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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - April 20, 1994 (37)OF CITY OF LODI c4' I COUNCIL COMMUNICATION AGENDA TITLE: Standardization of Office Systems Furniture MEETING DATE: April 20, 1994 PREPARED BY: Put :c Works Director RECOMMENDED ACTIOM: That the City Council, by motion action, standardize on office systems furniture manufactured by Haworth, Inc.. of Holland, Michigan. for installation and use in offices in the governmental center (City Hall, Public Safety Building, City Hall Aniwx). BACKGROUND INFORMATION: In February. 1992, in preparation for the completion of the White Slough expansion project, the City Council approved a proposal to standardize office systems furniture on that manufactured by Herman Miller, Inc. (The attached Exhibit A shows the type of furniture we installed at White Slough and are proposing for portions of the City Hall expansion project). While both the Herrman Miller and Haworth systems furniture can be purchased through the League of California Cities' purchasing program at significantly discounted prices (i.e.. fifty to seventy percent off retail, depending on item and quantity of purchase), it was determined to be in the City's interest to standardize on one manufacturer's furniture to provide a higher level of uniformity and allow for a greater degree of interchangability. In 1992, the City did purchase Herman Miller office systems furniture for the White Slough project. Since the time of the White Slough purchase, however, the Purchasing and Public Works departments have had requests for reconsideration of the 1992 action. Cecause of new developments at Haworth, it was believed to be in the City's best interest to re-evaluate the two systems. An evaluation team, consisting of staff from Weneli Mattheis Bowe (WMB) architects and four City representatives, visited installation sites and interviewed prospective vendors. The attached letter from WMB, dated February 24, 1993, (Exhibit B) describes the evaluation and recommendation made under the evaluation process. However, we do not want to tie down the dealer we want the purchase from as we indicated in the recommendation. The Public Works and Purchasing departments now believe that it is in the City's best interest to rescind the 1992 action and to standardize on Haworth systems fumiture for future use in the governmental center offices. Since the City will be purchasing this furniture under the League of Cities' program, the pricing and discount structure is already in place. FUNDING: Not applicable at this time Jack . Ronsko Publi Works Director JLR/JH/im Attachments cc: Finance Director Purchasing Officer Building and Equipment Maintenance Superintendent APPF,'; VES - -- . - -- - - — --- - — - %not THOMAS A PETERSON City Manager CC OFFFURN DOC 04111394 . •\.y — . ..r --- • W.-604'. � a + . --%a.—.= "6.rc v EXHIBIT A February 24, 1993 Mr. Dennis Callahan CITY OF LODI P. O. Box 3006 Lodi, California 95241 SUBJECT: OFFICE SYSTEMS COMPARISON CIVIC CENTER IMPROVEMENTS Dear Dennis: This letter is to briefly summarize the recent evaluations made of Haworth and Hermin Miller Furniture Systems as requested by the City. The evaluation team was made up of two representatives from our office and four representatives from the City of Lodi. We attended a presentation of the Haworth product line information at Durst Office Interiors in Stockton. Also present at the meeting, were two representatives from the Haworth regional sales office in San Francisco. Following the product presentation we visited two installations of Haworth products purchased under the League of Cities contract, as serviced and installed by Durst. The two installations visited by the evaluation team were the San Joaquin County Jail Administration Building and the San Joaquin County District Attorney Family Services Building. These i:.stalla:iors represented a new and a three-year old installation, respectively. Following these presentations, we visited the offices of Delta Office Systems for a presentation of the Hermin Miller Furniture Systems. The presentation consisted primarily of video tape presentation of the product line. There were no tours of the Hermin Miller installations scheduled by Delta Office Systems at this time. Dennis Callahan City of Lodi February 24, 1993 Page 2 of 3 Following both presentations we met in our office to recap the information presented and make a decision on a systems recommendation. General consensus was that Delta Office Systems did not present the level of information or provide the opportunity to see installation, similar to Durst Office Interiors. The City of, Lodi staff believed that it was important for them to see a Herman Miller installation in nyder to make a fair decision. In addition to this, a request for a cost comparison of products would be made of each vendor based upon a typical four -person workstation cluster. One week later the evaluation team visited one installation of Herman Miller product at a non-governmental installation. Following this tour, the team made a visit to the City of Stockton permit center which was a recent installation of Haworth products, again purchased on the League of Cities contract. Following this final tour, the team met to recap the information presented on both days and made the following recommendation: 1. Recommend purchasing Haworth Furniture Systems through Durst Office Interiors of Stockton under the League of Cities purchasing agreement based on the fo!lowing reasons: a. The Haworth System panel was determined to be stronger, less flexible, and could carry a greater worksurface loading capability than the Herman Miller panel. b. The construction of the Haworth panel provided greater acoustical characteristics than the Herman Miller panel. Dennis Callahan City of Lodi February 24, 1993 Page 3 of 3 C. The Haworth component lines were believed to be of higher quality and design. d. Haworth systems could be purchased by a greater discount factor than Herman Miller. e. Local Hawot.h vendor utilizes CADD for layout and specifications. f. The evaluation :cam believed that the presentation of information by Durst Office Interiors was more informative and professional and that they conveyed a greater sense of commitment to the City of Lodi. If you have any questions regarding this information, please do not hesitate to call. Sincerely, NrE�L,LMATTHEIS B01NVE Thomas Bow Vice -President f:i\9301\haworth