For any growing company, furnishing and equipping an office can be very costly.  Cutting corners to save money can be tempting.  When it comes to assembly and installation, however, this is not one of the seemingly simple areas to take that chance.  Perhaps you’ve considered using a “general moving” company to handle installation. 

Don’t Do It.

When it comes to using a general moving company, they are movers first.  Non-professional office furniture installers almost always take longer to put together office equipment and furniture. Thus, the dollars you "saved" avoiding professional office furniture installers will be lost as employees wait to get back to work.

You might know some people who are good at putting together home office furniture, but contract office furniture is built to different standards than residential furniture.  Assembling a new conference room table is not as simple as assembling a computer desk.

Before you start searching for a less expensive option than hiring a professional installation company consider these 5 reasons why your DYI office assembly is a bad idea:

There needs to be a strategy.

Assembling and installing office furniture isn't as simple as it sounds and takes more than a few hours and the tools you have handy. You need a plan that considers things you've probably not thought about. For example:

• Do you have construction documents for exactly how each station is to be laid out?
• Is your staff skilled in reading those documents?
• What will be the best sequence of installation to ensure a streamlined workflow?
• Do you need power?  If so, is anyone on your staff skilled as a licensed electrician?
• Will you need someone to sort out telephone lines and internet? Cable and other wiring?
• What do you do if you seem to be missing parts?

It will cost you time and money.

Using employees to assemble furniture is not the best use of their time.  They were hired to perform other functions in your business because they are experts at that function.  In all likelihood, furniture assembly is not one of their areas of expertise.  The risk of potential damage to your furniture is not worth it. You’re making a long-term investment in your office furniture.  The last thing you need is to replace something that is broken during assembly.  Ultimately, you end up paying twice - for the hours lost while employees fix everything up and for the extra hours for them to catch up on normal duties.

It won't be perfect.

Not all units come in perfectly and it doesn't take much to end up with a unit that just doesn't fit together. If you’ve ever tried to put together a home office desk, you know a fraction of an inch on hole drilled wrong at the factory can be the difference between your new office looking stunning and the potential failure of your workstation.  Invariably there will be times when furniture won’t match up flush at the edges, drawers won't line up and trays won't be level. But worst of all, you and everyone else will be frustrated.

Safety is Job #1. 

OSHA enforces safety and health regulations in the US. Unless you are versed in federal, state and local codes and laws, it doesn’t take much for one incident to turn into a much larger issue. 

• Do you know the fire codes in your locale?
• Are you structurally knowledgeable in weight bearing loads?
• If your employees are injured while performing duties outside of their job description, are they covered by your insurance?

Will you need assistance after installation?

The best professional office installers across the country will have dependable post-installation customer service that could be helpful when something isn't working.  Professional Installers, Inc. in St. Louis is a member of the Facilities Services Network (FSN).  FSN is a group of 22 professional office furniture installation companies located world-wide.  Their mission is to promote professionalism, best practices and high performance in the facility services segment of the contract furniture industry.

Contact us today about your next office move:

Professional Installers, Inc.

12100 Prichard Farm Rd

Maryland Heights, MO 63043

314-209-8000

http://profinst.com/