First impressions play at least two roles in a successful business enterprise. Good first impressions send the message "this is a successful firm" to prospective customers. Good first impressions send the message "this company cares about its people" to prospective employees.

Modular office furniture systems provide companies an opportunity to send positive first impressions. MAiSPACE makes it happen at prices as much as 40% below those offered by some of today's best-known manufacturers. Across the office landscape ? including reception areas, conference rooms, private offices, team workspaces, private and open cubicles, and centralized processing areas for printing and related support activities ? smartly designed systems furniture sends all the right messages. "MAiSPACE is an acronym based on the furniture industry term Modular Architectural Interiors" says Kyle Walters, who heads up the company's design team at its Mt. Olive, NJ, headquarters. "Since 1993 we have placed outstanding design at the forefront of our line, but never at the expense of quality construction or providing flexibility in delivering intelligence to the workspace.

" Tips on Rating Systems Furniture Design Purchasers of office furniture systems quite rightly are interested in how the products look, for aesthetics delivers those vital first impressions. "Indeed, aesthetics is not a luxury but a necessity if companies are to attract and retain qualified personnel," says Walters. "A pillar in the MAiSPACE value proposition is its broad range of choices in colors, textures and finishes that add class and a pleasant ambiance to today's offices.

Examples are panel segment options such as laminate, Coverseal, veneer, painted metal, embossed steel, brushed stainless steel, airflow, clear glass, frosted glass, textured glass, fabric, tackable/acoustical tiles, power/data tiles, marker board and paper management. "But purchasers need to look deeper to see how the manufacturer has achieved these impressions," cautions Walters, "and if they can be carried across all segments of the company's proposed floor plan ? from cubicle returns to free-standing full wall conference rooms and everything in between." Other areas where a cohesive design is important are mobile pedestal files and tables that can be transported to other workstations or meeting areas in a "hoteling" environment. More examples include personal movable or permanent storage towers, adjustable panel-mounted task lights, ergonomically designed chairs and workstation surfaces that adjust up or down.

"In terms of aesthetics, looking deeper is a manufacturing issue as well," says Walters. "Normal wear and tear can cause poorly finished systems to quickly lose their luster. MAiSPACE addresses this with superior quality fabrics, baked on painted finishes and thermoformed membrane technology for wood-toned panels and work surfaces. These are among the reasons why we offer a lifetime guarantee and obsolescence guarantee across the product line." Flexibility is another design issue essential to today's companies, where Moves, Adds and Changes (MACs) are more the norm than exception.

"As work areas expand, contract and reconfigure to meet the ever-changing needs of a business, systems furniture must adjust accordingly in terms of flexibility and strength," says Walters. "For example, load-bearing stackable panel segments should be readily adjustable from 30 inches to 14 feet in height without distortion. Shoddily constructed systems furniture can't cope with the stresses and strains of office reconfiguration. Distortion of structural members makes component reassembly difficult or impossible." Managing technology in the workspace has become a science of its own and is a design issue that can't be overlooked.

"For example," Walters points out, "standards govern the design and placement of voice, data and video cabling upon which employees depend for high-speed Internet access, for file sharing and to communicate with other company locations, customers and suppliers. The MAiSPACE patented plug and play voice, data and power cabling handling system is specifically designed to handle MACs without disrupting the entire office network. It holds a 'Best of NeoCon award,' the highest award in the contract furniture industry.

" Tips on Crafting the RFP Because design is more than skin deep, purchasing executives should establish check lists on what they expect from furniture system vendors. Kyle Walters suggest the following as a place to start. Structural Considerations Start with the basics. Modular systems get a lot of hard use. Structural systems (the skeleton or framework) that support panels, accessories and work surfaces should be constructed of 14-gauge cold-rolled steel. This provides strength and rigidity when in use and enables the systems to remain distortion-free during MACs.

Panel segments should be at minimum 24-gauge steel while shelves and filing cabinet drawers should be of 18-gauge steel. Off-module design allows great freedom in locating bins, shelves and divider panels. Knockdown and ready-to-assemble (RTA) structural elements overcome traditional restrictions on moving components into the office location and, as a bonus, add flexibility while reducing production and erection costs.

Stackable panel frames allow load-bearing walls 30 inches to ceiling high to be constructed, moved and reconfigured quickly and efficiently to create spaces in harmony with the work being performed or support a wholesale job change. Cable Management Vendors should confirm that their cabling installers are trained and certified for power and data installations, and that all wiring and cabling conform to local codes Horizontal voice, data and video cabling system serving the office must conform to applicable industry standards such as TIA/EIA-568-B.1, TIA/EIA-568-B.2, and TIA/EIA-568-B.3 . OSHA Compliance Systems must be designed to conform to existing and proposed OSHA standards related to health problems associated with intensive computer use, and to address work-related disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive strain injuries.

Floor Plans Vendors should offer services of a professional design team to produce the best and most cost-effective layout today and in the future. MAiSPACE designers understand facility issues and employ the most appropriate product applications and space planning layouts. They employ the latest versions of AutoCAD and GIZA specifying software to achieve furniture and floor plans that are virtually fault free. Related to this are accurate detailed specifications, product lists and installation drawings.

MAiSPACE.com will help business owners and operators make smart choices in Systems Furniture. and Office Cubicles Systems for their offices and selecting the right Office Cubicles.