Caterpillar

"The new workstations have room for 12 colleagues to work. The interior is fresh, it's light and the workstations are fully equipped with the right furniture to work on. Where before it was dated," says John Stoof. "It was big, dark and not up to date. Little use was being made of it. We took out the cubicles and turned it into a large flexible space."

The origin of the project took place in 2018. "In recent years, we have offered more and more people the opportunity to work from home. This created vacancies in the space. Sometimes there were only 3 people working in the same space. And then they were sitting far apart from each other. We want to bring people together again. So that there is also more mutual interaction," says Arjen van den Wassenberg.

Until recently, the space where we now work was virtually empty. It had outdated furniture and was dark. "We were given the opportunity to turn it into something beautiful," says John. "After we got the green light, we did a benchmark at several offices such as city hall 's-Hertogenbosch, provincial hall North Brabant, Ricoh and Gazprom. These visits were very valuable to us, and only proved to be a good confirmation of our own ideas."

During this project, we worked with two parties. Lensen Projectinrichters BV, who did the upholstery and drew the plan for us. And ErgoDirect, who advised us on which furniture was suitable and supplied it. Together they have ensured that our new work environment is optimally equipped.

One thing was certain, we wanted to be innovative. Lensen understood this, so we did not use a traditional carpet, but something more daring, in line with the Caterpillar house style. It is now lovely to come in here.

"We have divided the space into three different zones. Quiet areas, a scrum space and the flexible workplaces. In the red zone, for example, you can let the dust settle; that's where the ideas come in, and that's where we brainstorm and hold meetings together," says John.

In order to create a good flexible workplace, a number of conditions must be met. For example, it is good if the height of the desk can be adjusted. The InnoDesk was chosen. This desk can easily be adjusted to the right sitting and standing height. The InnoDesk comes standard with WORK & MOVE software. A personal coach that proactively alerts employees to get enough exercise during their working day.

John: "We offer the WORK & MOVE software to our colleagues who frequently use a flexible workplace. The big advantage is that as soon as the cable in the sit-stand desk is connected to the laptop, the desk is adjusted to the correct sitting or standing height. In addition, during the working day you are advised to take a pit stop or change your sit-stand posture."

"WORK & MOVE gives your employees, the 'digital workers', insight and feedback about their work behaviour. Based on personal preferences, the software recommends an optimal work, rest and exercise rhythm. The software teaches employees to adopt these routines. By regularly including mental and physical moments of exercise (so-called pit stops), your employees remain energetic and work with greater concentration. Scientific studies show that pit stops also have a positive effect on productivity and the quality of work. And above all it is a practical tool for organisations.

"The cooperation with ErgoDirect and Lensen Projectinrichters BV is going well. There have been a few minor challenges, but they are solving them. The strength of ErgoDirect lies in their knowledge of the people-oriented work environment, in which ergonomics, movement and concentrated work are important pillars. The Capisco chairs are very nice. In addition, the WORK & MOVE software works well. The Honeycombs in the scrum room are also used every day. These standing tables are adjustable in height (to sitting height or to standing height). We regularly have people from the factory come here to confer. The battery (there are no power cables running through the room) has a long service life. ErgoDirect has contributed in all areas of the layout from their knowledge and background. The mutual consultation has been good. In the near future, we will be rolling out the WORK & MOVE workplace concept, according to John Stoof.”