Systems Furniture Decision Check Points

Beauty is only skin deep, as the old saying goes. That is why buyers must look behind colors, textures and styles of systems furniture offerings to evaluate construction quality and to determine how the manufacturer has provided for managing voice, data and power cabling.

First Costs and Life Cycle Costs

"From a purely financial perspective - appearances aside - systems furniture buyers must balance first costs against life cycle costs," says Mark Bassil, vice president and co-founder of modular office systems furniture manufacturer MAiSPACE, based in Mt. Olive, NJ. "These buyers, especially for businesses experiencing growth, need to consider the longevity of the purchase when making long-term investments."

Under conventional purchasing scenarios a lower life cycle cost is generally achieved through a high initial cost. Conversely, to many buyers low-cost systems furniture hints construction shortcuts that substantially shorten service life.

"With MAiSPACE such is not the case," Bassil is quick to point out. "Our global sourcing, supply chain management, just in time manufacturing and nationwide distribution system mean that our price points average 40% below some of the best known names in the contract furniture industry. But this is not at the expense of quality - we back our products with a lifetime warranty and a 10-year guarantee against obsolescence.

"Looking at it another way," he says, "our first costs for fully furnished modular offices begin at $12 - $15 per square foot installed regardless of the number of units ordered."

Life Cycle Cost Factors

In systems furniture the chief factor impacting service life is the churn that occurs in today's offices. "Churn, described as Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs) can average 40% a year for most companies and can reach as high as 200% according to industry statistics," Bassil says. "It involves adding, moving or removing workspaces to support changing business conditions and it can place a heavy strain on poorly constructed systems furniture. In fact," he says, "bends or distortions in structural elements due to MACs can render components unusable - and negate what may have appeared as a favorable first cost."

Similarly, MACs can cause severe headaches if the systems furniture voice, data and power cabling is not designed to accommodate trouble-free alterations to the local area network (LAN). "With conventional LAN cabling, network downtime can be office-wide and very costly in terms of lost production and in terms of hiring outside experts to handle the job," Bassil says. "This is part of life cycle costs. MAiSPACE addresses it through its patented plug-and-play cabling system that can be mastered by in-house personnel after a short period of training. With it only the affected modules are disconnected while business continues uninterrupted elsewhere."

The company's floor-to-ceiling wall layouts are used for private offices, conference and collaboration rooms. "These can be reconfigured overnight at 1/3 the cost of conventional drywall construction," Bassil says. "Non-destructive fasteners firmly attach wall elements to ceilings and floors without damaging tiles or carpeting - another life cycle cost factor."

Though not unique to MAiSPACE, systems furniture can yield savings because it is not part of the building structure and therefore may qualify for depreciation and real estate tax benefits.

Check Vendors' Approaches to Quality Assurance

Manufacturers of system furniture should provide customers with a lifetime warranty and a guarantee that products purchased today will be available for at least 10 years. They should include an ongoing commitment to total customer satisfaction. Commitments made by MAiSPACE include:

All This and Beauty Too

First costs and life cycle costs must figure into the systems furniture purchasing decision. "We think MAiSPACE has addressed these issues better than any of our competitors," Bassil says. "We excel in other factors too. Our unique construction allows almost unlimited freedom in creating workspaces of any size or configuration. We offer a wide array of panel options in fabric, painted or brushed steel, wood grains, glass, tack board, paper management and more. Our elegantly styled worksurfaces and chairs comply with the latest ergonomic recommendations. The result is an opportunity for office managers and interior designers to create beautiful, comfortable, productive workspaces that help attract and retain personnel and send a message of success to customers and suppliers alike."