German brothers who worked in the furniture business with their father started a consulting company. They saw an office as “an organic whole, made up of finely interlinking parts and an enormously complex network of paper flow.” Their work, roughly translated as “office landscape,” led to the start of the break room and gave an early model for an open office design with limited use of mobile partitions and plants to create sections.

Questions to Ask About Your Office

The digital revolution has changed the world as much as the industrial revolution and has led to new office layouts. Flexibility, comfort and employee wellness are key. Workstations with height-adjustable surfaces and modular lounge chairs offer creative ways to meet employee needs.

Consider this to evaluate your own office styles and needs.

What phase is your company in: start-up with funding, a mature corporation or somewhere in between?
Do you have an open office arrangement, cubicles, or a mix?
Does the space seem cluttered or not used effectively?
If a new employee comes onboard, how do you decide where the new hire will work?
Do you have many project or freelance workers who only need occasional spaces?
Are your office workstations and chairs ergonomic and promote wellness?
Are there designated focus or concentration zones?
Do you use plants effectively?
Are wires exposed and risk being trip hazards?
Have you maximized the flow of natural light?

Future Proofing for a Great Office Design

Future office trends are happening right now. They include: maximizing natural light to boost morale and productivity, using energy smart devices and downloading apps to make mobile communication as seamless as possible. In addition, designating collaborative work areas as well as separate zones set aside for personal focus will continue to put emphasis on employee well-being.

Remember, in a competitive marketplace, a well-planned office environment provides an advantage. Create an organic flow in an office layout and employees become more engaged, than if they feel they’re just showing up to a haphazard arrangement of desks and chairs. Employees see their working environment as an extension of the company’s brand. They perform the tasks that attract customers and clients, and they’re the first to know if the brand promise is authentic or not.

Image Source: OFS Obeya

future proofing office design office design history office planning space planning

How to Foster Better Office Communication

A lack of better office communication leads to many workplace challenges. Misunderstandings arise and employees are often admonished to get a job done, “no excuses.” That shuts down problem solving dialogue as people retreat to their desks. Here’s how to set the stage and create a culture for better office communication and create a confident and cohesive team.

Communicate Clearly

Think of office communication as a process that flows top-down and then flows from the bottom up. Communication top-down means making sure the staff knows organizational goals and how those fit the company’s mission and vision. This brings employees together and gives a feeling of significance if they see how they’re contributing to a clearly set goal and mission. Bottom-up office communication is also important. Listening to the challenges that impede progress from sales personnel to those in production or in customer service definitely contrubutes to better office communication and can help troubleshoot and improve internal functions.

Communicate Specifically

In a department meeting or in a one-on-one setting, communicating specifically is best, and helps better office communication. It’s easy to deliver good news like record sales and zero customer complaints. When delivering tough news or when uncertainty is in the air, being specific is challenging for leaders and for employees. Executive leadership is supposed to “know everything” and, for legal reasons, may have topics that can’t be fully discussed like why a specific person had to leave or if merger talks are in the works. It’s best to say when an issue can’t be put out in the open since being vague sounds like something is being hidden. Ask individuals and departments for their feedback to give them responsibility for their outcomes. If a department is falling behind on something like production, then ask them to come together as a team and identify reasons. Then have them present those specific reasons. This way, they don’t feel they’re being blamed. Ask them to include challenges that may prevent them from achieving improved outcomes.

Communicate as a Culture

Set the stage, or lay the foundation, for a positive communication experience in the workplace. Just like customers have “touch points” during their buying journey, think of employees having “touch points” in their workplace experience. It’s more than motivational sayings taped to the wall. The environment sets the stage for a culture of better office communication. Furnishings define workspace areas, places to have focused conversations and areas to take a break. Here’s an idea. Walk in the door. How inviting does the reception area look with the existing desk and chairs? Do workstations support people in their tasks, allow for privacy and for collaboration? Remember that areas that are supposed to inspire interaction and flow of effective communication is key. Set up meeting areas where an exchange of ideas and discussions can take place by using co-op meeting spaces and architectural walls. Investing in the right equipment and furnishings shows the commitment to each employee’s well-being.

Achieving Better Office Communication

By tackling office interactions clearly, specifically and with purpose, it opens the door for better office communication flow as a culture — all in all promoting an office that his more effective, productive and happy.

3 C’s of Office Interior Trends

In Southern California, workers in the digital age will continue seeing office interior trends that focus on three important Cs: comfort, communication, and camaraderie. Expectations among staff is that the workplace should be comfortable and inviting. Younger generations especially want a highly relational approach to handling tasks and completing projects. They want to work in a place that fosters open communication that’s conducive to positive camaraderie. How does your workplace compare to the direction that office interiors are heading?

