bfi News

At NeoCon this year, Herman Miller hit the mark in seating and lighting, reaping two Gold and two Silver Best of NeoCon Awards. Check out how these award winners are helping improve the human experience. And, if you didn’t get to Chicago this year, watch these 2009 NeoCon videos for more on what happened in our space.

Our drive at Herman Miller to make the human experience better has yielded many innovations. Over the last 30 years, each of our seating products has built the foundation of research and knowledge for the next. Setu and Embody once again extend Herman Miller’s legacy of leadership in design, innovation, and sustainability.

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Setu Chairs
Our new family of multipurpose seating, Setu, won the Gold Award in the Conference Seating category and the Silver Award in the Sofas and Lounge Seating category. Setu—the chair for how you work and live now—was designed by the Berlin design group Studio 7.5, who also designed the Mirra chair, a NeoCon Gold Award winner in 2003.

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Embody Chair
Designed by Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf, the Embody chair—the first work chair to support both the mind and the body—won the Silver Award in the Ergonomic Task Seating category. Jeff Weber of Studio Weber + Associates is also the designer of our Caper seating, which won a NeoCon Gold Award in 1999. Bill Stumpf, in collaboration with Don Chadwick, designed the Equa and Aeron chairs.

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Twist LED Task Light
Yves Béhar, founder of fuseproject, has once again partnered with Herman Miller to create an innovative lighting solution. The result is the Twist LED task light, winner of the Gold Award in the Specialty Lighting category. Twist, an energy-efficient, eco-friendly undershelf LED light for systems furniture, provides value, simplicity, and personal control for office workers. Béhar also designed the Leaf personal light, winner of the Gold Award in the Lighting category at NeoCon 2006, as well as the Ardea personal light.

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Intent Furniture and Energy Manager
Our space featured two other new products: Intent Furniture and Energy Manager.

Intent furniture, designed by Joey Ruiter of JRuiter + Studio, offers a new furniture solution that extends from the private office to systems workstations in the open plan. Intent furniture has a crisp, clean appearance and was designed to integrate physically and aesthetically with Vivo interiors.

Energy Manager is an electrical circuit control system connected between building power and Herman Miller systems modular power. It can provide programmed or occupancy-based control of power delivery to two of the typical four circuits within a cluster of up to eight Herman Miller workstations. This allows individual worker or owner control of powered devices so they are on only when needed, and off when workstations aren’t occupied. That saves you energy and reduces costs.

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2009 Showroom Overview
Our 2009 showroom demonstrated how we work for a better world around you. Check out this video for an overview of the space and highlights of the products we offer. Each is designed to improve your environment whether it’s an office, hospital, school, home, an entire building, or the world at large.

Labels: Embody, Herman Miller, Intent Furniture, Setu

Herman Miller, Inc., the global office furniture manufacturer that has continuously set new standards for seating comfort, ergonomics, and performance, introduces the next groundbreaking innovation in work chairs: the Embody chair, designed by internationally renowned designers Jeff Weber and the late Bill Stumpf.

"Our drive at Herman Miller to make the human experience better has yielded many innovations," says Don Goeman, Herman Miller's Executive Vice President--Research, Design and Development. "Over the last 30 years, each of our seating products has built the foundation of research and knowledge for the next. Embody once again reinvents the reference for ergonomics by providing a chair designed to actually enhance your health."

Embody recognizes that almost all knowledge-based, creative work processes have become tethered to the electronic realm. We are bound to our computers for longer periods of time throughout the day. This has contributed to more unhealthy working conditions, because prolonged sitting is bad for you. Chairs hinder movement, yet movement is critical to physical health and mental performance. Extended sitting also stresses tissues and muscles, pressures the spine, and restricts blood flow. The results are physical and mental fatigue, discomfort, distraction, and even costly injury.

"The sitter side of the computer-and-sitter interface has never been adequately addressed," Weber says. "In fact, accommodating technology at the expense of people has become the priority in creating work environments."

These are serious issues in today's idea economy, where people are paid to produce ideas, and companies are seeking tools that help people perform at their best.

Stumpf and Weber decided to solve the problem. Stumpf, designer or co-designer of Herman Miller's Aeron, Ergon, and Equa work chairs, came to Herman Miller in 2002 and said, "I think I have one more in me." Bill Stumpf passed away in 2006, but his partner Jeff Weber, principal of Studio Weber + Associates (formerly Stumpf, Weber + Associates), carried on, giving the chair its final function and form.

