WEEK 5: CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S HALF WAY OVER

Monday I mainly did some library filing and organization. I also helped a designer organize her pictures that she took at Neocon. It was cool for me to see some of things the designers got to see last week while in Chicago. I also pulled some samples for a designer, Brenna. A designer also wanted to have me send out some fabrics to have them tested on specific furniture for Coalesse. I learned how this process works, and called a rep to order a larger sample for the testing.

Tuesday I started off the day with going back to a job site with Nick to get some additional field verifications. This was needed to get information about the load occupancy and plumbing. I also converted these verifications into AutoCAD. In the morning there was a lighting rep that presented information about LED lights. There was also another rep from Mannington that came in during the afternoon. In the downtime I did some organization of materials in the library.

Wednesday I started off the day by driving to a job site to verify existing finishes within the space and to choose a couple options for accent colors. There was also a rep presentation from National Wallcovering. The rest of the day felt kind of chaotic. I was trying to find samples for a designer, and some of the information was vague or the rep was busy and could not help me. It was a little frustrating, but the end of the day ended well with another designer giving me a project to work on. I had to order extra samples for the entire project, which includes about six different spaces, so that both the architect and IDS has a copy of the sample. Come early next week I will be receiving a lot of packages! I get more mail at work than I ever do at home. 

Thursday morning I continued to work on the large finish project. I called and emailed a lot of reps. After that I worked on a small finish schedule to include with a finish board. One of the designers planned a picnic at a park nearby the office. It was nice to see all of the designers outside of the office and to get to know everyone. Many of us have suggested this become a weekly event, which I definitely approve of the idea! :)

Friday was a quiet day at the office. Many of the designers were in and out of the office going to different meetings. I started to work on a finish board for Vanderbilt, and the rest of the day I hung down in the materials library with Melody.

Costs, Fees, and Budgets

IDS is a Steelcase dealer, this means that the company does have an in-house purchasing department. So more often than not the firm purchases their own products and goods. Occasionally the client will put the furniture out for bid, and IDS will be included in this. Simply said, IDS purchases the products and then sells them. On the finishes side, typically IDS specifies the finish and then the contractor will order the product.

Project fees are determined by the scope of work needed, the estimated length of the project, and assessing the risk of the client. The rate that will be charged is usually determined by the architect or the manager of the group (these people were discussed in the first week’s organizational chart). A fee can either be an hourly rate (flat rate) or a fixed fee. An hourly rate can also include a maximum hour. Once the designer has worked on the project for so many hours then the client can no longer be billed for those extra hours, if there are any.

Budgets, fees, and costs are handled mostly by the designer working directly with the client. From the few clients I have met, the client is pretty on top of what the budget is and how much the designer is spending on products. Melody and Yvetta are also aware of the budgets for each project, because they keep track of all the time sheets. There are always meetings throughout the project with the designer and client to talk about the project, including budget. This also helps manage the budget. Options to help manage the budget can include, alternate options that provide the same function and aesthetics but at a lower price, value engineering, and just being aware of the original budget from the start of the project.

This is Keats! She is part of the design studio, and is super fun. I have enjoyed getting to know her and look forward to getting to do more work for her.