On October 27 Governor Whitmer signed an executive directive to minimize the purchase of products with PFAS in Michigan buildings. PFAS chemicals are bad for the environment and bad for our health.
To ensure the safety of your employees and visitors any products on site with PFAS should be replaced. Most likely these are stain resistant furniture like your office chairs.
As a Best in Class Haworth dealer, we can assure you that any task chair you should purchase to replace what you currently have will not have PFAS and will keep your people safe.
“PFAS are dangerous, man-made chemicals that pose a threat to our health,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “I’m proud to sign an Executive Directive today that will require the State of Michigan to procure PFAS-free products whenever possible.”
Are the products in the SPACE Facility Armor EPA approved?
Our products are fully registered by the EPA to be used safely and effectively in the built environment.
Are the products in SPACE Facility Armor approved by the CDC?
The CDC doesn’t approve products. They provide guidelines for categories or products, and our products fit those categories. SPACE Facility Armor uses only carefully selected products that are listed on the EPA NList.
Why is SPACE Facility Armor such a different program?
With our understanding of the marketplace, we have selected the best technology for our system.
What is the benefit of the topical approach of the SPACE Facility Armor program?
We have a hospital grade disinfectant that is coupled with a long term, persistent and consistent surface preservative. This provides sustained antimicrobial activity for over two years.
Has the program been safely used before?
Yes, the program can be used extensively in the most stringent environments where safety is a priority: healthcare facilities, hospitals, implantable medical devices, cancer centers, and direct food services areas.
Is the product durable?
Yes, numerous studies have been done at universities and regulatory agencies to verify durability against physical wear to repeated cleaning. The products used will not abrade or leach under severe use conditions.
Why should I add SPACE Facility Armor to my cleaning regimen?
The extended time of microbial control and the reduction of mold, mildew, bacteria, and virus treatment provide consistent and persistent protection for all of the seen and unseen surfaces in your built environment.
When Zaneta Puller and Sahar Pena attended a General Service Administration (GSA) small business town hall meeting last spring, they had no idea it would turn into something big. They couldn’t have guessed then that it would lead to a GSA schedule addition making SPACE the only women-owned agency in the U.S. approved to provide an antimicrobial solution for the COVID virus to federal agencies.
SPACE approved to provide SPACE Facility Armor to federal agencies
In 2004, SPACE received its first GSA schedule. It approved us to provide furniture installation and design solutions to federal government offices. Since then, we’ve proudly completed more than 1000 federal projects across the country.
But the events of last summer have positioned us to provide even more for these customers.
As the pandemic swept through the U.S. in March 2020, Zaneta Puller, Government Sales Support, and Sahar Pena, Director of Business Development, attended a webinar hosted by GSA.
GSA expressed interest in expediting certain COVID-19 preventative solutions. The organization promised a speedy review of innovative PPE that could protect government employees—with extra emphasis on women-owned and/or small businesses.
Throughout the spring, we considered how to respond to the great need across the country. We began offering SPACE Facility Armor—which combines a CDC-approved, hospital grade disinfectant with an electrostatically charged application. It prohibits the growth of mildew, bacteria, and viruses on furniture and critical touch surfaces for over two years.
We were confident that there was a need for this unique combination of science and technology.
And we’re proud to announce that SPACE Facility Armor has been added to our GSA schedule! Through this affordable product, we’re able to play a part in keeping workers safe.
The General Service Administration (GSA) is a government agency that oversees anything related to the operation and construction of federal buildings. Because they control the market of companies approved to provide services to federal agencies, holding a GSA contract is pivotal.
SPACE also is approved to provide sustainable SPACE Anew upcycling services to federal agencies
But that’s not all! We also were approved to add SPACE Anew into our GSA schedule.
In addition to creating healthy workplaces, we’re also mission-driven to pursue sustainable spaces. So, as the opportunity to present innovative solutions to GSA arose, we decided to share our upcycling service, SPACE Anew, as well.
SPACE Anew is a bold, but simple, idea. It involves upcycling existing office space at 30-50% less cost, with 0% of furniture ending up in the landfill. According to the EPA, every year, the office furniture industry creates 9 million tons of waste.
When we officially launched SPACE Anew in 2010, we saw a clear need for an alternative and sustainable furniture solution. We’re grateful to now expand this offering to the federal government!
The future of our work and GSA schedule
We’re thrilled to be at the forefront of serving the federal government. One of our core values at SPACE is caring for our community—which involves both people’s safety and the environment’s protection.
Through these groundbreaking GSA schedule additions, we’re now able to provide a full package to our government customers.
As the government determines how to safely bring employees back into the office, they’re looking for safe solutions like ours. And, since SPACE designs for the future of work, we’re right in step with them—providing sustainable, safe, and affordable services.
“SPACE offers the peace of mind that our employees need to return to the office. Their designers are the best I’ve worked with and they helped find the right contract vehicle.” —SPACE federal government client.
When it comes to creating healthy buildings, there are nine key elements we consider:
Ventilation
Lighting and views
Air quality
Noise
Water quality
Safety and security
Dust and pests
Moisture
Thermal health
Designing for daylight, views, and noise reduction
While all are important, we’ll touch on a few in further detail in this post.
Daylight and views:
Light has acute effects on our cognitive function and sleep, and it plays a huge role on employees’ health and wellbeing. According to the 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building report, daylight exposure and access to windows at work has been linked to improved sleep duration and mood, reduced sleepiness, lower blood pressure, and increased physical activity.
At SPACE, we provide direct lines of sight to exterior windows from as many workstations as possible, without introducing glare.
Noise reduction:
We define noise as any “unwanted or disturbing sound” that interferes with normal activities. According to the 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building report, each year, around 30 million Americans are occupationally exposed to hazardous noise levels. And the presence of background noise can disrupt an individual’s ability to focus, communicate, or perceive speech.
We help control indoor sources of noise—such as mechanical or office equipment—providing spaces perfect for productive, uninterrupted work.
A science-based approach to a safe return to work
When COVID-19 began, we quickly realized the need to expand our definition of healthy workplaces into antimicrobial protection—to ensure buildings are safe from viruses and bacteria.
We’re proud to offer our Facility Armor program that kills 99% of microbes on porous and non-porous surfaces and prevents microbes from repopulating those surfaces between cleanings.
This CDC-approved, hospital grade disinfectant fogging application features an electrostatically charged antimicrobial technology. It’s water-based and EPA-accepted for all areas of your facility, including food service.
SPACE Facility Armor can be beneficial in many spaces beyond the typical office setting.
Who can benefit from SPACE Facility Armor?
Offices and commercial buildings
Retail spaces
K-12 schools and busses
Colleges and universities
Transportation companies, including airplanes, busses, and limousines
Churches
Libraries
Federal, state, and local municipalities
Contact us to start preventing microbial growth on everything you touch, and create a safe and healthy workplace for your team.
Ergonomic solutions to your employees’ wellbeing
Our clients place high value on the physical wellbeing of their staff, often leading them to seek new furniture to meet ergonomic guidelines.
In addition to the above considerations, we also offer ergonomic assessments, seeking to fit each individual person to the chair, desk, or other furniture asset.
