Research: Rethink traditional space metrics and build your future now

The research workplace is in flux. Uncertainty, new technology, and hybrid work have all exposed a crucial need for data-driven insights in strategic planning and programming for scientific work environments. Through a case study of The Sherwin-Williams Company “Building Our Future” project, presenters demonstrate a combination of lean process improvement, Gemba walks, and dialog focused on impactful organizational change to optimize a 600,000 square foot facility. They relate what was learned on hybrid workplace environment, staff and equipment utilization, and challenges to conventional laboratory metrics, how the data was evaluated for efficiency, safety, and operational impacts, and the resulting transformations in process, governance, and projected outcomes.