Working closely with a cross-functional team from Herman Miller, and in consultation with leading figures in academia, healthcare, and ergonomics, Weber and Stumpf invented a chair that restores balance to the human/computer relationship by supporting both your mind and your body.


"Embody is a health-positive seating experience," says Weber, "because it enhances both your intake of oxygen and the cellular exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, improving your health, and ultimately fueling your brain." A set of important innovations makes this possible.

Instinctive back: Inspired by the human spine, Embody's back adapts to your unique spinal curvature. It lets you move freely and naturally to improve blood flow and eliminate discomfort and distraction. The back is narrow, allowing your arms to move back and forth naturally. This opens up the chest cavity, letting your lungs take in more air and send more oxygen to the brain.

Pixelated seat: When you move, the seat moves with you. Using a matrix of pixels, the seat's unique, three layered construction of materials and technology conforms to micro-movements and distributes weight evenly.

Zoned Support: The chair removes stresses on your body at every contact point, accommodating a diverse population. Reduced pressure improves circulation and facilitates the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within cells. You stay mentally fresh and comfortable.

Working Recline: Embody's unique tilt mechanism encourages working recline, the most healthful working position. The chair automatically stabilizes your pelvis in the seat pocket in every position and supports your thoracic back while correctly aligning your eyes with the computer screen. With no uncomfortable and distracting physical constraints on the body, the mind is freed to focus on ideas and the tasks at hand.

Inclusive Sizing: Embody accommodates nearly everyone's abilities, dimensions, and preferences within one chair size. The seat surface length can expand or contract to reduce pressure on the thighs without disrupting the user's fully-engaged position in the seat pocket. The seat width accommodates the greatest population of hip-breadth dimension. The chair's arms adjust in height and width to support a full range of work activities and postures.
Embody's form is defined by these health-positive features. The technology of the chair is not hidden. Instead, it's a purposeful part of the aesthetic, giving the chair its intriguing look--a "visual feast," said Stumpf.

Like all Herman Miller products, Embody's design is based in extensive research, including studies of biomechanics, seating behaviors and postures, anthropometric data, metabolic measures, and tissue perfusion (the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in body tissue).

Research also confirms Embody's health-positive advantage. For example, research shows that Embody does better than any chair at maintaining oxygen levels in tissue, allowing people to stay focused and engaged. Research also demonstrates that the Embody backrest provides greater support to users' backs compared to other chairs.

Embody supports Herman Miller's commitment to the environment as well, helping Herman Miller reach its environmental sustainability goals of zero landfill, zero hazardous waste generation, and zero VOC emissions by 2020. Embody is MBDC Silver certified and GREENGUARD certified. It has 42 percent recycled content, is 95 percent recyclable, and is PVC-free.

Labels: Embody, Herman Miller

by Brian Walker

Years ago Herman Miller decided to become an advocate for the environment, both because we believed it was the right thing to do and because we saw the potential for a clear business benefit. Ever since, we've been refining our processes to put our aspirations into practice.

Our Perfect Vision campaign, launched in 2003, includes green goals such as no landfill waste, no hazardous waste, no air or water emissions from manufacturing, and the use of 100% green energy, all by the year 2020. These are stringent targets our company cannot reach without engaging over 200 materials and components suppliers in the ongoing task of greening our global supply chain.

As we've examined every aspect of our worldwide supply chain, we've learned one key lesson: A business, and the products it sells, can only be environmentally sustainable through a holistic approach to design, raw materials, production methods, packaging, shipping, recycling, and even marketing--across the entire value chain. It's far too large and complex a undertaking for any organization to go it alone and be truly effective. You know the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, it takes an entire supply chain to green a company.

Here are three things we recommend to companies working with their suppliers on the long-term goal of going green.

1. Design your products with sustainability as a core principal. At Herman Miller, we have a problem-solving, design-driven culture, so we spend a lot of time thinking about how to create our products. In 2001, when we were creating our Mirra chair, we had been working with architect Bill McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart, both leading-edge environmentalist thinkers, toward their vision of a "cradle-to-cradle" design that embraces sustainable materials in a closed-loop life cycle. As a result, we eliminated the use of a chemical called polyvinyl chloride in that chair. Now, PVC has advantages, including the fact that it is inexpensive and durable. However, PVC releases toxins during manufacturing and when it is burned. We decided not to use it and implemented that decision with the help of our suppliers. We embedded those cradle-to-cradle principals in our product development process for all new designs, beginning with Mirra.

