Glossary

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Activity-based planning - A method used to determine the appropriate mix of shared and individual workspaces that make up the workplace. This method incorporates the frequency, importance, and content of an individualís work activities to determine their appropriate spaces, both individually and in groups. ADA - Americans with disabilities Act, a federal law adopted to ensure fair hiring practices and accessibility to public and private places by people with disabilities. Alternative officing strategies - The emerging strategies companies are using that yield new approaches to providing worksettings for their people. Ambient lighting - Lighting that illuminates the general area to a moderate level. ANSI - American National Standards Institute, an organization that oversees the development and distribution of voluntary standards; the ANSI/HFES 100 standard specifically addresses the computer work environment. Asset management - The set of activities associated with procuring, tracking, maintaining, moving, storing and disposing of company assets. Autonomy - Individual control of tasks; the extent to which people in the organization choose how, when, and where, to do their work. (top)

Between space - A bend in a corridor, aisle between workspaces, or other naturally occurring space where people informally interact while moving through the workplace. Boundary control - Describes levels of visual and acoustical privacy to limit distractions. Business processes - The activities and functions an organization performs as part of their operational life; how they get done what they do. (top)

Cable management - The task of neatly routing all cables necessary to support worksetting electronic tools. CAD/FM - An electronic software application for using a CAD-based system for tracking facility management functions and activities. Call center - a group of workers whoís main function is to either make out-going or receive in-coming phone calls to/from customers. Carpal tunnel syndrome - A medical condition in which the median nerve is entrapped at the site of the wrist. Caves and commons - A planning concept that creates a unified team space enabling a combination of private and collaborative work. Churn rates - As it applies to the workplace, the frequency and volume at which companies move or relocate individuals or groups of employees. Clean power - Power that is plus or minus 10 percent of the standard 120 volts and is free from electrical noise. Collaborating - Working jointly with others analyzing and creating. Collaborative space - Workspaces to facilitate interaction and collaborative work activities, utilizing video conferencing, team memory, and information persistence. Collocation - It was Thomas Allen who first tried to quantify proximity...how close do workers have to be to each other in order to effectively work together. he set a 50 ft. margin. It seems clear that team members and team spaces must be located in a proximity that allows easy interaction. Communicating - Transmitting ideas through sharing, transferring, or exchanging information with others. Communication linkages - The way information moves in an organization, how knowledge is shared, and how the workplace affects these processes. Community center - Like a village square, a Community Center serves as the crossroads of an organization. In the workplace, it welcomes and helps orient people while keeping employees in touch with daily office life. A weatherboard, copiers, printers, fax machines, and mailboxes may be magnets to draw people here. Community-base planning - a powerful approach to interior space planning that focuses on communities of practice and teams, and provides unprecentented support for the informal ways they interact and the tacit ways they learn. Community of practice - A community of practice is a group of people who share a strong social bond, vocabulary, and work practice. Their commonalties provide shortcuts to understanding complex information. The richness of their interactions can lead to greater innovation and more complete learning transfer while their relationships may be informal. Conference room - An enclosed space to support meetings, presentations and collaborative work. Consulting teams - Ad-hoc networks focused on finite and clearly defined problems of various complexity. Cost of ownership - The economic and life-cycle costing issues that affect the design and selection of worksettings and worksetting components. Culture - Organizational personalities, formality issues, and other environmental elements as they are affected by the workplace. (top)

Electronic tools - The new technology and its impact on the workplace (fixed computers, laptops, CAD, fax machines, printers, telephones, mobile phones, scanners, cable management, etc.). Enclave - An enclosed space where an individual can do highly focused work or where two to three people can work together with a high degree of acoustical control. It is available on a first-come, first-served basis or may be reserved. Enclosed office - (See "Private office") Fiber optic cable - High-speed data cable made of thin glass filaments that transmit signals in the form of light. Financing alternatives - The economic options available for financing the acquisition of worksettings and worksetting components. Free address - (See JIT) (top)

Gathering space - Social activities are at the heart of a gathering space. Itís a place for a quick chat, a cup of coffee, or a look through the newspaper. This is also a highly flexible space, hosting celebrations as easily as town hall meetings. Digital and physical forms of information persistence are an important part of these spaces. Group address - IBM uses this term to refer to an area within a building without assigned desks intended to use by employees within a particular department. Group communicating - Conducting routine pragmatic tasks with a high level of informal interaction with others in the immediate worksetting. Group work - More than two individuals communicating and collaborating together to accomplish a task. (top)

