Hello! How are you both doing today? Today, I will be sharing with you the considerations for designing green, sustainable remote call centers, one of the fastest-growing large-space segments of the commercial office design market. However, before we get started on this live webcast, I’ll provide a little background. First of all, my name is Scott Macdonald.

With over 20 years of experience in the architectural disciplines, I’vedesigned the chef’s offices at the Breakers Hotel, the lobby area for Florida Power and Light at the Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Plaza, and the golf and tennis pro shop for Melrose Country Club at Hilton Head Island. I’ve worked on other projects with some of the great designers of our time, including architect Michael Graves, Bill Fox — Director of Architecture at Temple, and the architects, designers,and project managers of many Federated Department Store facilities (Nieman Marcus, Macy’s, Bloomingdales).

I’ve been a guest lecturer for architecture and interior design departments at the University of Miami and University of Florida… a college professor of 3-D modeling, rendering, animation and video editing…and established a successful market in the US for a French developer of 3-D architectural CAD software.

Additionally, my wife, Janet Bishop is a licensed professional interior designer, past president of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), a college professor at three Florida State Colleges, a certified kitchen designer, is LEED certified, and has been the Vice President of Venus Williams’ interior design firm for 7 years.

Her assistance on this informative presentation with her Lead Project designer, Vivian Blackmon, helped make this presentation possible today.

Together we’ve done a variety of projects, including the design of the offices and conference room for ASID in South Florida, outpatient medicals centers, as well as office spaces for law firms, advertising agencies… and, call centers.

I have some familiarity with the material I will present to you today, and endeavor to make it interesting for all of you.

The presentation will run about 8 minutes… provided we can please mute our electronic devices and hold all questions until the conclusion of the keynote presentation.

[INTRO SLIDE-2]

Today, I will be presenting space planning and design considerations for the Remote Call Center.

[SLIDE-3 Primary Considerations]

Specific to the needs of the Call Center, there are 5 primary considerations…

  • Acoustics
  • Lighting
  • Furnishings
  • Spatial Requirements
  • Influence of Design

[SLIDE-4 Acoustics]

  • Open Office Environments
  • Sound Masking
  • Sound Absorption Materials

[SLIDE-5 Open Office Environment]

  • Promotes collaboration and teamwork within the call center
  • No costly build-out due to the modular nature of the workstation panel systems
  • Circulation is improved, not just for mobility within and around the call center, but unimpeded airflow as well.

[SLIDE-6Sound Masking]

  • “White Noise”
  • Sound masking is based on the phenomenon that when low level background noise is added to an environment, intruding speech and noises are less intelligible. The term “white noise” is widely used when referring to speech privacy or sound masking systems, although these systems don’t actually use white noise.
  • Speech Privacy
  • Oral privacy is simply a matter of making speech unintelligible. Sound masking “fills in” the sound spectrum around you with barely perceptible low-level noise. It’s actually designed to sound like typical office air conditioning noise, so that you won’t notice it. In other words, it’s a gentle “whooshing” sound.
  • Helps Maintain Focus in Open Office Environments
  • Open office workers struggle to maintain focus. That’s why you see more and more cubicle workers bringing headphones to work – so they can cover up the conversations around them.
  • If you want to increase the productivity of your workers, decreasing the conversational distractions in the area with sound masking is the tool that will give you the most bang for the buck. Since you’re masking sound, you put the masking system in the area where the noise is heard, rather than at the source.
  • Quiet Technology™
  • Quiet Technology™ sound masking attaches to furniture, so efficient coverage results from targeting only those areas of the space that require sound masking.

[SLIDE-7 Sound Absorption Materials]

Provide for occupant comfort by establishing project criteria for background noise levels in each room, speech privacy and airborne sound isolation between spaces, and determine the need for sound absorbing materials to limit the reverberation time and reverberant noise buildup in a room, and the need for any sound masking or speech reinforcement systems.

Sound absorption materials should be planned into the design of the call center, however they can be added as a retrofit application as the need for sound reduction within the facility is addressed. Call centers with good acoustical conditions result in higher employee productivity and a happier, more efficient work environment.

  • Ceiling Tiles
  • Sonex baffles made from melamine foam are fiber-free, fully recyclable, and bio-degradable.
  • Flooring
  • Interface carpet tiles - numerous LEED credit advantages due to its post and pre-recycled content values. Carpet is generally known as a natural source of noise reduction due to its absorption of sound waves.
  • Acoustical Panels and Fabrics
  • Wallcovering - Fuzzy stuff – foam backing - typical wall fabric that used for doing sound studios

[SLIDE-8 Lighting]

Indirect

Direct

Inter-reflected (Diffuse and Specular)

[SLIDE-9 Indirect Lighting]

Ambient/Natural

Artificial

[SLIDE-10 Direct Lighting]

Key/Primary

Fill

Task

[SLIDE-11Inter-Reflected Lighting]

Diffusing

Reflecting

[SLIDE-12Furnishings]

A Herman Miller, Inc. study found seven common workstation attributes that all workers highly value:

  • Having an office that is comfortable to work in
  • A sufficient amount of work surface area
  • The option to place a computer in the most suitable location
  • The capability to keep all important work within arms’ reach, contain sounds within the office, keep distracting noises outside the office, and provide visual privacy

Panel Systems

Work Station Elements

[SLIDE-13Panel Systems]

60” Spline, 42” Return

Manager Station

Sound Absorption/Noise Abatement

[SLIDE-14Work Station Elements]

Task Seating and positions relative to work surface, as well as adjustable keyboards and work surface heights.

