General Knowledge

COVID-19 UPDATE 3/30/19

Douron is operational to provide service to our employees, clients, partners and community. We have received required status for distribution to essential companies per state and federal guidelines.

We are continually monitoring the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) for daily updates to provide our employees a safe and healthy working environment.

We have established a continuity plan that relies on email, virtual meetings and remote connectivity as our primary contact and response method. With our soft phone application, our employees can be reached at their normal extensions. Messages left on team members’ work phones are monitored and answered as quickly as possible.

Our showrooms in Baltimore, Rockville and Delaware are closed until further notice. We’re actively using remote strategies along with virtual client meetings to keep daily operations running as usual. All of our facilities are being cleaned and disinfected regularly to ensure a safe work environment.

MANUFACTURING PARTNERS

Douron is monitoring the operational status of our manufacturing partners and we will provide updates, as we receive them, via email.

SALES

Account Executives will continue to be available by their standard email addresses, phone extensions and mobile phone numbers. All responses to projects from ourAccount Executives will be via email or phone.

CUSTOMER SERVICE SUPPORT

Douron has temporarily transitioned headquartered team members to work remotely. Our continuity plan has been tested to make an easy transition as not to delay our ability to serve you.

WAREHOUSE, DELIVERY AND INSTALLATION (WD&I)

Currently, Douron is accepting all shipments and making deliveries, while safely completing projects. There is restricted entry for delivery drivers to our warehouse and paperwork is being delivered to the door. Our warehouse team has been provided rubber gloves, masks and disinfecting spray to utilize upon receipt of product and to use as necessary. All WD&I employees have proper documentation of the nature of their delivery being essential to the operations of our clients.

After installation, all furniture surfaces and cabinet are sprayed and disinfected. We want to ensure a safe installation process. Our employees are aware and following (CDC) guidelines of daily cleaning of tools and
building materials; washing hands as often as possible; covering coughs and sneezes with tissues and avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

WARRANTY AND CLAIMS

Our Corrective Actions Department is reviewing all claims made by clients and reporting information to the appropriate manufacturer.

If you are experiencing any warranty or service related issues, please fill out a warranty request form at https://douron.com/warranty-request/or email correctiveactions@douron.com.

Thank you for your support and patience during this challenging time. We are working together with you to provide safe and healthy environments.

Social Distancing and Self Quarantine

Social Distancing and Self Quarantine? Here’s What to Do:

Telecommuting, or working from home, has been on the rise for several years now as improved technology has made it easier to connect and collaborate. All of a sudden, however, many more workers have been asked to stay home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and with very little time to prepare.

If you’re new to telecommuting, here are some tips to get you off on the right foot.

Find your space. While you don’t need an office in the literal sense of the term, an area that’s private and free of distractions – and still within range of your Wi-Fi router – is best. If there’s a door you can close to shut out distractions, better still. Pay attention to what you’ll be sitting on and using as a desk, also. Office furniture is designed to be used all day, but your dining room chair and your back may not get along all that well.

Dress for success. Theoretically, you could work all day in your pajamas if you don’t have any videoconferencing responsibilities. But studies show we do better work when we’re dressed for the work we do. Prepare yourself as though you’re going to the office.

Discipline is key. There are more distractions at home, especially if the kids are around, as they are for many of us. It takes some discipline to stay on task when Netflix is calling you to the couch, or when it’s a nice day outside. Try to observe the same work routine as you would if you weren’t at home.

Take breaks. Having discipline doesn’t mean chaining yourself to the desk for eight hours. Set alarms to remind you to get up and move around for at least a few minutes every hour. This is especially important at home, where your work setup may not be as ergonomically friendly as the office.

Be a video star. If you are videoconferencing, see the previous tip about how to dress (at least from the waist up). The best spot for this may not be the space where you’re doing most of your work. You want a well-lit area (lit from the front, not from a window behind you … you’ll disappear into the shadows), and a neutral background so as not to distract other participants. Test out your webcam and speakers well before the call, especially the webcam, so you get a good look at how others will see you and can make adjustments if necessary. And again, if you can be away from kids, dogs and outside noises, your meeting will go more smoothly. Know where the ‘mute’ button is on the software and use it as needed if things get noisy on your end.

Finally, relax. We’ve just undergone a seismic change in the numbers of people working from home, and everyone understands that many of us are new at it. People won’t judge you too harshly if a dog barks or if your child goes running through the background on your video call.

Questions about getting set up at home? Contact Douron.

Douron CO-VID Update

Clients and Staff,

The core of our business has always been the people we serve and the mutual relationships we enjoy. Therefore, our foremost concern is the health and safety of everyone.

We are committed to continuing operations and want to assure you that while many of our employees are not physically in the office, you would never know it. Over the past few years, we have adopted and implemented remote work policies with our staff. From soft-phone applications and cloud-hosted email, we have spent the past several years building an infrastructure which truly allows our office staff to work seamlessly from anywhere they can connect to the internet. We use video conferencing, screen sharing, and various other tools to effectively work in teams whether we can sit together or not. We do not expect to experience any disruptions to our services.

Our intention is to continue providing excellent, quality service to all of our devoted clients. As government mandates are released, we will keep you apprised of any changes.