Health and safety - Codes, regulations and policies affecting the physical well-being of workers and the impact of the workplace on these issues. Home base - An individualís owned workspace and is designed to support the work performed there. A highly personal space, it should offer plenty of opportunities for self-expression and information persistence. Home office - A workerís main workspace that is located at his/her home. Hot desking - (See JIT) Hoteling space - A temporarily assigned, individual space thatís reserved through a computer or concierge. Ideally, hotelers reserve space adjacent to people they need to work with while in the office. HVAC - Heating, ventilation, air conditioning; a term for the building infrastructure system which provides these environmental conditions. (top)

Individual analyzing and creating - Generating ideas through focused analysis and synthesis of concepts. Individual processing - Desk-bound, individual work - conducting pragmatic tasks such as inputting/retrieving data, filing information, completing forms and reports. Individual work - Working alone; minimal interaction with others. Individual workspace - Work area for one individual. Information center - Is the dynamic, information hub of an organization. Part dashboard, part theater, part recording and broadcasting studio, it is primarily used for complex problem-solving and decision-making. It is outfitted with the kinds of information management tools that groups need to quickly establish a shared mind then capture, store, and disseminate results. Information management - A term that refers to the process of moving, storing, and sharing data and information among people and groups of people. Information persistence - The reinforcement that ideas within a personís consciousness gain from the visual display of information in the workplace. Interaction - Frequency of face-to-face exchange with others (both inside and outside the organization) to achieve the organizationís goals. A high frequency of interaction implies group vs. individual orientation of work. (top)

JIT (Just-in-time) - An unowned workspace for a nomad, visitor or inter-campus traveler to work for a couple of hours to a day. Supports laptop work and has a low to moderate degree of storage. Knowledge - Research and learning about work, workers, worksettings, and the relationship of the worksetting to enhance individual performance and improved corporate results. Knowledge worker - A person who in the daily performance of their job has as their primary function to analyze, create, decide, collaborate, and act on information as their primary raw material. Leadership community - (see "Community of practice") Learning environment - A highly flexible space supporting all kinds of learning, from formal meetings and training sessions to informal, break-out sessions. It supports digital and physical forms of information persistence. Learning organizations - A concept promoted by Peter Senge to express the need for organizations to be committed to generating and sharing knowledge, and making the process a key element in the organizational profile. Lease - A contract through which an owner of a product conveys the right to use its equipment to another party for a specified period for specified periodic payments. Life-cycle costing - Another term for cost of ownership; it means a comprehensive way to calculate the complete range of costs incurred by a company over time. (top)

Magnet - a person who is a key source of information and knows how to get something done. In the landscape of a workplace, a magnet could also be an object that is a key source of information, such as a weatherboard, copier, printer, fax machine, or whiteboard. Measurements - The ways if assessing value, return, and performance, and the impact of the workplace on these issues. Meeting space - A space designed for collaborative work. It may be big or small, open or closed, formal or informal. It supports group communication and information display. Moteling workspace - An assigned, unowned workspace for a nomad, visitor or inter-campus traveler to work long-term. Supports computer work and has a moderate to high degree of storage. Multifunctional workspaces - Workspaces that have functional traits which support a variety of processes and tasks. (top)

Node - A convenient place for brief telephone and/or computer work. Non-territorial office - (See JIT) Open plan environment - Organizational shape - The elements of the organizational structure, group and individual behavior and culture, and management practices and emerging new styles -- as all these relate to the workplace. (top)

Payback period - The amount of time required to receive the total return on investment expected for a specific expenditure. Personalization - The opportunity to customize a workspace or tool based on oneís identity and values. Private office - Refers to a workspace in an office that consists of an entire room with walls to the ceiling and one or more closable doors. Process teams - Functional or reticular work groups who perform well-specified tasks requiring constant interaction and regular supervision. Programming - Process used by design professionals to define the design problems and identify the major requirements of people and space. Project room - An enclosed, secure area to accommodate project materials and collaborative work activities. (top)

Reengineering - The activity of evaluating strategies, processes and outcomes to achieve streamlining, efficiency and enhanced performance. ROI - Return on Investment; the calculation the value received from a specific expenditure. Routine Processing - Repetitive or pragmatic tasks. RSI - Repetitive strain injury, injury to muscle tissue, connective tissues and nerves in the upper extremes, believed to coincide with work that constantly uses the same muscle groups in jobs with little task variety. (top)