2. Refine your goals and put them to paper. We aim to be fully sustainable by 2020, but we're holding ourselves accountable to interim goals along the way. For example, by 2010, 50% of our sales will come from products that conform to our own rigorous Design for the Environment standards, and we aim to reduce our environmental footprint by 80%. Achieving these goals requires paying attention not only to materials, including their chemical ingredients, but also to our sources of energy, to our manufacturing processes, and to our packaging. We don't want to reduce our impact in one area while ignoring it in another. Nor do we want to move our environmental impact upstream into our supply chain.

3. Embrace transparency and meaningful metrics. Our company, our customers, and our industry in general are moving inexorably toward more transparent reporting when it comes to the environment. And, like any other management issue, what gets measured gets managed. When it comes to our supply chain, several measures apply. We award points through our Supplier Quantification Process for formal environmental programs and active waste-reduction programs. We rate our suppliers according to how effectively they are working to help us reach our goals--from researching alternative materials to incorporating our measurable targets into their flow charts. And this is the crux of the issue: We're not only looking at our suppliers, but at our suppliers' suppliers.

We have 12 years and a long way to go before reaching our self-imposed deadline for our Perfect Vision mission. By looking--and forcing change--outside our company as well as inside, we believe we can achieve this goal. By following the three steps above, we believe other companies can reach their green goals as well.

Source: Harvard Business Review

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller

Featured Leaders Include Herman Miller, Inc., CEO Brian Walker, Writing on the Necessity and Steps of Greening the Supply Chain

Harvard Business Review has launched HBRGreen.org, a 12-week, six-part series of online commentary and discussion that will explore best practices and new thinking in green business strategy. Contributors to the site will include Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller, Sir Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer, and numerous other business and environmental thought leaders.

HBRGreen will examine how environmental issues are affecting six key business disciplines, including marketing, supply chain management, and finance. Each of the six topic discussions will lead with an essay by a green business strategy expert and include response commentary from featured contributors and from visitors to the site.

In the first discussion of the series, "Don't Bother with the Green Consumer," Steve Bishop, a global lead of Design for Sustainability of IDEO, advises marketers, "Instead of focusing on a green niche, focus on green behaviors that everyone can aspire to."

"Environmental issues aren't a fad. Climate change isn't just an emergency. Like globalization, it is a force that will shape and reshape the business landscape for decades to come," said Harvard Business Review Editor Thomas A. Stewart. "By bringing together the expertise of business leaders, HBR editors, and our community of readers, HBRGreen aims to explore new ideas and best practices so that managers are better positioned to embrace the opportunities and manage the risks of a carbon-constrained world."

On February 6, Brian Walker, CEO of Herman Miller, will lead the second conversation on "Three Steps to a Greener Supply Chain." Future lead contributors will include: Sir Stuart Rose, CEO of Marks & Spencer, Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute's Business and Society Program, Andrew Hoffman, the Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the University of Michigan, Nitin Nohria, the Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and Rakesh Khurana, associate professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School.

About Harvard Business Review
Harvard Business Review (www.hbr.org) is the leading monthly magazine of management thought and practice, with a worldwide circulation of 246,000. The magazine has 11 international editions, including editions in China, Taiwan, and an English-language South Asian edition published in India. In 2004 and 2006, the magazine was a finalist for the National Magazine Award for General Excellence.

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller

C2^TM Climate Control

Effective immediately, the C2 climate control device from Herman Miller is now available for order. Contact a bfi representative today.

product description

(download .pdf product sheet.)

Be warm. Be cool. C2 climate control lets you choose. This easy-to-use device lets you control the temperature in your immediate workspace. No more arguments over the thermostat. Just plug C2 into a 110-volt outlet and choose a setting that is comfortable for you. Easy to use, easy to move, and easy to adjust. How cool.

Thermal electric technology. Proven in the automotive industry, this advanced technology allows for both heating and cooling in a single unit.

Energy-efficient design. C2 uses uses less than 1.5 amps of AC current, which is approximately 90% less energy than a typical space heater, to affect the 12- to 18-inch space between the device and the user.

Heats, cools, and filters. C2 not only heats and cools, but also cleans the air. Its air filtration system is significantly better than that of a typical home furnace. The filter is GREENGUARD certified and reusable after cleaning. It will remove air pollutants as small as five microns, such as pollen, dust, pet dander, and household airborne particles.

