Office Cubicles And Systems Furniture Integrated

By Author: John Tang
Total Articles: 512
Comment this article

Smart shopping for sophisticated, stylish stackable panel systems starts with a look beneath the surface. As steel beams, concrete and exterior walls are integral to modern building construction, so are framing and tiling the keys to lifetime performance in a modular office furniture system. Look for framing fabricated of 16-gauge cold-rolled steel to provide strength and rigidity when in use and remain distortion-free during MACs.

The load-bearing capability of stackable framing systems is a strength and safety issue given the weight of binders and other office equipment stored in bins and on shelves. The highest load capability in the industry as measured by Underwriters Laboratories is 2.5 tons. This was achieved in a panel configuration composed of 8-foot panel frames stacked 10 feet high and supported by two, 24-inch return panels. There was no counterbalancing provided.

Properly designed framing supports intelligence to the desktop by providing unrestricted cable pathways for electrical, voice, data and video cable runs. Components should support design flexibility by enabling construction of walls ...
... from 30 inches to 14 feet in height. They also facilitate reconfiguring wall height within these boundaries without disturbing the office cabling system.

Other framing features to look for include off-modular design, which allows flexibility in workspace size, configuration and in locating bins, shelves and divider panels. Knockdown and ready-to-assemble (RTA) framing components equipped with self-leveling connections simplify moving elements into and throughout the building, reduce assembly costs and can reduce the number of framing components required. With this feature, frames can be added or removed without disturbing adjacent structures.

Tile or panel segments should be a minimum 24-gauge steel to remain distortion free during installation and later moves, and together with framing provide walls or panels that are 3-1/2 inches thick. This also contributes to noise reduction and provides an affective barrier to radio frequency (RF) interference. They should be easily removed and replaced to facilitate access to the cable management system.

Floor-to-ceiling panels for use as private office and conference room walls should have a minimum sound transmission class (STC) rating of 35 to provide an acceptable level of sound privacy. Partial height panel walls should have a minimum of .70 noise reduction coefficient (NRC) for sound absorption contributing to worker comfort and productivity in open plan environments.