Benefits of LED Lighting

This point has not been missed by readers of this blog.  GET, LLC, with some help from our friends at Independence LED Lighting and Deco Lighting, has said time and time again that LED lighting  is the next big thing when it comes to keeping your home and office illuminated.

Why?  

Our friends, specifically at Deco Lighting, offer that LED lights create warm, beautiful tones and last far longer than traditional lighting solutions. Additionally, the technology provides one of the most energy-efficient lighting options for homes and businesses.

If you’re new to the world of LED lighting, here’s a quick primer of some of the biggest advantages they offer.

LED bulbs have an incredible lifespan when compared to the traditional light bulb. LEDs have expected operating times of up to 50,000 hours. In other words, leaving your LED lights on for eight hours a day, seven days a week, would give you roughly 10 years of use before you’d need to seek a replacement. Additionally, flipping LED lights on and off has no effect on the lifespan of the bulb.

One of the most powerful benefits of LED lights is the fact that they can be used to light almost any shape and provide immense flexibility of design. Deco Lighting says that because individual lights can be joined together but still controlled on their own, LED lighting provides you with the ability to fine-tune lighting to perfectly match any given space.

LED lighting is far more efficient than their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts, lighting specific areas more effectively and relying on less energy to do so. Additionally, they waste a much smaller amount of energy in the form of heat, are not vulnerable to breakage (LEDs contain no glass), and draw very little power – making them perfect for both indoor and outdoor lighting applications.

Overall, LED lights provide you with a flexible, efficient, and long-lasting lighting application. LED lighting is better than traditional lighting solutions in almost every possible way, not to mention the fact that the light they give off is cleaner and causes less heat. If you need a new lighting solution, LED lighting is going to be the best way to go long-term.

To learn more about the lighting products that GET, LLC provides, including the LED lines of our partners, Independence LED Lighting and Deco Lighting Inc., please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or call us at 671-483-0789 to discuss solutions for your important lighting needs-All Made in America!!!

Do You Practice Cost-Avoidance with Your Inventory of Furniture?

GET, LLC received a great piece of advice from our partners at Savoy Contract Furniture that we wanted to share with you-practice cost avoidance by minimizing furniture repairs and replacements. From experience, Savoy Furniture has found that their respective customers experience a significant reduction in these costs with their durable, high quality residence hall and lounge furniture.  From campuses to corporate offices, this practice of cost-avoidance through the implementation of revenue producing ideas attracts and retaining students and or repeat customer business. They ask that we all differentiate our office or housing facility with all new designs, and unique personalization options. Savoy Furniture takes it one step further by recommending that we provide our end users with the versatility to reinvent their respective spaces with stacking chests, loftable beds, and mobile furniture.

Why is this important?

Spending on quality furniture can pay off in years to come. according to The Wall Street Journal. In fact, the publication asserted in 2012  that buying top-grade pieces can be a good investment: good furniture, along with other home design elements, can last a lifetime and increase in value.

Also, purchase a high-quality product which is easier to maintain than lower-quality furniture. 

You’ll find high-quality furniture, at a variety of price levels, from a well established company with a good reputation. 

“Learn the history of the company from which you want to buy,” said Assistant Director of North Carolina State University’s Furniture Manufacturing and Management Center (FMMC) Steve Walker.

Furniture manufacturer Shelby Williams released a report recently that stated that there are four things to take into account when investing in high-quality furniture:

1. Choose the Right Product for the Application-different applications require different products, so the way you operate your business should determine the furniture selection.
2. Ensure Furniture Is Tested to Standards-The Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA) has a series of widely recognized tests for seating. 
3. Request a Furniture Sample
4. Consider Your Brand’s Environmental & Social Reputation-Environmentally responsible solutions such as Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified wood, bio-based foam and formadahyde-free finishes are very typical today. These are all great features; however, buying good quality furniture that performs well for many years might be the ‘greenest’ action of all, as it means less furniture goes to the landfill.

