Every office needs cables, especially in the modern era where every person in a company needs at least one computer to be able to work. While most businesses use a commercial cabling company to install the technology needed to run an office, it can be difficult to manage all the different cables. Without proper planning, cable management in the office can turn into a huge obstacle that is particularly challenging to overcome – but with the right tools, there is an easy solution.

A raised floor system is designed to raise the floor of a room, thus allowing space below to run data and power cables without unsightly or dangerous cables around the room, or the need to run installation through ceilings or other inconvenient places. However, when raised flooring was first designed, it was created to solve a different problem entirely.

“The traditional access floor was designed with a completely different purpose,” says Earl Geertgens, CEO of FreeAxez. “When raised access floors were invented, the design intent of the engineers-and the problem they were trying to solve-was cooling down those mainframe computers, offsetting the heat for equipment.”

Because of its origins, people will not often equate the term “raised floor” with sustainability and eco-friendly building practices. The traditional post and panel raised floor was created to have a sealed space underneath the floors of a data center or computer room in order to keep these systems cool. This not only used a ton of excess energy, but these systems were permanently installed and as such the materials could not be reused or repurposed if the building was reconfigured.

However, modern raised floors, known as low-profile raised floor systems, are a different situation entirely. These systems are used for cable management within an office and are designed with materials meant to last a lifetime.

Eco-Friendly Cable Management Solutions

Cable management needs to be kept at the forefront of all office design. Trying to design an office space without first having a cabling solution figured out, will result in a domino effect of issues.

Numerous people will likely be involved in deciding how to run data and power throughout the office. Each of these people will have a different stake in the project, and as such will be looking for solutions to different problems.

Facility Managers

A facility manager will be acutely aware of how future changes to personnel or office configuration could disrupt workflow. It is not uncommon for these changes to need to happen overnight or at best over the weekend and in order for this to happen a facility manager will be searching for a highly adaptable solution. Facilities management jobs used to primarily be about blending into the background. However, in today’s environment, they are now moving into roles where they must be seen to assure people of their abilities.

Interior Designers

When designing an office space, an interior designer will always prefer a blank canvas to work with. Without power posts and cable tracks running around the room, the designer is in the perfect position to create an office space that meets the exact needs of the business without having to make concessions. This will then also make it easier for those that will eventually kit out the space with furnishings, as they can match the furniture found at the likes of this website with the space and the cable management used.

General Contractors

An efficient general contractor works under tight deadlines to finish the building project quickly so that interior designers and facility managers can start working their projects. They want solutions that install quickly and easily.

Architects

When working with a client, an architect is always trying to meet their various, and sometimes contradictory, needs. Clients will tend to focus on top of the line design and aesthetics, while also demanding that construction costs remain low. Architects will then find themselves looking for a flexible solution that is hassle-free to install while also offering the most possibilities for customization.

Business Owners

When a business owner is renovating a space, they are always looking to get the highest return on their investment. An added benefit of the Gridd raised floor system is that whoever purchases the system owns the components, and since they are not permanently attached, the business owner can then move the pieces into a new space if they were to grow out of their current office.

Introducing Gridd: The Eco-Friendly Adaptive Cabling Raised Floor System

Gridd was specifically designed to be a solution for a few key business needs:

1. Power and data cables need to be unobtrusively run throughout the building
2. Businesses often need to adapt and reconfigure their space
3. Downtime for installation needs to be kept to a minimum
4. The materials need to last as long as the building (and then some!)

Focusing on these requirements, FreeAxez created Gridd – a raised floor system designed to be eco-friendly with easy, tool-free installation. Built without plastic, the steel and aluminum system is not only better for the environment, but you can be assured these components will last as long as the building itself. And since the system is not fastened to the floor, it can be reconfigured over and over, or even removed and brought directly to a new facility.

Office space design is a complicated process. Every project will have its own particular challenges to be solved and needs to be met. And when you factor in the growing trend of sustainability and eco-friendly building practices, it is clear that these challenges require a multi-functional solution.

Luckily, as the need for creative solutions grows, technology is keeping up. As long as facility managers, architects, and interior designers utilize careful planning and the latest advancements in cabling design, there will always be a solution that fits everyone’s needs.