Speaker phones

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Author Message Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 191 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Wednesday, May 01, 2013 - 04:20 pm:    http://architexts.us/2013/05/01/speaker-phones/ George is right. People who are using headphones for calls in an open office space are almost a bad. Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 524 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Monday, May 06, 2013 - 09:57 pm:    Ever notice how those people who are most enthusiastic about collaborative open office environments are the partners who have enclosed offices? Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 192 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 08:04 am:    Too true. David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1327 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 03:38 pm:    Phil, Why do you suppose that is? Alan Mays, AIA Senior Member Username: amays Post Number: 120 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 04:17 pm:    When they are in those offices, they typically want those rules to apply to others... Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 456 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 05:16 pm:    ...just like Congress ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 514 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 05:34 pm:    As opposed to its opposite, progress? Open offices are great for claustrophobics; not so good for those who want to catch up on sleep at work. Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 1639 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 05:46 pm:    I'm not too sure about that, Ken. I worked next to a guy who napped on his desk after lunch every day. He'd cradle his head in his arms on his drawing table (which he used as a desk because he reviewed documents). And pretty soon, you'd hear a gentle snore...usually for about 20 minutes or so. Jeffrey Wilson CSI CCS Senior Member Username: wilsonconsulting Post Number: 99 Registered: 03-2006 Posted on Tuesday, May 07, 2013 - 07:31 pm:    Oh -- was I snoring? spiper (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Wednesday, May 08, 2013 - 10:19 am:    which brings us back to the speaker phone folks. They keep waking me up. Seriously though; we have an open office (8-10 people_ and it works very well for us. I suspect that all it takes to turn an open office uncomfortable is having the wrong individual in your office. It is not always the place but rather the players who are the problem. Cohabitation is easy with the right people but miserable with just one wrong one. David Axt, CCS, CSI ,SCIP Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1336 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 10:59 am:    Speaking of open offices, here is a news article on ABC News. "Proof That Open-Plan Offices Are Satan's Handiwork" http://abcnews.go.com/Business/facebook-open-plan-office-rich-distractions/story?id=19545464#.UdLoCtg_e6c Alan Mays, AIA Senior Member Username: amays Post Number: 124 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 01:31 pm:    David, don't worry. Nothing will change. Open offices are here to stay, especially in architecture firms. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 548 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 05:58 pm:    Like it says Alan, Satan's Handiwork! Guest (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 08:04 pm:    Once had one of those with enclosed office convene a conference/meeting (not involving me) in the "corridor" just outside my 4 ft high "cube walls." Most annoying that I could not even concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing. How collaborative is that? Maybe I should have made a fake phone call with "elevated" volume in my voice? Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 1352 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 08:01 pm:    due to a bunch of recent hiring (plus the summer interns) we are now forced into the same working conditions that we sell our clients -- 10% mobile staff (they get a file drawer and then have to go to an open seat); bench desking, and smaller workstations. this includes everyone in the office except the people who conduct confidential things -- the CFO, the Human Resources person, and Mr. Gensler (the emeritus one). lets just say that the firm has ended up buying noise cancelling headphones for a few people, and being a little more flexible with folks working at home. and speakerphones are NOT allowed except in closed conference rooms. the big difference between "open offices" and benching is a huge reduction in square footage per person -- the typical work station is 36" across a table with private storage in a remote file drawer. square footage, per person, gross: about 35 square feet. that includes, as you remember -- all hallways, conference rooms, kitchen space factored into that allocation. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1516 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Thursday, July 11, 2013 - 05:34 pm:    Wow.. And ouch. I once worked on a call center for an insurance company. That's how much space they got: 36" plus a shelf over their workstation. John McGrann Senior Member Username: jmcgrann Post Number: 103 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 08:22 am:    Once had a client that switched to "benching" from an open office layout. The local fire officials took note and together with their building official friends started counting noses. Turns out they just squeaked by on things like sprinkler coverage (no increase in hazard classification) and plumbing fixture counts, but the existing stairs didn't provide enough egress width for the increased population. The next project was to add another egress stair, which had to be constructed within the existing building footprint because the building already maxed out the site. Not cheap, but they probably still saved money on lease costs. John T. McGrann, Jr., AIA, CSI, CCS, LEED AP ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 557 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 09:14 am:    John B: No wonder the gecko tries to limit calls to 15 minutes. Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 197 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 09:44 am:    In the early 90’s I worked for a large firm that implements that small workstation layout. When I pointed out that the desks were not big enough to hold full sized drawings or submittals I was told that we would only plot and use half sized drawings. I was also asked to require that all submittals be 15”x21” maximum. You can imagine how well that went over with contractors. ken hercenberg Senior Member Username: khercenberg Post Number: 558 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 09:56 am:    Ellis, it's called parity. Since "No one looks at the specs," it's only fair that now no one can look at the drawings either. Ignorance is bliss. Don't worry, be happy! Alan Mays, AIA Senior Member Username: amays Post Number: 126 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 11:28 am:    Ken, you think they look at drawings? Take a look at what they submit. It is never what is on the drawings. It is what subs they have deals with and not what is in the spec or on the drawings. It is like they sell a product. You get what the product has or go to a different product. Personally I like the small layout concept. Many submitals these days are PDFs. If done right, it can work, but sadly, I have yet seen it done right. Most are just cramming people into a smaller space. They really don't have the team concept down well. It ends up looking like a sewing machine sweatshop. Mark Gilligan SE, Senior Member Username: mark_gilligan Post Number: 585 Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 12:17 pm:    Half size drawings means some individuals need magnifying glasses? Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 198 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 12:24 pm:    Magnifying glasses he**, sometimes you need a microscope. Since CAD standards permit fonts smaller than 1/8” it is really tough to read crowded drawings. Regarding electronic submittals: reviewing is easy for some submittals. But I do not know how you can review all submittals for a large complicated project (a hospital for instance) without having multiple drawings and documents open simultaneously. Try that on you monitor. Richard L Matteo, AIA, CSI, CCS Senior Member Username: rlmat Post Number: 596 Registered: 10-2003 Posted on Friday, July 12, 2013 - 12:27 pm:    At my last firm they plotted 1/2 size drawings (18" x 24") At my current firm, we get PDF drawings at 11" x 17" No wonder most, if not all, spec writers wear glasses (or contacts) and will eventualy go blind. The bigger the magnifying glass, the better.