For more on how GET, LLC through our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture and teaming partner American Hotel Register can assist you with your specific furniture needs- please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss the best solution for your facility.  All the solutions are Made in America!

Case Good Furniture Business On Up Swing

A great article in on-line industry magazine Furniture Today highlighted the increase in business of Case Good Vendors across the country-a sign that design, finish and materials mean so much today in a very tough furniture marketplace.

Writer Thomas Russell noted that the introductions of more modern furniture looks comes as the economy is making a comeback through the housing and employment marketplaces.

"Case goods vendors say they want to be prepared with fresh new looks and approaches to both bedroom and formal dining," wrote Russell.

Our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture have responded with their industry competitors.  Their push is simply: Curves, pops of color, personality.

Savoy rolled out last month a great desk system that provide ample work space with less of the bulk of traditional student desks and a new "kidney-shaped" desktop design.

The detachable desktop storage unit is an open concept design with both form and function and finished in the color of your choice-modern and polished appeal.

They also introduced a complementary High capacity storage drawer system with curves by design. Savoy allows you to choose your color of the laminate top to match the personality of your end user. Did I mention that they are also available as a stackable unit?

Savoy and other furniture manufactures are seeing positive response to changes in their respective products.  Whether their respective lines are available in new finishes, painted, or other tones, the options are helpful to creating a certain aesthetic and feel for the modern living space or office. Expect this trend to continue throughout the year and beyond.

GET, LLC is a proud partner with Pennsylvania-based Savoy Furniture. We thank them for all that they do to give their customers the quality and stability that continues to make them a top choice for your respective case good needs.

For more on how Savoy Furniture and GET, LLC can assist you with your furniture needs, please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-797-0789 for more information. 

Structured Stainless Steel Guide Released

An interesting development out of the steel industry as American design professionals now have access to a new resource related to carbon steel structural components  for steel buildings.  

American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Steel Design Guide No. 27, Structural Stainless Steel, authored by Associate Director at the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) Nancy Baddoo, provides guidance for the design of structural hot-rolled or welded open sections such as I-shaped members, channels, and equal-leg angles, as well as rectangular and round hollow structural sections (HSS).

The publication is intended for engineers experienced in the design of carbon steel structural components, but not necessarily in the design of stainless steel structures, and is aligned with the design provisions in the 2010 AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings. The AISC Guide applies to austenitic, duplex and precipitation hardening stainless steel structural sections with thickness 8 in. (3 mm) and greater.  Some of the topics covered in this guide include material behavior and selection, cross-section design, member design, connections and fabrication.

"Up until now, there have been no specifications or guidelines for the design of structures fabricated from hot-rolled stainless steel plates or shapes," said Ted Galambos, Ph.D., P.E., emeritus professor of structural engineering at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and a reviewer of Design Guide No. 27. "This document, for the first time in the U.S., will show designers how to proportion stainless steel beams, columns, frames and connections that are fabricated from hot-rolled components. With this new design guide, it will be an easy task to expand the arsenal of engineers."

It was a collaborative effort to put this guide together, bring the collective talents of the International Chromium Development Association (ICDA), International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF), Nickel Institute, Outokumpu, Specialty Steel Industry of North America (SSINA), Stainless Structurals LLC, Stalatube, and the Steel Institute of New York (SINY).

To find out more about how GET, LLC through, our metal building partner MCR Guam Inc., can help your next steel building or aluminum roofing project, give us a call at 671-483-0789 or our website at www.get-guam.com for more information. 

FF&E Services-Agreements for Services

Continuing our discussion on this blog about Furniture, Furnishings and Equipment or FF&E-this time on agreements for FF& E Services.

The American Institute of Architects Handbook of Professional Practice points out that clients with considerable FF&E selection and procurement experience and facility management resources often have their own agreements for FF&E services. When clients require the use of such agreements, architects are strongly advised to review them carefully, including review by the firm’s attorney.

