Grand-prize winner’s story

The Cayman Islands conjure images of tourists strolling on sandy beaches, but it’s also a global financial center with a plethora of office buildings.

Young Office’s Karen Barton recently designed a three-story office space for a law firm – without even setting foot on the islands – using Steelcase’s SmartTools powered by Configura CET Designer.

Her work recently garnered the grand prize for a large project in an awards program held at the CET Designer User Conference in Las Vegas.
“We’re based in Greenville, South Carolina, and budget didn’t allow for us to travel to the Caymans to directly meet with the customer and see the office space,” Barton said. “But, because of CET SmartTools, we overcame any challenges the distance might have posed.”

Young Office received block drawing layouts of three floors from the A&D firm working with the end client. The drawings showed the locations of 197 Steelcase Answer stations with two different setups; 63 Steelcase Elective Elements offices with three different setups; and conference rooms, break rooms and lobbies.
Young Office’s job was to completely design the interior space with the requested Steelcase products.

“Although we didn’t have face-to-face conversations with the A&D firm and the customer, the rendering capabilities of CET SmartTools solved any ‘communication barriers.’ It was huge that we were able to convey to the customer the furniture and look that we were proposing,” Barton said.

Using the CET SmartTools software, Barton sent realistic drawings of the different stations and offices so the A&D firm and customer could approve or suggest changes. “We were able to make the changes in a timely fashion and resubmit for approval. This allowed everybody involved to know exactly what we were specifying, with no surprises,” Barton said.

Another challenge was staging the shipping from Young Office. The furniture had to be containerized and shipped to the Cayman Islands. The containers had to be loaded per the install schedule. Thanks to “Part Tagging,” a feature in CET SmartTools, they ensured accurate quantities of parts coming out of the shipping crates and onto the floors in the order in which they would be installed. “From a timing standpoint, there really was no room for error,” Barton said, “so the accuracy of this feature was key.”

A third challenge was non-Steelcase installers would be putting the furniture together. “Being able to supply them with detailed drawings and renderings of what the different setups were to look like enabled them to install the furniture quickly and easily,” Barton said.

The furniture was fully installed by the end of August, and the feedback from the A&D firm and customer has been very positive. “The most-often-heard comment is that everything looks exactly like the renderings,” Barton said.

The awards program held in conjunction with the CET Designer User Conference included three categories this year. “Several great entries were submitted in the large projects category. Young Office should be very proud of this accomplishment,” Configura Training and Support Manager Tracy Prevost said. “We were all very impressed with the drawings and renderings. It was wonderful to hear how the software allowed easy communication with a remote customer in the Cayman Islands and provide such accurate specifications.”

Barton’s winning entry garnered Young Office a top-of-the-line computer with dual monitors and a free one-year license to CET Designer.
But the best prize, for Young Office, is a happy client. “They just went through the post-installation punch-list and there was not one specification-related issue. The accuracy of the order was perfect,” Barton said.

Thomas Young, president of the dealership, said the biggest win is the ability to help customers visualize their space. “This is a tremendous help in winning business,” he said.

Barton and coworkers from Young Office have been using the software since May 2008 when Steelcase launched the SmartTools Extension in collaboration with software maker Configura Inc. “We were one of the early adopters,” Barton said.

Young Office has been rolling out the usage in three phases, with the first slate of designers fully using the software and no longer relying on AutoCAD.
“These designers are using CET SmartTools to its full capability – from initial designs to full specification, highly detailed renderings, bills of material generation and installation document output,” Young said.

The dealership has used SmartTools for other large projects including the Hilton Orlando. Another client, an existing customer with an office in Boston, had been considering a local dealership but when they saw the renderings produced by Young Office, chose to work with them.

“We have had great success using SmartTools,” Barton said. “CET Designer is definitely the most exiting software we’ve ever used. It’s all about seeing what you’re creating.”