A Shift to Alternative Work Points in Dynamic Workplaces
Tue, 17 Feb 2015
Over the past 3 years we have had experience being involved in dynamic workplaces, inspiring us to get to work designing better solutions to serve them. While we are still hard at work putting the finishing touches on some of these solutions, we felt it was time to share one of them that has been a hit both here in NZ and across the ditch in Australia.
Shift was developed in response to ASB-North Wharf (2013) ABW (activity based working) Workplace. Vidak was challenged by the property and design team to design, develop and resolve a table solution that would work with their soft seating destinations in their shared collaborative zones. It needed to provide a connected and ergonomic working platform that worked as an alternative single or shared work point. Knowing that this piece would be key to the success of the ABW environment we took the design and development process very seriously.
The big challenge was the function. The table needed to be able to height adjust as well as adjust laterally 4 ways while not moving from a fixed location. The requirement came from the need of the user..."if I am expected to work away from my workstation, I need to be able to work comfortably". So the design and R&D team at Vidak set out to design, test and work with our supply chain to solve this need.
Included in the function was the ability for Shift to supply power and data connectivity at the work surface, easily accessible and usable by any person with any mobile device. Without this, ergonomic or not, Shift couldn't support an ABW environment if it couldn't support the devices that enabled the workforce to be mobile in the workplace.
The key to get all of this right was the testing on the user group themselves. First having them look at, poke, prod, play and sit at these prototypes in our environment at Vidak, and then once further resolved to their specification, setting them up in their own test working environment. The results of having any product tested in reality are always more beneficial than ones tested theoretically, and Shift was no different. We learnt, modified and got it right for the client.
Since then, Shift has had some further resolution and enhancements to become a better alternative work point solution, encouraging collaboration and flow within an open/dynamic environment by providing connectivity, movement and ergonomics away from your workstation.
Shift is currently enhancing workplaces for government and the private sector throughout NZ and Australia...and the good news...we have more solutions coming.
Keen to know more? Get in touch and we would be happy to give you a test drive.
Jono Vidak - Director - Vidak Limited