When the client does not require use of its own agreement for FF&E services, architects may use one of two AIA standard forms of agreement for this purpose. When FF&E acquisition services are part of interior design services, B171 ID-2003, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect for Furniture, Furnishings, and Equipment Design Services, can be used.

The FF&E increments of work in this agreement are closely aligned with those for building design and construction. If FF&E services are provided as a stand-alone service, architects can use B175 ID-2003, Standard Form of Agreement Between the Owner and the Architect for Furniture, Furnishings, and Equipment Design Services.

Does that make the architect a reseller?

The AIA proffers that some clients desire a single point of project control or turnkey service for FF&E selection and acquisition. In such cases, a design firm can act as a reseller of furniture by entering into purchasing agreements directly with manufacturers.  In this role, the design firm takes on responsibilities and tasks generally provided by furniture dealers.

We would argue that this brokered arrangement requires additional skills and knowledge and proper disclosure of the firm’s responsibilities to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. 

A pitfall for sure.

It is also important for architects to consult with their insurance brokers to ensure they are adequately insured for providing these services and to evaluate any risk or liability associated with them.

Companies like ours take out all the guesswork here, and provide a valuable source for such services and a rates that won't compromise your respective project.  Pick wisely I say.

For more on how GET,LLC through our friends at Savoy Contract Furniture and teaming partner American Hotel Register can assist you with all your FF&E needs-including lighting-please check out our website at www.get-guam.com or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss the best solution for your facility.  All of our solutions are Made in America!

How To Qualify a "Lighting Designer"-A Primer from the IALD

I had the privilege recently of meeting Marketing and Communications Coordinator Jessica Burke of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD).  During the 2013 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Expo, I spent three days staring at her booth, which was adjacent to the one I was manning throughout the AIA National Convention.  I was drawn to the words near their banner that read, "Another Person's Dark Space is Our Blank Canvas".  When I was finally able to meet her, I found Jessica to be very helpful and passionate about advancing the work of Lighting Designers in America and around the world.  With a handful of projects here that have left me wondering just how to approach these individual dilemmas with a viable solution, Jessica's input has us looking in the region for assistance for this most important part of the construction design process.  Affecting the space of new construction projects and retrofits of existing structures, lighting is an integral part of both the architectural and interior design-which is often overlooked in our part of the world because of cost and lack of experience with this important discipline.

A deep dive into the IALD yielded these tidbits of information:

"...Anyone with a business card can call himself a lighting designer. Electrical systems designers, electrical contractors, electrical distributors, sales reps and lighting retailers all use the title.

There are ways, however, to identify the full-time, independent professional lighting consultant. If the design of a project is important, the persons in control of lighting design and specification should be participating in one or more lighting programs and associations such as IALD Professional and Associate Members...the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions (NCQLP)..CLC or Certified Lighting Consultants.

...Architects, facility managers, designers, electrical engineers, builders and owners are among the many who are embracing professional lighting designers to augment their projects. They are finding that the value of an independent lighting design professional is an integral element of outstanding client service."

Though we are five time zones away from the home base of the IALD, GET, LLC is encouraged that their members are the consummate professionals who regularly attend and give educational seminars locally, nationally and internationally. Many also teach or lecture at local universities including some of their newest members with links to the Pacific Rim.  The IALD uses these tools to keep their designs fresh and stay current with product technologies, lighting designers are obliged to expand their knowledge base in the multitude of lighting-related disciplines and techniques all around the world.

These are just a number of the reasons, we are advocating for the incorporation of smart lighting design into projects here in the Western Pacific.  We will be looking to the IALD for assistance on our projects moving forward to offer our customers a quality lighting design that saves money, the environment and energy.  This savings will come to building owners and end users through sustainable design and code compliance by balancing efficiency and innovation.  Thanks IALD for giving us the inspiration to provide the knowledge, creativity and commitment that our customers have come to rely on and expect from us.  

For more on lighting solutions for your respective facility, check out our website or give us a call at 671-483-0789 to discuss how we can turn your "vision into reality".