Safe. C2 is not a space heater. There are no exposed heating coils, chemicals, or harmful emissions. Safe to run continuously, C2 has a timer that shuts the unit off after four hours. C2’s power supply is UL approved and plugs into 110v AC.

Human-centered design. Its friendly design encourages user control: C2 is easy to use, easy to move, and easy to adjust.

Labels: Be Collection, C2, Climate Control, cooler, heater, Herman Miller

Herman Miller is the number one choice for computer support, ergonomic seating, furniture systems, and healthcare furniture, according to Contract magazine's readers. The company's ergonomic seating and healthcare furniture make a second consecutive appearance as top pick.

The selection is based on 1,000 interviews with 700 architects and designers who subscribe to Contract, as well as 300 facility professionals from a pre-qualified list provided by Aspen Media and Market Research.

Respondents were asked to provide the brand name of the three top manufacturers they consider when purchasing or recommending products in a number of categories. Brand name preferences were asked on an unaided basis.

According to the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Association (BIFMA), seating and furniture systems represent the two largest product categories for the industry.

The 2007 Brand Report appears in the publication's December issue.

bfi (Business Furniture, Inc.) is a New Jersey authorized Herman Miller office furniture dealer, providing office furniture and other related services in the NJ/NY area. More Info »

Labels: ergonomic seating, furntiure systems, healthcare furniture, Herman Miller, office furniture

Herman Miller has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the 2007 WasteWise Gold Achievement Award for its ongoing commitment to reduce transport packaging.

The company has reduced its cardboard and plastic packaging by more than 50 percent, a result of shipping many of its products in bulk, securely enclosed in reusable blankets.

"Finding smarter ways to ensure our products reach the customer intact is just one aspect of our environmental commitment," says Paul Murray, director of Environmental Health and Safety at Herman Miller. "We are committed both to integrity in our deliveries and reducing our environmental footprint."

This is Herman Miller's seventh WasteWise award since the program's introduction in 1994. The company also was recognized as Partner of the Year in 1999 and Program Champion in 2000 and 2001.

Gold Achievement Award recipients were announced at the annual WasteWise conference in Washington, D.C., on November 15, 2007.

Labels: Environment, Green, Herman Miller

The Leaf Personal Light from Herman Miller, Inc., has been feted by TIME Magazine as one of the Best Inventions of the 2007. The LED (light emitting diode) table-top light was noted for its energy efficiency and sleek design.

Leaf is a result of collaborative engineering and design development between Herman Miller and Yves Behar's San Francisco-based studio, fuseproject. Its 20 LEDs utilize 40 percent less energy than a 13-watt compact fluorescent bulb.

Richard Stengel, managing editor of TIME, defines the selected products as the coolest stuff from the most innovative minds in the world. He adds, "When you're dealing with complex technology, you can't overestimate the importance of good, clean design."

The Best Inventions of the Year appear in the publication's November 12, 2007, issue.

Labels: Herman Miller, Leaf Light

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes posts a follow up to his article on ZDnet's blog titled "Is the Aeron the best office chair?". We're not suprised by his conclusion. We know the Aeron chair is the best chair. If you work in the NJ area, contact us to buy one of these. We are an authorized Herman Miller dealer so the 12 year warranty will apply if you buy the Aeron chair from bfi.

Labels: Aeron, Chair, Herman Miller

Herman Miller swept the Workplace Technologies category of the Best of NeoCon competition on Monday, with Convia Programmable Infrastructure capturing Gold and the C2 personal climate control device winning the Silver award.

The awards were presented at the opening of the 2007 NeoCon World's Trade Fair at Chicago's Merchandise Mart, running June 11-13.

Discover NeoCon 2007 Convia is distributed by Chicago-based Convia/A Herman Miller Company, and C2 is part of The Be Collection, a new collection of accessories introduced at NeoCon.

Herman Miller marketing alliance partners Baker Manufacturing and Brandrud also won Gold awards at the Best of NeoCon competition. Baker's NEXT table series won in the Height-Adjustable Worksurfaces category, and Brandrud's Pause won Gold in Healthcare Seating.

The Office Furniture Dealers' Association also announced its annual awards at the opening of NeoCon, with Herman Miller winning in the key categories of products and technology.

Labels: Awards, C2, Herman Miller