Workplace’s consultative approach brings enhanced adaptability, technology integration, and efficiency to the modern industrial manufacturing workflow.
The industrial manufacturing sector is in overdrive. A wave of digitalization continues to sweep through an industry still feeling the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the results are truly transformative. In the US, construction spending rose 70% year-on-year in the first half of 2023, driven by public spending as the Biden administration attempts to nearshore critical elements of the electric vehicle and semiconductor supply chains, and private investment.
Process, technological integration, and business practices are moving at an unprecedented pace. In a market defined by widespread change and disruption, industrial manufacturers need to seize every opportunity to drive efficiency, embrace agility, and harness the potential of technology—from the boardroom all the way down to the workbench on the shop floor.
Workplace Modular Systems, an Accelevation LLC Company, is an organization driving the necessary transformation of industrial manufacturing workstations to keep pace with the industry’s ongoing rapid evolution. For more than 65 years, Workplace has been manufacturing work benches with an equal emphasis on industry-leading products and outstanding customer service, approaching projects from the perspective that every customer has different demands within their environment that must be addressed by starting with a consultative approach.
Workplace, under the direction of its parent company, Accelevation, is driving a convergence of new technologies and innovative approaches. The result is the development of workstations that are no longer viewed as mere functional work desks, but as innovation hubs, equipped with cutting-edge technology and tailored to meet the specific—ever changing—demands of modern industrial processes.
Unlocking the Benefits of Modular Workspaces
Workplace’s consultative approach to workstation design consists of these stages: Consult, Design, Review, Execute, Deliver, and Consult.
Working from the basis of a modular and flexible product line, Workplace uses a vast library of parts that can be modified to support customer needs, based on the requirements uncovered during the Consult, Design, Review, Execute, Deliver, Consult project cycle.
Using customization to drive efficiency, Workplace’s modular solutions allow customers to build almost any workspace to their desired configuration. This approach allows for companies to streamline operations and improve workflow, ensuring that employees have the right tools and space to work efficiently. Whether it’s assembly, quality control, or data analysis, workstations can be designed to maximize productivity in a way that’s catered to a specific task. Workers are more productive in space that has been optimized based on a deep and clear understanding of their process and flow that keeps required materials within reach and properly organized.
Just as important as efficiency is a keen understanding of ergonomics for the purpose of health and safety. Whether work demands physical labor, long periods of sitting, or performing repetitive motions, ergonomic workstations reduce the risk of employee fatigue and injury, promoting a healthier and safer work environment. Businesses have now caught on that improved ergonomics impact employee well-being, productivity, and safety. Each workstation manufactured by Workplace is designed with ergonomics in mind, for continued comfort and higher output.
With adaptability at the top of the modern manufacturer’s priorities list, the ability to scale up operations, or pivot to meet new demands, is vital. Workplace has focused on manufacturing modern workstations that are easily reconfigured to accommodate changing needs. Businesses can scale up or down without the hassle of extensive workspace renovations.
At the same time, technology is playing a greater, more closely integrated role in even the fundamental fabric of an industrial manufacturing environment. As technology advances, so too has Workplace’s use of smart, technology-integrated productivity hubs. By enabling seamless connectivity, data analysis, and process control, Workplace is opening the doors to automation, real-time data tracking, and improved decision making, fostering innovation and productivity.
Empowering Customers with Customizable Products and a Consultative Approach
The modern industrial manufacturer, whether they’re assembling jet engines, machining titanium prosthetics for use in reconstructive surgery, or any number of other highly specialized workflows, needs a custom, ergonomic, safe, and scalable workspace. Every customer has different demands within the constraints of their environment. Workplace addresses those needs by starting with a consultative approach. Regardless of industry or end-user, every project begins with the question: “what are you doing in this space?”
This question provides valuable information on how the space is currently being utilized, what tools or materials are required to complete the customer’s tasks and can also highlight areas where the customer would like to improve efficiency, health and safety, or functionality. This allows Workplace’s engineers to visualize the operator’s workflow throughout the day, from which they can configure a workstation or work area solution that fits their needs while considering any limitations in the space.
One Workplace client—a global life sciences company—was struggling to find an off-the-shelf workstation to meet a unique need. A workstation was needed for inspecting disposable, sterile medical bags used in biomedical production. However, the inspection process had to be carried out in a small clean room environment, there was a huge variety in the sizes of the bags being inspected, and the workbench was being used by multiple staff members of differing heights and reaches. Furthermore, the table needed to be moved out of the way when not in use, and have access to a power strip, despite the design of the clean room itself making that a challenge.
Using their consultative approach, Workplace modified standard components to design this custom flip-top adjustable workstation to meet their customers specifications.
Taking a consultative approach to the issue, Workspace worked closely with the client to develop an adjustable flip-up, extendable work surface—a customized version of a standard Workplace product. Workplace is proud of the results its consultative approach has achieved time and again. Understanding a customer’s needs and creating a customized solution to meet them, rather than offering an out of the box solution that’s just “good enough” is where Workplace stands apart from its competitors. And, with a modular and flexible product line, Workplace has a vast library of parts that can be modified to support customer needs.
The acquisition of Workplace by Accelevation further enhances its ability to create unique solutions to solve unique problems. In-house engineering handles any customer requirements that might be out of scope of “standard” workbench requirements.
The opportunities for customization, technological integration, and refinement of workstations for industrial manufacturing are limitless. Whether it’s improving production processes, enhancing quality control, or enabling seamless data management, workstations are a driving force behind the growing sector. Businesses who have made investments in modern workstations are poised to position themselves as industry leaders in a rapidly evolving ecosystem.