Helpful Technology for your Class or Office

Working in a showroom, I often get to see cool and useful technology that many people may be unaware is available. You could have seen it at a client's office or vaguely remember something similar on Star Trek, but the truth is there are some really great tools out there that can help make your work life much easier. Here are 4 of my favorites (click on the vendor name to visit the product site)

From Steelcase, "Through the integration of furniture and technology, media:scape is reshaping the way people collaborate in a connected world. Most collaborative work spaces today support leader-led presentations where information is controlled and shared by one person at a time. media:scape removes these barriers and democratizes how people access and share information by allowing all participants to contribute their ideas – equally, quickly and seamlessly".

From Polyvision, "The flexible and agile eno one height-adjustable mobile solution is tailored for the comfort and safety of teachers and learners. Gliding the board up or down brings math problems to eye-level. The unobtrusive ultra-short throw projector minimizes shadows and glare. And, the dedicated projector icon strip gives the teacher more control—right at the board. No matter the teaching style or accessibility challenge, eno one meets teachers and students wherever they are".

From Steelcase, "RoomWizard works with a variety of calendar systems including Microsoft® Outlook® and Lotus Notes®. Meetings can be managed seamlessly via web, laptop or smart phone. When workers find an open meeting space, they can reserve it instantly and get to work. It even keeps track of space utilization with a database that measures and reports reservation patterns".

From Details, "The Walkstation is the combination of a fully integrated electric Height-AdjusTable Worksurface with an exclusively engineered, low speed commercial grade treadmill. At a maximum speed of 2mph the Walkstation lets you walk comfortably, burn calories, feel healthier and more energized...all while accomplishing the work you’d normally do while seated". Personally, I can't wait until we get this back in the showroom!  

All of these tools help organize, create, collaborate, and/or keep you moving. Please feel free to leave a comment for any feedback about these products!

~ Kendal

Making Your Office More Green

I recently read a great blog by Turnstone about making your office more green with the addition of plants(click here to read their blog). I know this topic has been broached before, especially if you're trying to avoid your coworker's colds (geraniums are great!), but there is something about a vase of flowers or a potted English Ivy during a dreary winter which adds a bit a sunshine to your work area. Check out Turnstone's Blog and consider making an addition to your desk or office space!

Click here!

Happy Holidays from B&OI!

Whether you're celebrating your second day of Hannukah, scrambling for your last minute Christmas gifts, or just happy that NBA basketball is starting/NFL playoffs are around the corner/NHL is having a good season or that Mission Impossible comes out next week, Bank & Office Interiors wants to wish you and your family a Happy Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year!

retrieved from http://www.jockpost.com/

So enjoy the festivities and stay warm! Like my father always says..."Be good. But if you can't be good, be safe". i.e. be careful with your travels and your parties!

Best Wishes,
Kendal

Your Worklife Without the Copier?

In March 1960, a curious new machine was first delivered to a customer by a small, little known company; Haloid Xerox.  It was the size of two clothes washers and weighed 650 lbs.  A few of them were prone to setting themselves on fire. It was the Xerox 914; the world’s first commercial electro-photographic copying machine. It revolutionized business and now copiers are a business necessity.

Can you imagine what your work life would be like without the copier? Before it became a “must-have”, clerks and secretaries spent incalculable hours typing out documents on a typewriter with carbon paper to insure a copy could be retained. Make a mistake?  Start over.

Today, the copier is an omnipresent part of the office landscape.

They glory days of the copier are, however, limited. Bank & Office has implemented Document Locator; an electronic document management system.  Eventually, all documents will be cataloged in an electronic library accessible quickly and easily by anyone on all sorts of devices. Together with progressive customers, we can do business using electronic documents exclusively.  Ultimately, we will be able to reduce the number of copiers and printers, saving money, space, electricity, paper and other resources. Filing needs will drop dramatically.  We can spend more of our time helping our customer.

Bank & Office owners’ willingness to invest in Electronic Document Management puts us in a position of leadership amongst businesses in Washington State and our peers in the nation-wide furniture industry. We will be able to offer customers a more cost effective, agile, and environmentally friendly way to do business with us which none of our competitors can match.  It’s a win for the customer, it’s a win for us and it’s LEAN!

~ Danä – Director of IT

How Email is a Bad Thing

When I do new-hire orientations on our Information Technology resources, one of the major topics is e-mail.  The first thing I say is: “E-mail has become the most important means of business communication.  That’s too bad.  Communicating by e-mail is a very stark, raw form compared to sitting down with someone and having a conversation where you have rich visual and verbal elements that drastically enhance the communication. Even a phone call is better than e-mail”. I then go on to discuss policies and best practices to help manage one’s e-mail.

