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Has your company invested in ergonomic furniture or equipment? Answer our question of the week, page 12.However, although the smaller central processing units are not much more expensive than traditional towers, few firms are willing to upgrade if their current equipment still is working. So for now, Systems Plus hasn't sold any of them, she said.In terms of products available today, flat-screen technology is enabling all kinds of new ways to mount monitors in places that previously would not have been study enough, such as a lightweight cubicle wall, Fleegal said.There are some cool products coming onto the market today, such as replacements for computer towers that are the size of a wallet, Sheeler said.New, ergonomic items are on the market, but few buyers bitingAlthough not intentionally an ergonomics initiative, JPL has turned shelving Amp had used in its sample fulfillment operations into work desks that employees can either stand at or sit at using high chairs, Daly said.Sailer said she purchased a $60 exercise ball a few years ago to use as part of workouts to help her lower back pain. Later, she realized people used them at their desk and gave hers a try.In a creative position, it is nice to be able to roll back from her desk to better think of an idea. And during group meetings in her office, staffers fight over who gets to sit on it, Sailer said.The used office furniture market is going strong, and even clients who are looking at ergonomic items such as fully adjustable keyboard trays are opting for the less-expensive products, Fleegal said.One of its manufacturers showed off such technology recently in New Jersey; it pairs with a recessed desktop where the processor sits flush and takes up virtually no work space, she said.The more flexible a workspace offering is, the more popular it is at Steeltonbased Systems Plus Office Service Inc., interior designer Lynlee Sheeler said.brentb@journalpub.com"The most important thing right now is the bottom line," Sheeler said.Sitting on the ball forces a person to maintain better posture, and it has helped alleviate her back pain, Sailer said.Cool new products coming onto the office equipment and furniture markets today include central processing units the size of wallets and mounting systems that can hang increasingly lighter computer monitors pretty much anywhere.Some firms are using unique solutions for its workspace needs.Companies want furniture and equipment that can be easily reconfigured to meet shifting needs or can allow employees to multitask better, such as L-shaped desks that allow one employee to better switch back and forth between multiple roles, Sheeler said.The nuts-and-bolts approach is particularly strong with the industrial clients who account for many orders today, Fleegal said. Many want the basics, just to have someone sitting down and working, he said.Alicia Haag has taken the concept one step further, using balance disks at her standing work station at Harrisburg-based Mudbrick Creative.Haag, vice president of design and strategy, has been using the disks for several months. The idea came from people who sit on exercise balls, Haag said.SOUND OFFSystems Plus has a substantial selection of used equipment because, as a full-service and product firm, it received many calls to dismantle setups as local firms went out of business over the past few years.The standing space was designed as a way to facilitate collaboration and is a welcome change to hunching over, as many people do when they sit all day, Haag said.The company also received many offers to buy the equipment they were dismantling, Sheeler said. But with its own budget tight, Systems Plus couldn't acquire all of it, she said.Some customers want to look at the newer and trendier products, but then they ask about less-expensive items once they get a quote, Sheeler said. Often, they will go for used equipment and buy some new furniture to complete exactly what they want, she said.By Brent BurkeyBut few midstate firms are buying cool new office equipment or furniture while the lackluster economy keeps a grip on their budgets, local supply companies said.But for now, Fleegal said, few are going to invest in a panel system that has integrated, hidden power strips when they can just plug something in on the floor, for example.The setup has turned out great for collaboration, he said. As numerous employees crowd around a person's work space, they can all be on the same level whether they are standing or sitting without that feeling that someone is looking down on you, Daly said.Because the smaller unit generates less heat than a typical computer tower, replacing multiple towers can help reduce energy bills by reducing the load on the air conditioning system, Sheeler said.Swatara Township-based JPL Integrated Communications Inc. has recycled existing items in the old Amp Inc. building it occupies and gives employees latitude to configure and decorate work space, said Matt Daly, vice president of client solutions."They are kind of blending the two to achieve what they are looking to achieve," she said. "There are a lot of budget-minded shoppers right now.""Otherwise, it's mine," she said.Jill Sailer, manager of media production for JPL, has been having a ball for about two and a half years on a relatively simple ergonomic addition to her workspace."And then you realize how much fun it is sometime," she said.As the economy improves, he said, he expects higher-end niceties to pick up interest and increase sales.Used and less expensive equipment rules the day, as well as products that can be quickly reconfigured to cope with the needs of and the number of employees shifting at local firms, they said. And in the meantime, some firms provide employees latitude to customize their spaces with items from home.However, chairs with as much adjustment as possible remain popular sellers at Fleegal's store, as firms look for one chair that can pretty much fit anyone who might have to fill it.Also, two employees have brought in exercise balls to use as chairs to customize their areas for ergonomic and other purposes, he said. The firm encourages the actions because happier employees make better employees, Daly said.
brentb@journalpub.com
Author: Burkey, Brent
