Of course, choosing a science lab table or other science lab furniture may seem like a simple task best left to your Operations Department. Certainly, cost, functionality, and sturdiness are factors to consider; these items are top priority for Operations Departments seeking to stick to annual and long-term budgets. However, there are more subtle factors to consider when selecting your organization’s laboratory tables and science lab workbenches. Here, we discuss the nuances that laboratory furnishings can bring to reinforcing organizational mission statements and identity through their design.
A FOCUS INDEPENDENCE OR A FOCUS ON COOPERATION.
Each scientific laboratory functions with a different model to achieve its goals, with some focusing research on the independent work of several scientists working toward a unified mission and others working in a cooperative, organic environment. Lab tables and science lab workbenches can reflect either of those work models if properly selected.
Smaller, individual lab tables can offer the quiet, privacy and individual space required for even the most independent research. Such design also permits blind studies to be more accurately recorded, as it is more difficult for samples or other work to become accidentally mixed up or even accidentally influential upon another’s work. Larger laboratory tables can provide multiple work areas in a communal environment so that cooperative teams can develop ideas together while still having space for their own work and work resources.
VALUE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR VALUE OF THE OVERALL IDENTITY.
Similarly, science lab furniture can reinforce your organization’s values. Do you place high value on the individual and his or her personal sense of style? In many development laboratories, it is important for the scientists to be feel that they can personalize their space, just as you may have more lax dress codes to promote this value. By selecting a science lab table that has a clean, industrial design, your staff will be able to customize their work areas more effectively. Even if you do not permit personal items, an industrial design lends itself to a “blank slate” mentality.
Conversely, your organization may place high value on staff members adhering to an overall organizational appearance and identity. In this case, selecting laboratory furnishings that represent the company as a whole can subtly reinforce that value without being overly obtrusive. Examples of company-driven laboratory customization include the inclusion of organizational logo colors into the furnishings, or even the selection of more traditional-looking furnishings to convey a sense of an organization’s long and revered history.
Every laboratory’s research and development is unique, and its laboratory tables and science lab workbenches should also be a reflection of that unique identity and mission. By carefully selecting the furnishings with an eye toward corporate identity, it is possible to create a work environment that moves beyond sterile and functional to a powerful tool toward motivating, uniting, and reinforcing ideals for the laboratory workforce. Your staff will appreciate a work environment that is specifically created for them with their needs considered, which increases morale and productivity in the workplace.