Comfort

Office furniture that adapts to the individual user is an important consideration in creating a comfortable office environment. Continued use of quality ergonomic chairs and height-adjustable desks for workstations and private offices is part of the office wellness movement. Moreover, a pleasant setting isn’t just about furnishings and how they look or function. Contemporary office interior trends continue to bring in the outdoors. This encourages companies to maximize the benefits of natural lighting and plants. Surveys have shown that having windows, skylights, and solar tubes that let in plenty of light is a major office perk. Plants refresh the air and also break up the indoor scenery.

Communication

One of the interior trends that will continue are flexible or multifunctional office spaces and rooms. This adaptability comes natural with an open office layout. Since permanent walls don’t define space in many office interiors, modular workstations and lounge areas can be set up or taken down as needs arise. However, one must consider that this benefit is also a weakness. Increased communication is great for collaboration, but the dialogue can also create interruptions and distractions. Creating spaces that relate to each other in close proximity is also a great office trend. This allows like-minded groups to create camaraderie.

Camaraderie

Relaxed spaces allow people to take a breather and get refreshed but they also do something more. They also allow employees to interact on a collegial level. Some companies may claim that their employees are like family. That level of intimacy may be overstated, but there’s no question that coming together as community is one of the office interior trends that’s valued. Work tasks can be isolating and sometimes daunting. Corporate stakes can sometimes be high so coming together in a relaxed space can allow employees to breathe and, in doing so, relieve tension and keep office morale high. It’s important to consider that some employees may be ready to play while someone else needs to finish a project. Plenty of lounge furniture with open, private or semi-private options are available to meet a variety of needs.

Achieving the 3C’s of Office Interior Trends

Getting the most from an office space to create optimal workflow and community requires expert input. If you are interested in designing your office to help you achieve these 3 C’s of office interior trends, please don’t hesitate to ask us for help. Our office furniture experts are here to guide you and help you every step of the way.

Image Source: Rouillard

interior trends office camaraderie office comfort office communication

Update: Office Technology Trends 2019

Leveraging Smart Office Capabilities for a Worker-Friendly Environment

What the smart office looks like and how it functions depends on the company’s purpose and objectives. Today’s technology and current office trends supports an array of industries:

A financial planner wants new insights on a client and uses a smart CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A manufacturing firm streams data to schedule equipment maintenance and conserve energy consumption.
A local school district troubleshoots connectivity issues
A warehouse uses autonomous robots to pull customer orders off shelves.
A video game firm and police department can use a technology like Virtual Reality to create simulations for completely different purposes.

What is the Smart Office?

A smart office gives employees the technological tools needed to work effectively in support of what the company wants to achieve. Office trends today strongly exhibits that working smarter isn’t just based on human intellect anymore.

Today’s technology is amazing, but the end game is meeting the needs of people. A well-planned smart office is responsive to the needs of workers and customers.

In the world of online retail and logistics, companies that deliver packages quickly make customers happy and are positioned to compete well and win future orders. Making it easy for a customer to place an online order is an important part of success in the supply chain. Warehouses use autonomous robots to quickly pull items off of shelves and package them for quick shipping.

Technology can work at a personal level, too. In a school, imagine a student who suffers from the fear of mathematics using a device equipped with Artificial Intelligence to map the student’s learning patterns. It can offer feedback and take the student through a step-by-step process to gain confidence and answer correctly.

Technology is made to function for an established purpose and fit within a workplace strategy.

Smart Office Benefits

The tech start-up coming out of one of the nation’s robotic hubs will certainly use the latest connective technologies, but mature industries like life-sciences, financial services, and education are sending and pulling from the Cloud.

Sensors have dropped in cost along with vision systems to collect constant streams of data in split second intervals to make decisions. Think of a self-driving or autonomous vehicle. Australian mining giant Rio Tinto uses self-driving trucks weighing 46 tons to transport iron ore. They can operate safely 24 hours a day if necessary and use a myriad of sensors to gauge the shortest distances to save on fuel.

Technology is responsive and unifying. Los Angeles has used a “centralized business intelligence system” to create efficiencies among more than 500 datasets spread across multiple city agencies. The data is accessed to work with private businesses, nonprofits, and universities.

Office Trends Point to Smart Office Furniture

Chairs and desks are no longer static objects. Estimates say that 26 billion “Internet of Things” devices (every day objects with embedded computing devices interconnected via the Internet, enabling them to send and receive data from one another) will be connected to office furniture in the next five to six years.