Satellite office - These can take on many forms, but what is common is that the users are people who live nearby. People working in these offices, even when from the same company, are rarely part of the same organizational unit. Shared assigned - The Cornell University international Facility Management Program coined this term to describe a space allocation program in which two or more employees are assigned to use the same desk, office, or workspace but at different times. The assigned employees work out the actual sharing practices. Shared space - Allows more than one person to use an office or workspace. The user "owns" the space but shares it with others on the assumption that only one user is there at any given time. Social oasis - An intimate, relaxed retreat for a particular work community or communities. A place to enjoy lunch with friends, catch up on the news, take a nap, or have a good cry. Spatial memory - The human cognitive ability to recall data both by content and by position in which it was originally perceived. Structure and management - The emergence of more horizontal organizations, more autonomy, ant the new (and constantly shifting) management practices that are both reflected and shaped by the workplace, and demand, for example, that the workplace be more flexible and adaptable. Sub-architecture - A building system that exists within the total architectural framework of a building and supports the overall operation of the facility. (top)

Task intensive - Minimal variety of repetitive activities (worker does one or two activities throughout the day). Task lighting - Lighting intended to support the performance of a specific range of tasks. Team cluster - A team cluster is a collection of individual workspaces, team spaces, and hoteling spaces designed to support a teamís activities and facilitate their shared thinking through information persistence. Team work - Two or more people communicating and/or analyzing and creating. Team space - A space designed for collaborative work and information persistence. It may be big or small, open or closed, owned or shared. Technology integration - The technology tools, the infrastructure, and utility issues as all these relate to the workplace. Telecommuting/teleworking - Sending the work to the workers instead of sending the workers to work; periodic work out of the central office, one or more days per week either at home or in a regional office. Tools - Packaged information and materials that make Steelcase knowledge and solutions accessible, and provide needed support for each step in the selling process. Touch-down space - A first-come, first-serve, quick-use, stay-in-touch space for visitors. It is typically set up with phones, power plugs, and voice/data jacks so visitors donít have to intrude on employeesí workspace. Traditional managers - First level supervision and middle management of projects and/or personnel involving primarily linear work. (top)

Universal planning - One basic size of workspace for everyone. "One-size-fits-all" are tailored to meet different workstyles and job functions, by fitting out the standard footprint with different furniture components arranged in different ways. When departments are reorganized the only things that move are people and some furniture components. Up-lighting - Fixture directed upward using lenses and reflectors to spread the light over the surface of the ceiling, then reflecting it downward into the work environment. User control - The concept of allowing the end user of a product, tool or process the discretion to exert influence over all aspects of the object or process. Utilities Management - The infrastructure (power and data access, management, and flexibility) required to support the electronic tools in use. Utility closets - Telecommunication and electrical closets strategically located throughout the floorspace of a building to support infrastructure management. Virtual - A generic term used to describe the idea of the workspace as wherever and whenever you are working; ;that is, the workplace disassociated from a specific place and time. VOC - Volatile organic compound. (top)

Work environment - Where work can occur; includes all factors. Work expectations - The desire and needs of todayís workforce, for their jobs and careers, and how these relate to the workplace. Work modes - What people do to perform their job. See: Individual Analyzing and Creating, Collaborating, Group Communication, Individual Processing. Work process - What people do, how they do it, when they do it, where they do it; and the tools they need to be effective. Work process issues - The how, what, how, when, where, and with what tools of work performance - as all these relate to the workplace. Workplace - An entire facility that contains workspaces and worksettings. Workplace factors - Business issues with facility implications -- issues that affect, or are affected by, physical space. See: Communication Linkages, Cost of Ownership, Electronic Tools, Financing Alternatives, Health and Safety, Measurement, Organizational Shape, Utilities Management; Work Expectations. Workplace Mapping - An automated information-gathering tool that helps the design professional link workplace design to key business strategies and how people work. Workplace Performance Assessment - A questionnaire and observation tool that identifies gaps between work being performed and the current worksetting. Worksetting - All individual and shared spaces within the immediate environment which are allocated to a department or floor. Workspace - The individual or group space to support an activity. Workstation - Work area for one individual (replaced by "individual workspace"). (top)

© 1998 Steelcase, Inc.