  • Ergonomics –
  • Long hours of sitting contribute to obesity and other negative health outcomes associated with it — diabetes, cardiovascular disease (Thrombosis), metabolic syndrome, and mortality.
  • Task seating should include ergonomics that allow for optimal comfort and productivity.
  • Work chairs should provide postural equilibrium— proper support for the body’s natural alignment— through the full range of postures. By providing support for where the body wants to be in space, a chair allows the person to have a healthy relationship to the technology in his or her workspace. Such alignment, coupled with movement throughout the range of postures, keeps people healthier, more attentive, and able to perform at their best ~ Herman Miller, Inc.
  • Adjustable keyboards are typically specified due to risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a debilitating long-term injury that results from the repetitive tasks that 61% of all office workers endure.
  • Insurance companies will usually require that corporations supply these for the protection of the employee’s health, as well as the company’s financial health.
  • Screens
  • A variety of surfaces, including sound absorbing, tackable, bubble-tack, and erasable whiteboard are available.
  • Cable Management
  • Distribution of cables through panel systems, including the panels themselves, truss members, upright supports or poles, and unions that interconnect panel systems.

[SLIDE-15Spatial Requirements]

  • There is the traditional Bullpen (Cubicle), which is secluded by nature.
  • vs. Pod Cluster open office design recommended here, to promote collaboration and teamwork.
  • At the conclusion of this presentation, I will take a brief moment to give you an interactive 3-D look at the proposed call center space plan with an example 900 sq. ft. layout, using Google Sketch for visualization purposes…
  • ADA requirements for mobility of physically challenged or wheelchair-bound personnel have been taken into account, as you will see by the guideline geometry in the 3-D display.

[SLIDE-16Influence of Design]

Privacy vs. Noise – Visual and audible

Restorative Views to combat the fatigue of problem-solving directed attention

Functionality and Cost Benefits from proper planning

[SLIDE-17Privacy vs. Noise]

Panel Heights – 42”-48”. Taller panels increase the volume levels of call advisors.

Mono vs. Dual Headset. – Same issue…sound privacy of dual headset unintentionally causes Call advisors to raise their voice volume level.

Cordless – worthy of consideration, as it allows Call Advisor to freely move about, stretch…

Noise Etiquette – essential regardless of the mechanisms in place for noise abatement.

[SLIDE-18Restorative Views]

Stimulation theories conceptualize and explain the environment as a source of information derived from sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. Our five senses can be overstimulated (hyper-stimulated) or under-stimulated (hypo-stimulated) depending on the environment. The threshold is the point at which too much or too little stimulation is available. Attention restoration theory is a stimulation theory with many applications for design.

  • Problem-solving Fatigue
  • Directed attention is what we use when we are deliberately paying attention to something. For tasks or situations that require sustained but simple awareness, such as driving or problem solving, we use our directed attention. This type of attention becomes fatigued and harder to use over time.
  • Natural Views
  • Involuntary attention does not require effort and comes from observing naturally fascinating views or objects. Reverting to involuntary attention gives directed attention a chance to rest and recover. “Attention restoration theory suggests that natural environments assist in recovery from directed attention fatigue in part because they draw on involuntary attention rather than directed attention.” [1] The “natural environment” used to restore directed attention can be as simple as a window overlooking a park.
  • Decor/Artwork
  • Applying attention restoration theory to designed environments means bringing nature into the design. This might include offices with garden courtyards, green playgrounds in schools, or the use of plants and artwork within a space.
  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED Credits for commercial interiors that gives building occupants a connection with the natural outdoor environment by providing quality views.

[SLIDE-19Benefits of Great Design]

  • Sustainability
  • Longer-lasting, energy conservative.
  • Recyclable, and made from recycled materials that meet or exceed LEED credit ratings.
  • Designed to be easier to install, re-configure, store, and replace.
  • Environmental Footprint
  • LEED® credits and incentives
  • Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System™. As you can see in these examples, energy costs, water usage, and landfill waste are significantly reduced.
  • LEED for Commercial Interiors is the green benchmark for the tenant improvement market. It is the recognized systemfor certifying high-performance green interiors that are healthy, productive places to work; are less costly to operate and maintain; and have a reduced environmental footprint. LEED for Commercial Interiors gives the power to make sustainable choices to tenants and designers, who do not always have control over whole building operations.
  • Lower Maintenance and Installation $$
  • InterFace Carpet tiles are just one example. Product cost similar to broadloom “rolled carpet”, but installation and long-term maintenance costs are significantly lower, not to mention the staggering reduction in waste (low environmental footprint)
  • Employee Retention
  • Low V.O.C.’s and reductions in chemical sensitivities due to off-gassing. Reduce the exposure of building occupants to potentially hazardous chemical contaminants, which adversely affect air quality, human health, productivity and the environment.
  • Austin Call Center is a prime example of the costs, disruptions, and the lingering effect of V.O.C’s post-installation.

[SLIDE-20References]

Bishop, J., Blackmon, V. (2010). Open plan analysis.

Knoll Office Furnishings. (2008). Open plan & enclosed private offices. Retrieved from knoll.com/.

Kopec, D. (2006). Environmental Psychology of Design.

Taylor, A.,Kuo, F. Sullivan, W. (2001). Attention Restoration Theory.

What is Sound Masking speechprivacysystems.com/ (2011)

Costs & Benefits of Green Buildings calrecycle.ca.gov/ (2003)