Kemin Industries
Goal
When Kemin Industries began planning for their new building project, they considered how to best incorporate audiovisual technology. The meeting room spaces at the time caused frequent, frustrating, and expensive meeting room disruptions. In order to prevent these problems in their new headquarters building, Kemin decided to implement cutting-edge AV technology to enhance collaboration, greatly streamline workflows, and maximize their scientific discovery. Kemin brought Mechdyne into the fold early on in the new building design phase. “We realized we needed to update and create systems that better served our employees and would decrease the need for IT support and disruptions throughout the day,” said Joe Blackford, Kemin’s worldwide IT director.
Solution
Kemin and Mechdyne partnered together to analyze user workflows, collaboration needs, and company culture to optimize technology choices. Mechdyne embedded a team within Kemin to observe several meetings and collaboration sessions, interview power users, and test technology efficacy. As Mechdyne began to understand Kemin’s workflows and core needs, the team provided Kemin technology recommendations in an iterative process to truly focus on what worked for the client rather than preconceived notions of optimum solutions. This approach prevented unexpected rework and construction downtime because the technology was designed for the new space. Kemin’s new collaboration spaces include 66 private offices, 11 conference rooms, two training rooms, a board room, and miscellaneous collaboration areas.