At this time, we expect to be able to receive and deliver all product as previously scheduled. If, for any reason, you are aware of delays or changes to any of your specific projects, timely notification would be greatly appreciated.

We thank you for your continued partnership. We wish safety and wellness for you and yours. Don’t hesitate to call with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Ronald Hux,
President & Owner

The Pod Squad: Cell Pods for Your Office

If you’re of a certain age, you might remember actual full-size phone booths: they had a pay phone inside and you could step in and close a folding glass door behind you for privacy (and Superman supposedly got changed in them, but we’re not sure how a glass booth offered any concealment).

In the age of the mobile phone, the phone booth has gone the way of the dodo … sort of. The trend towards open office plans has brought with it a new need for privacy, and that’s what cell pods are for.

An open floor plan is great for promoting collaboration and teamwork, and not so great when privacy is called for. Cell pods answer that need by providing private workspaces within an open plan.

If you’re still thinking “phone booth,” you’re not wrong: some cell pods are simple glass enclosures designed for one person to make calls or just work in quiet seclusion. But that’s only the beginning of the options.

Cell pods can also be sized for groups ranging from two employees to ten or more (the “cell” in the name refers to a group of employees, not the phone booth function). Typically, they’re rectangular or square units with walls of glass and/or acoustical panels, an acoustical ceiling and built-in lighting and ventilation. There are hexagonal and even circular units as well, and if you want one wall to be a whiteboard or to hold a large monitor, it can be done.

In many cases, cell pods can even be reconfigured to different sizes, shapes or options as your needs change. They’re an affordable, flexible and often necessary addition to any open office plan.

Want to know more about cell pods for your office? Contact Douron.

Sharing Spaces: The Boom in Coworking Environments

One of the great benefits of the amazing advances in technology over the last couple of decades has been the ability for many of us to work from anywhere. This has led not only to traditional office personnel working from home, but has fueled the rise of the “gig economy” and entrepreneurs able to conduct business anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection (which is why you can’t get a seat at Starbucks, but that’s a different topic).

The downside of that newfound freedom has been the loss of some degree of human interaction and engagement. It’s great that we can connect from anywhere, but on some level we have to connect with other human beings as well.

Enter the shared workspace or, more commonly, the coworking space. Coworking spaces are typically suites, and sometimes entire buildings, that feature individual offices for lease by unrelated businesses. Usually the individual offices are accompanied by open-plan, shared work areas, and often there are conference rooms available for tenants as well. Some arrangements even feature a common receptionist/admin person to greet visitors, schedule appointments for tenants and so on.

There are solid reasons for this blossoming trend: a Harvard Business Review article notes that people who belong to shared work environments thrive at a higher level than those in traditional offices, and find their work more meaningful as well.

While shared workspaces can give the solo entrepreneur an air of credibility in the form of a physical space and a mailing address (besides that Starbucks location), they’re often used by employees of traditional firms who need a remote location, maybe on the other side of town from the home office. And one of the reasons people thrive is because of an environment where they can interact with others who aren’t competing for the same clients or the next promotion. Collaboration and sharing of ideas happen organically, especially if the design is conducive to that.

For that reason, the design of a successful coworking space should put a great deal of emphasis on the common areas to make them inviting and engaging. After all, collaboration is much more likely if tenants can flop down for a few minutes and compare notes. It’s not unusual to see everything from beanbags to sofas to stand-up tables and desks in well-designed coworking environments. The resimercial furniture trend is tailor-made to work well in shared spaces.

Interested in design ideas for a shared or coworking space? Contact the design experts at Douron.

Biophilic Design: What is it and Why is it Popular?

You may or may not have heard the term, “biophilic design,” but you’ve probably seen it without knowing its name. And you’re likely to see more biophilic spaces in the future.

So what is biophilic design? Wikipedia defines it this way:

Biophilic design is a concept used within the building industry to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment through the use of direct nature, indirect nature, and space and place conditions.

To that we would add, “Not just the building industry but interior design as well.”

The theory behind biophilic design is that as the world becomes more urbanized it’s more and more important that we stay connected to the outdoors, and proponents of the trend point out some very real benefits. The term itself is several decades old and translates to “love of life or living systems,” the idea being that we all subconsciously need to connect with other living things.

In real terms as it applies to commercial design, that means any number of things, but think lots of wood, plants as an architectural feature, indoor waterfalls and so forth. Definitions vary as to exactly what does and does not constitute biophilic design, but consider this: an atrium with full-size trees and waterfalls, simulating an exterior setting, is definitely biophilic. A ficus tree in your cubicle, not so much.

And there’s a huge middle ground, of course, but however you define it, there’s a marked trend towards bringing the outdoors to indoor spaces.

Why? Well, if you’ve ever gone for a hike in the woods to clear your mind, or if you’re a camping enthusiast, you understand the positive effects being in the outdoors can have on your psyche. In a commercial setting, proper use of biophilic elements translates to reduced stress, improved cognitive function, better moods and greater creativity. And any business could use some of that, right?

Does that mean you have to tear up your whole building and plant a forest in the lobby? No (although that would be pretty cool!). There are many ways, large and small, to incorporate biophilic design elements into the workplace.

Want to know more? Contact our design professionals.