When Kelly Johnson brought together a hand-picked team of Lockheed engineers and manufacturing people at Burbank in the wartime year of 1943, each team member was cautioned that design and production of the new P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter must be carried out in strict secrecy. No one was to discuss the project outside the small organization, and team members were even warned to be careful how they answered the telephones.

A team engineer named Irv Culver was a fan of Al Capp's newspaper comic strip, "Li'l Abner," in which there was a running joke about a mysterious place deep in the forest called the "Skonk Works." There, a strong beverage was brewed from skunks, old shoes and other strange ingredients. Johnson's organization operated out of a rented circus tent next to a plastic manufacturing plant that would produce a strong odor which permeated the tent.

One day, Culver's phone rang and he answered it by saying "Skonk Works, inside man Culver speaking." Fellow employees quickly adopted the name for their mysterious part of Lockheed, where the new jet fighter program was brewing. "Skonk Works" became "Skunk Works." The once informal nickname is now the registered trademark of the company: Skunk WorksÂ(r).*

"The Lockheed experience is an example of the value of teamwork when it comes to getting projects up and running in a short period of time," says Mark Bassil, vice president and co-founder of MAiSPACE, a Mt. Olive NJ based manufacturer of modular office furniture systems. "Today the generic term skunkworks is often used by team members old enough to remember Li'l Abner and his Dogpatch friends in describing how they approach their challenges."

And the circus tent has evolved into modern open offices where the skunkworks is accommodated by systems furniture designed to support a teaming environment.

"Teaming space is creative space where people get together to hash over ideas and come up with solutions," Bassil states. "But it does not rule out the need for privacy when team members need to be by themselves to carry out their individual assignments. That's why creative facility managers take advantage of the superior flexibility of systems furniture to accommodate individual team members and group interaction."

Systems Furniture for Teaming Environments

MAiSPACE addresses these requirements through systems furniture ranging from single and double occupancy cubicles to open and full-walled teaming rooms. "The beauty of systems furniture is its flexibility" Bassil says. "The MAiSPACE knock down ready to assemble (RTA) framing and off module design enables office floor plan reconfiguration in a matter of hours by on-site personnel after minimum training. This recognizes that a project team has a finite life. Once the project is completed, the space used for group meetings can be reconfigured for other uses."

The framing is a study in simplicity. On average, only two horizontal sub-assemblies plus two shared vertical uprights are required to support panel frames up to 8 feet wide. Frames can easily be added to or removed from runs without disturbing adjacent structures. Stackable/de-stackable panels permit easy construction of walls to 14 feet high. "MAiSPACE full floor-to-ceiling walls fabricated of acoustical panels provide not only privacy for the team but insulate adjacent workspaces from the distraction of team conversations," Bassil says. "Non-destructive fasteners firmly anchor wall segments to the floor and ceiling without causing damage, thereby facilitating removal and relocation."

Similarly, new collaboration areas can be assembled in a very short time and members' personal workspaces can be located nearby.

Further supporting the teaming environment is ergonomic seating exemplified by MAiCHAIR. "Workspace seating can be rolled on its 5 urethane casters to the teaming area," Bassil suggests. "Once a person adjusts MAiCHAIR to his or her maximum comfort it makes sense to take it along to the meeting rather than select another seat."

Connecting the Team

Whether working alone or as a group team members must stay connected. The MAiSPACE patented plug-and-play voice, data and power cabling system provides a solution that is an office manager's dream. Conveniently placed consolidation points located behind snap-off panels enable adding or removing workspaces without disrupting the entire office local area network (LAN). When in the team area, members can connect their laptops to the LAN through table or wall-mounted data access points.

"As with changes to floor plans, changes to the cabling system can likewise be handled by on-site personnel equipped with a minimum of training," Bassil says.

This outstanding flexibility afforded by MAiSPACE does not mean a price premium, "Our modern manufacturing and supply chain management processes enable us to fully furnish workplaces at prices averaging 40% below some of the oldest names in the contract furniture industry," Bassil says. "This means we can provide beautifully furnished workspaces from $12 to $15 per square foot installed." MAiSPACE.com will help business owners and operators make smart choices in Modern Office Furniture for their offices and selecting the right Office Cubicles. You might find interesting our article "How Cubicle Design Affects Employee Productivity and Performance".