It might seem incongruous that an I.T. Director would discourage the use of e-mail, but this is a thoughtfully deliberated position that touches on issues of community, mentality, perception and success. It is ironic to note that as technology has given us more and more ways of communicating, there is an indisputable and significant decline of physical interaction. Physical interaction is, however, the necessity of community and even more fundamentally, humanity.

Here’s a company which, with more pragmatic motivations, is radically assaulting the morass of e-mail: http://news.yahoo.com/tech-firm-implements-employee-zero-email-policy-165311050.html

Think about this topic and maybe you’ll find yourself having more face to face conversations and reap the benefits thereof.

~ Danä – Director of IT

Beat the Holiday Pounds at the Office!

On Monday morning, I stepped on the scale in the middle of my workout and cringed. After four days of being thankful for various food dishes and beverages, my body was telling me, rather blatantly, that I may have taken gluttony to a new level.

To beat the turkey, gravy, stuffing, potatoes, various types of pie and wine out of me, I plan on taking additional steps at the office to help shed some calories. Here are four tips to help  jump start the activity:

1. Take fitness breaks. I've written responses to a few articles that talk about how your office chair is killing you. The first step is actually getting up from your desk every 50 minutes to an hour. Set your outlook calendar, your cell phone, your co-worker...anything that makes you move.
Your response could be "but I'm busy and in the middle of a major project". Take one minute,  push your chair away from your desk, lean back and stretch your arms over your head. Pick your feet off the floor and rotate your ankles. Roll your shoulders, softly roll your neck....and get back to work! Repeat every hour!

2. Get your co-workers involved. Know a few colleagues you don't mind talking with in the cafe at lunch time? Why don't you suggest taking the conversation to go! Pack a healthy wrap so you can eat while you walk without the mess and burn those calories. You can set a goal to walk at least 2 times per week.
Your response could be "but it's winter and the weather is gross". Very true. I work in a center that has 5 flights of stairs and rather walkable paths indoors. Is there a mall close by? Mall walkers are not just our grandparents! How about a Lowes or Home Depot? Don't let this derail you...just get creative!

3. Find a few desk routines. There are many websites that offer different exercises you can do at your desk. Like this one. Or this one. And here's a youtube video workout.
You could say "but I'll look funny and awkward". I can't stand there and tell your co-workers to stop chuckling or staring. And you may have to explain to your boss why you're doing lunges in your workspace. However, as you continue to get fitter and this becomes more of a second nature, inevitably the stares will stop and those same coworkers may start coming to you for advice.

4. Stay hydrated. Water. Lots of it. All day. Cut back your coffee/tea intake, try and remove soda from your diet and drink lots of water. I've also read having a smaller water glass will  help get you away from your desk to get more water...instant break!
You shouldn't have a response to this one...we've been told since we were 8 that 8 glasses a day of water is a good thing. They may have take away Pluto as a planet and the Triceratops existence - but water is still a necessary.

There are many additional articles you can find on this - here is Mayo Clinic's article and Prevention's article. Also bing/google searching "exercise at the office" or "workouts at the office" brings up a bunch of info, as well. Additionally, this is one of my favorite topics - so if you want more info on health at the office, check out this article and this article.

Stay Healthy!

Kendal

Giving Thanks

Last night, I watched a program that claimed the Indians may not have been invited so much to the first Thanksgiving as just sort of showing up hearing all the commotion. All 90 of them. And then, realizing there wasn't enough food, brought some more deer meat to even things out. To be fair  though, the only reason the pilgrims had food in the first place and were able to celebrate was because the Indians taught them how to plant and harvest. So I don't think it's necessarily a bad trade off then that 390 years later, we're really celebrating a house party that got crashed.

Click here for the Indians possibly crashing the Pilgrims party.

Click here for the History channel's overview of Thanksgiving.

Whatever your personal reasons for celebrating the holiday (seeing family and friends, watching many hours of football or the traditional Macy's parade, using it as your one guilt free day off your diet), we truly hope you and your family have a very Happy Thanksgiving. We have hundreds of days a year to worry, stress, be angry and frustrated about what's going on in the world and in our lives. But let's use Thanksgiving for a day to be thankful for anything we do have (be it a little or a lot).

Take Care and have a wonderful holiday!

Kendal