Furniture

Title:	Furniture
Publication date:	6/14/2023
Effective date:	6/11/2020

BRIEF

Policy Summary

This policy and its supporting processes provide guidance on the standards and procedures governing the selection, acquisition, installation, and use of office furniture at Berkeley Lab.

Who Should Read This Policy

Persons who plan, select, acquire, and install office furniture at the Laboratory must follow this policy. Persons who use office furniture should be familiar with this policy.

To Read the Full Policy, Go To:

The POLICY tab on this wiki page

Contact Information

Campus Planning
[email protected]

Title:	Furniture
Publication date:	6/14/2023
Effective date:	6/11/2020

D. Policy Statement
D.1 Ownership and Stewardship of Office Furniture
D.2 Process for Selecting Office Furniture
D.3 Acquisition and Movement of Furniture

POLICY

A. Purpose

This policy and its supporting processes provide guidance on the standards and procedures governing the selection, acquisition, installation, and use of office furniture at Berkeley Lab.

B. Persons Affected

Persons who plan, select, acquire, and install office furniture at the Laboratory must follow this policy. Persons who use office furniture should be familiar with this policy.

C. Exceptions

Requests for exceptions to this policy should be directed to the Deputy Director for Operations or designee.

This policy does not cover furniture for laboratories, shops, and other special-purpose spaces designed to meet programmatic requirements.

D. Policy Statement

Berkeley Lab maintains a set of standard office furniture options to facilitate the efficient, cost-effective, and timely acquisition and installation of office furniture used by Laboratory employees and affiliates. The use of standard office furniture allows the Laboratory to respond to the needs of diverse users, and adapt to a wide range of space constraints.

Berkeley Lab standard office furniture meets the following criteria:

Functional - Support the office activities of most end users for the intended purpose
Adjustable - Adjusts to accommodate the individual needs of 90 to 95% of end users
Flexible - Capable of being reused in varying configurations and locations
Modular - Standard modular sizes/shapes can be inventoried and quickly deployed
Durable - Reliable and requires minimal maintenance and/or repair
Cost Effective – Ensures an optimal return on investment over the life of the item
Available – Readily procurable and delivered within standard timeline
Safe – Meets furniture fire code standards, does not pose physical risks to occupants but provides adequate duck-and-cover space.

Office furniture covered by this policy includes the following items: work surfaces or desks in offices and cubicles, panels, seating, storage, paper management, book shelving, small conference tables and chairs, and accessories such as whiteboards, tack boards, and task lighting.

This policy applies to all office furniture purchased and used by Laboratory staff and affiliates in Laboratory-occupied space, regardless of location or funding source.

D.1. Ownership and Stewardship of Office Furniture

Furniture is owned by the Laboratory when purchased with Laboratory funds (whether managed divisionally or institutionally) and Areas or Divisions are delegated as stewards of the Laboratory’s furniture.

Stewardship confers the following responsibilities to the Area or Division:

Assigns office furniture across locations and among staff for optimal use and cost benefit
Maintains office furniture in clean, safe, and good working condition
Sends furniture to Berkeley Lab Excess when furniture is no longer needed or at the end of its useful life

D.2. Process Selecting Office Furniture

Berkeley Lab's Facilities Division maintains a self-service procurement Web site where Laboratory divisions can select small quantities of office furniture from the set of Laboratory-approved standard office furniture. The Campus Planning group can assist divisions with ordering office furniture.

When a division plans to furnish multiple offices, the Campus Planning group will provide assistance with the selection of furniture in compliance with current Lab standards, layout, and installation of new office furniture. The planning should be an iterative process between the division's representative(s), Campus Planning, and the EH&S Division Ergonomics group.

D.3. Acquisition and Movement of Furniture

Divisions are directly responsible for purchasing their own office furniture using the Laboratory standard, regardless of fund source. If furniture is not being purchased using direct funds from the sponsor or a division's/Area Org Burden funding, the division is responsible for requesting institutional funds through the Facilities Portfolio Manager. The request must meet applicable cost allocation criteria developed by the Laboratory's Cost Allowability Funding Determination Council (CAFDC) for institutional or programmatic funding.

Indirect funds usually support institutionally driven initiatives, while direct funds support programmatically driven initiatives. There may be exceptions to this general practice, depending on the specific circumstances of the purchase. It is recommended that all large-quantity furniture purchases be reviewed by CAFDC before funds are committed. Contact the divisional business staff for more information and help with making this decision.

Decisions about the movement or new acquisition of office furniture should be made on a total cost/benefit basis that supports science. The option that creates the least cost while meeting programmatic mission needs should be selected. When developing the cost/benefit argument, consideration should be given to the cost of moving furniture relative to purchasing new items, and to the planned use of the old and new space(s). Typically, panels and panel mounted work surfaces and storage are not moved once they are installed

When office moves are initiated and planned by a division, the Laboratory may ask the division to leave the office furniture in its vacated space for use by the next occupants of the space. If this is the case, the Laboratory may furnish the division's new location with office furniture that is comparable in quality and congruent with Laboratory office furniture standards.

E. Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibilities
Deputy Director for Operations	Is the authority for the policy and procedures related to Laboratory office furniture Addresses requests for exceptions to this policy Sets office furniture standards Manages office furniture standards, in consultation with the Laboratory Space Manager, Campus Planning, the EH&S Division Ergonomics group, and a standing advisory committee composed of users from scientific and Operations divisions
Divisions	Provide office furniture as needed for their employees and affiliates Ensure compliance with this policy in the acquisition and management of office furniture within their divisions Assign a point of contact to represent the division in matters concerning office furniture
Division Points of Contact for Furniture	Plan, request, acquire, install, and manage office furniture by following this Furniture Policy and related processes and procedures
Division Support Persons for Furniture	Follow this Furniture Policy and related processes and procedures
Operations Campus Planning	Maintains self-service procurement Web site for Laboratory-approved standard furniture Assesses and recommends furniture standards to the Deputy Director of Operations Keeps apprised of new and changing industry requirements that may impact the furniture standards Manages the furniture vendor contract and is the point of contact with the vendors

F. Definitions/Acronyms

Term	Definition
CAFDC	Cost Allowability Funding Determination Council

G. Recordkeeping Requirements

Office Furniture Standards and Specifications, maintained by the Campus Planning group.

H. Implementing Documents

Berkeley Lab Office Furniture Procurement Web page

I. Contact Information

Questions on this policy and related processes should be directed to: