What drives furniture decisions in commercial environments? Key attributes are Aesthetics, Quality, Craftsmanship, Safety, Performance, Health & Wellness, Sustainability, and Verification. These dimensions of commercial furniture are explored for their impact on decision-making so professionals can put safety, sustainability, and wellness at the forefront of the selection process. You will understand the value of original design and how materiality is a critical factor in product appropriateness. You will see how furniture contributes to the health, safety, and wellness of occupants and impacts planetary health. Finally, you will be conversant in the relevant certification schemes and how to correctly apply which verifications to each attribute of furniture.

AIA: 1 Learning Unit + HSW
IDCEC: 1 Learning Unit + HSW
GBCI: 1 Unit

Examine how demountable and storefront walls can aid in the safety, sustainability and overall well-being of those who are working in high-performance buildings.

Everyday a new acronym is thrown our way. While HCAHPS has been around for the better part of decade, understanding how furnishing, particularly something as simple as a whiteboard, can affect patient engagement is confusing. This CEU will see to define HCAHPS and explain the key role furniture plays in achieving higher scores.

This course offers a review of the content of the ANSI/BIFMA e3 2019 Furniture Sustainability Standard including scope, structure, elements, etc., as well as information on the third-party LEVEL certification process. It is intended to familiarize A&D professionals, facility managers, commercial building owners, customers, dealers, and manufacturers with e3 and LEVEL so that they may understand the specifics of the standard in a framework that showcases how it applies to their need to specify sustainable products.

This course provides an overview of Polyurethane – specifically how it is utilized as an edge material on table tops, highlighting key features and benefits, industry trends and commercial markets in which it is applied. At the end of the program, participants will be able to define what urethane is and what type is used for edging, describe the composition and production of urethane, understand the features and benefits of urethane and recognize what type of urethane to use for a given project.

This course explores the environmental psychology and information design principles that underlie effective wayfinding design. It also reviews aspects of the wayfinding design process such as: concept development, destination naming studies, iconography, room numbering, ADA issues and much more.

Join us to gain a better understanding of the types of wood veneer species, veneer grading process, veneer slicing for specific aesthetics, veneer lay-up, panel construction, veneer durability, finishing process and environmental standards.

A mind-boggling number of environmental standards exist. This course clarifies the process by defining and comparing leading programs on the market and explaining the role of sustainable furniture within each. The course overlays the LEVEL rating system and explains its application and relevance to help demystify furniture’s role in sustainability. You will become conversant in LEVEL by BIFMA and its key role in defining sustainability for furniture. You will understand the scope and distinctions between building rating systems, transparency protocols, and product certifications. You will gain understanding of the future landscape for sustainability and furniture and the market drivers behind this.

This curriculum will explore the parallels between embracing A wellness lifestyle design from a practice management perspective and the positive impact it will have on the actual projects being designed. The data we have collected is showing us that firms embracing and demonstrating through leadership a wellness culture are far more resilient, winning more work, increasing their creative output, and having higher employee satisfaction. In this curriculum we will explore the 5 foundational elements of a wellness lifestyle design that has been shown to improve the bottom line of firms, elevate the human experience, catalyze social interaction, and support a healthy environment.

“Addressing Workplace Distractions in the Open Office” covers the effects of modern-day noise—people’s interactions, media, and technology—in employee productivity and the ways in which they can be addressed through organization, planning, and design. Common workplace distractions hinder the workplace experience but there are various solutions to heighten company efficiency and overall performance.

This course provides knowledge about BIFMA’s mission and work. The course explains Why Standards Matter to all involved with furniture procurement to ensure decisions are informed by safety, wellness, and sustainability. In this course, you’ll learn about the historical context that drove the need for developing industry-wide furniture performance standards and understand the impact of social, economic, and technological trends on the bottom line for business owners. You'll identify how testing procedures simulate actual use over the life of the product and you will know how to access LEVEL and BIFMA Compliant as the tools to evaluate your furniture selections.