Major Industries has long been dedicated to putting our customers first, and we’re working hard during these times of uncertainty and unprecedented challenges to keep projects and materials moving through our plant as scheduled.
Despite COVID-19 and related restrictions, Major is continuing normal business processes, including selling, designing and manufacturing our full line of daylighting systems. We are closely monitoring the situation around the COVID-19 virus, and are following guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and local authorities related to the health and wellness of our employees and outside staff. To better protect our employees, we have increased cleaning regimens in our manufacturing plant and offices, allowing some team members to work from home, and are limiting contact as much as possible throughout our facility. We are also practicing frequent hand washing/sanitizing, limiting in-person visits and any non-essential travel, and restricting visits to our Wausau, Wisconsin office.
Our office and manufacturing staff are currently operating normally, and we are not experiencing any supply chain issues at this time. As the situation evolves, however, we will continue to monitor any changes, as well as any updates to government regulations and guidelines, and will communicate impacts to our production schedule as they occur. We also encourage you to notify us as soon as possible of any schedule or related project changes so that we can accommodate requests accordingly.
The Major Industries team wishes everyone the best during this challenging time, and we thank you for your business and partnership.
]]>While we’ve enjoyed four decades of designing and building a wide range of daylighting solutions, we still push ourselves every day to get better. Over the years we’ve assembled a knowledgeable and talented team of specialists to help answer your toughest technical questions, a precision-driven engineering and manufacturing group to make your daylighting ideas a reality, and a customer support team that’s ready to provide the service and support you deserve.
Whether you need help with a complex custom design or have a project that requires a simple pre-assembled system that can be on-site quickly, we want Major to be your trusted go-to daylighting partner. Let us put our four decades of customer-focused daylighting expertise to work for you.
]]>Employee compensation is often one of a company’s largest operational costs; and given the high percentage of revenue that it consumes, it is only sensible that an employer seeks to optimize that investment by improving staff productivity. An unengaged, unproductive staff member can cost a company thousands of dollars in lost time and revenue. Unfortunately, lack of productivity remains a common complaint among office workers with only 13 percent of respondents feeling engaged in their work according to Gallup statistics [1]. The good news, however, is that many of the causes behind a lack of productivity – including drowsiness, physical discomfort, and emotional distractions – can be mitigated with a daily dose of natural daylight in the workplace.
Natural light is one of the best regulators of the daily rhythms that we rely on to live happy, healthy lives; and studies show that employees with regular access to natural light sleep better, are more rested and alert, and are therefore more productive at work. According to the World Green Building Council, workers exposed to natural light report feeling more engaged and more willing to collaborate with other team members when they work in natural light [2]. This is confirmed by the Future Workplace Employee Experience Study that found that 70 percent of employees believe access to natural light and views improves their work performance [3].
With more energized employees, it’s not surprising that employers in office environments with plenty of natural light see a significant rise in staff productivity. It is estimated that even a two percent increase in productivity equals an additional $100,000 for every 100 workers with a salary of $50,000 [4], and research has found the increase in productivity from improved daylighting to be well above two percent. One 1983 study on the redevelopment of Lockheed Building 157 found that productivity rose a stunning 15 percent thanks to an increase in natural light [5]. Daylighting systems that provide soft, diffuse natural light can offer employers these benefits as well as the additional advantage of preventing glare and solar heat gain from affecting productivity and creating an uncomfortable and distracting work environment.
Daylight and natural light also play a crucial role in the design, and along with wide expanses of glass is a large Guardian 275® translucent skylight. The image above shows how this main corridor and gathering area gets a substantial amount of soft, diffuse natural light courtesy of the ridge skylight, and how it makes the entire space feel open and welcoming. The natural light also limits the need for artificial lighting during peak sun hours (when students are most often using the facility), which can bring a fair amount of energy savings.
Translucent panel skylights are a great solution for education facilities, especially since schools often feature interior areas that don’t have access to exterior walls and traditional windows. A properly designed and implemented skylight can transform a space from dull and dark to eye-catching and bright – and ultimately give students a place where they want to gather and learn. Translucent panel skylights are also cost-effective, and effectively block hot-spots from wreaking havoc on students and staff as well as keeping glare from making it hard to read both printed pages and computer screens.
Designing daylighting solutions for a school but aren’t sure where to start? We’d love to help you solve your design challenges! Call us at 888-759-2678, email sales@majorskylights.com, or check out our Architectural Consulting page and let us know how we can work with you to add beneficial daylight to your next education facility project.
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