Offices already have access to innovative furniture. Height-adjustable desks are a reality and promote health by allowing staff to change positions while working. How about getting a reminder to stand now and then by a Bluetooth-enabled desk? Some desk models now have touchscreens embedded in the table to prompt workers with reminders for lunch and tasks to complete.

Sensors can also be implemented to determine the temperature and humidity at a desk for maximum comfort and energy efficiency.

Wireless charging panels will grow in popularity, too. Place a smartphone on a desk or table to power it up with no wires required. This can eliminate trip hazards like extension cords.

Stay up-to-date on office furniture innovations with the experience of 2010 Office Furniture, totaling more than 40 years in planning office set-ups and working with management teams to furnish entrepreneurial start-ups and established corporations.

Read Also: Digital Workplace Trends for 2019
Main Photo: AIS Calibrate Conference Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: AIS

Digital Workplace Trends for 2019

4 Tech Office Trends 2019 to Follow

We’re seeing the future of work around us every day — automation in its different forms while bringing the comforts of home into professional environments. Look for these four technology office trends 2019 that will shape the workplace in the upcoming year.

1. Artificial Intelligence in B2C

A customer phones a call center to complain and an agent on the call is watching prompts with reminders on being empathetic and keywords to guide the conversation. It’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed by Cogito that company reps can use to improve a customer’s experience and ensure that they’ve been heard. And while AI is still relatively in its early stages, we’re seeing it everywhere. Our everyday smartphones that complete our text messages by suggesting specific words and phrases are an example of how AI is developing and learning user behaviors based on algorithms. But some say that true AI learns on its own, without depending on us — which is no doubt soon to be seen in the near future (if not already). In the meantime, we also are now benefitting from smart sensors that can help employees and home-based businesses set comfortable temperatures based on learned preferences and use tools like Alexa to offer reminders, play music and conserve energy.

Among other advances in technology, make sure to look for features built-in to office furniture such as desks with touchscreens that can remind workers when to go to lunch or prepare for appointments. This is definitely something to watch out for in office trends 2019. Also, expect mobile devices to be in the fore of machine learning capabilities.

2. Robots in Industrial Automation

The automotive and electronics industries have used robots for many years, but automation is becoming common across all industries including food and beverage manufacturers as well as distributors and the transportation-logistics sector. Imagine an autonomous vehicle leaving a distribution center to deliver goods to a construction site. On board are smaller robots equipped with vision control to locate customer-specific packages and complete the unloading process.

It’s important to note that robots are no longer just built as a combinations of wires, metals, plastics or other hard mechanical parts. Soft robotics is a concept on the rise making robots flexible enough to handle items like shirts and basketballs. Also as we advance further into AI technology, look forward to robots connected to the cloud for more computational power that will be able to communicate with each other more effectively.

More and more, we’ll see huge advancements in robot technology as part of this year’s office trends 2019.

3. Automating Office Security

From face recognition to mobile robots, we look forward to seeing continued changes in office security. Government offices, universities and high-tech firms have traditionally had security plans that include key-card access systems, closed-circuit monitoring devices, and secure storage cabinets.

How about a roving robot as security guard?

A start-up firm founded by a former Google X employee is creating a robotic security force. As noted in this article on CNBC.com, Cobalt raises more than 16 million to bring security robots to the office, that can identify intruders and find maintenance problems like water leaks. The robot “learns” how a secure building should appear so that it can spot something that’s gone wrong. A human security force can be alerted and sent in to patrol as needed.

4. Integrating Tech with a Human Touch

The office isn’t going away anytime soon. Not long ago, telecommuting was seen as the future while diminishing the importance of an office workspace. Yet, Apple invested $5 billion in its spaceship-style headquarters and can house 12,000 employees under one roof. On a micro-level, freelancers who can work from home are flocking to co-work spaces to toil away alongside other gig contractors.

An office is a desirable place and though technological breakthroughs are fascinating, even the most tech-savvy companies work to keep humans comfortable. Smart sensors to adjust lighting and temperatures to optimal levels exist alongside dividers made with succulents and other green plants. Drab gray is being replaced with more lively colors. Bean bag chairs and comfy lounge seats are an alternative to work stations when breaks are needed. And it’s not all about work. Open air kitchen and snack bars provide desirable amenities with ping pong tables and tread mills giving exercise options.

No doubt, the modern office will continue to be a high-tech environment with space designed for a human touch.

2010 Office Furniture can configure new workspaces and those office spaces that are being re-designed. Click here to submit a project and request expert guidance that spans more than 45 years working with businesses of all sizes across Southern California.

Read Also: Device Free Work Sones: Is This Still Possible?
Main Photo: Senator Play AV Media Table
Resources & Special Thanks to Respective Product Manufacturers: Senator

Category: Office Technology