Many companies within the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries may find that after years of use their facilities are outdated, worn down, and no longer meet the functional needs of their employees. Due to the intense pace of the pharmaceutical and diagnostics industries and their rapid growth within recent years, research facilities such as labs and their resources are being used continuously, ultimately leading to their wear and depreciation. In this feature, one such example is portrayed. This specific client has lab facilities which needed to be restored and renovated in order to accommodate new workplace needs.

The primary goal of our client is to provide healthcare solutions that deliver superior options for diagnosis and treatment to clinicians and patients. In order to continue to reach such a goal efficiently and effectively their lab facilities underwent a rehabilitation that entailed systematically restoring and renovating four floors of a research laboratory building. This transition was accomplished by creating a new workspace that integrated refurbished laboratory equipment and used casework assets with new product. After a fast-paced schedule of revamping and revitalizing four floors of laboratory environments, DS&D was able to pioneer a cost efficient and operationally-effective synergy between two of their divisions for the client. By integrating DS&D Logistics with DS&D Laboratory Environments, they we able to successfully integrate existing and new product as well as implement a transparent phased schedule over a two year period.

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During the transitionary times of the financial world, financial institutions are engaged in the process of diversification, differentiation and adding value to their brand and to their service. The consolidation of banks after the Wall Street fallout created a similar challenge for mergers and acquisitions within the financial world. As was the case in the 1980s, banks that grew from mergers and acquisitions had to tackle merging corporate cultures while maintaining their brand awareness. In most cases, maintaining their brand awareness meant assimilating new assets and expanding corporate communications to a new customer base.

In terms of branding, assimilation of new assets meant creating complex programs to create uniformity in branch appearance, style and communications. In order to accurately communicate to customers that two banks are now one, banks would have to plan and execute rebranding programs in a short time frame. These phased schedules would have the intention of changing over new assets overnight and assimilate new branches in a timely manner. These transitions would comfort and reassure weary customers and instill confidence in the bank's direction and branding initiative.

For our client, the importance of this program was not lost on the stringent timeline presented to its business partners. The project taken on by our client was to complete a phased rebranding of all their national branches in the United States. The rebranding transition would take approximately two years to complete and would affect the majority of branches east of the Mississippi. The phased rebranding of branches and offices in the Northeast took place in the Fall of 2010. Our portion of the national rebranding program included New York including the metropolitan area of New York and Long Island and Eastern and Central Pennsylvania.

The details and challenges of the project are outlined in our DS&D Case Study available for download below.

 National Bank Rebranding

Steelcase Customer Story: Featuring Horizon Healthcare Services and DS&D.

Horizon Healthcare Services, the oldest and largest health insurer in New Jersey, faced a challenge not uncommon in business: how could they accommodate more people in less real estate, yet create a workplace that better supports how people work today?

Before product and even design began, Steelcase Workplace Surveys were used to develop insights about how people used the current work environment, what was missing from it, how their work has changed, etc. A key finding: only 20% of worker’s time was spent in heads-down work, while 80% was spent in collaboration with others, and most of that time was with two to four people.
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Is your closed door killing your creativity?
Is your cubicle squashing your ability to communicate?

The cubicle arose years ago as companies shifted workers from individual offices into communal workspaces, but still wanted to keep them separated and focused. Now, office tides are shifting again, as companies tear down cubicle walls, exploit shared space, and convert any available hallway, closet, or kitchen into a collaborative working room. Call it the Google approach to office design: the workspace should be a fun, collaborative extension of the brand, where people feel free to use the whole space.

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In today's economic climate, does it make sense to invest in your building by making "green" improvements? Potential savings on energy costs over time make the idea of spending now more attractive, but it's hard to project exactly what your future savings will be.

With energy savings and §179D deductions as incentives, building owners and tenants can look at various improvements to the building envelope to discover maximum benefits. Air barrier systems are designed to block unwanted air movement through the building envelope. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air leakage through the building envelope is responsible for up to 40% of heating and cooling energy costs.

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